World Battlefronts: Another Ploesti

The slowly dwindling Japanese ersatz empire was raided nearly every day by the U.S. Air Forces which rim it—the Fifth and Thirteenth in New Guinea, the Fourteenth in China, the Tenth in India, the Seventh in the Central Pacific and the Eleventh in the Aleutians. But most of the Pacific lay in comparative quiet.

Most important of last week’s raids was staged by Major General St. Clair Streett’s Thirteenth Air Force—a 2,500-mile round trip from New Guinea to Balikpapan on the east coast of Borneo. Said General MacArthur: “The advance of our bomber line now has made possible heavy bomber attacks on Balikpapan, major fuel storage center, with more than 3,000,000 barrels capacity, and the most important source of aviation gasoline and lubricating oils.”

The Balikpapan raid (second in a week) showed that the Japs were still fiercely determined to defend the “Ploesti of the Pacific.” As the Liberators crossed Celebes they were picked up by Jap “Bettys” (fast twin-engined bombers) which radioed instructions ahead to fighters. Forty Zeros were ready for the U.S. flyers at Balikpapan and, though 19 Japs were shot down, seven Liberators with 70 airmen went down in flames.