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mm. hits were made on the plane, Damage was not serious, however, and there were no casualties.

January 23-24 - Lieutenant Melvin H. WARNER, USN found eight large cargo type ships anchored in the harbor at Kiirun, Formosa. Dropping four 250's and one 100 lb. incendiary in a quarter to bow run across one of the ships at 150 feet altitude he scored one direct hit and left the vessel burning.

January. 24-25 - All four planes on search found and attacked enemy targets. The results may be summarized as follows: Lieutenant (jg) Walter B. LEVY, USNR bombed land targets on the extreme southwestern tip of Formosa starting a good sized fire which flared up at intervals for thirty minutes. Lieutenant Albert J. LEHMICKE, Jr., USNR sighted one large Fox Tare Able and two small freighters near the mouth of the Tainan Canal (Formosa). He expended his entire bomb load on the Fox Tare Able scoring two hits only to find that it was a derelict. The two small ships were heavily strafed and one of the Sugar Charlie type set on fire. It had been burning for an hour and was completely gutted when Lieutenant (jg) LEHMICKE left the area. Lieutenant (jg) L. T. WEEDE, USNR contacted a convoy of four cargo-type ships, six freighter transports, and two destroyers on a northerly course near Kurun, Formosa. He dropped a string of four 250 lb. bombs spaced at forty feet in a quartering run across one of the destroyers at 100 feet altitude, but was unable to observe the results. Light and medium AA fire emanating from the ship was inaccurate. The fourth and final attack of the night was by Lieutenant Harold F. ALLEN, Jr., USNR who found a 100 foot schooner, two Sugar Charlies and six luggers anchored on the southeast side of Yonakuni Island in the Sakashima Group. Since the Sugar Charlies were in a well protected anchorage the attack was concentrated on the other vessels. Four 250 lb. bombs were dropped on individual runs resulting in three near misses which must have caused underwater damage due to the shallow water in which the vessels were lying. All were subsequently strafed with .50 calibre fire in a series of figure eight turns giving port and starboard waist gunners alternate firing opportunities. One of the luggers was reported on the reef and abandoned, when this island was next scrutinized by a Patrol Bombing Squadron SEVENTY-ONE search plane six nights later.

January 25-26 - This was also an action-filled night. While covering the China Coast, Lieutenant Glen I. PALMER, USNR found seven cargo vessels, four destroyers and a large ship thought to be a cruiser anchored in Amoy Harbor. Selecting one of the destroyers as his target, Lieutenant PALMER dropped four 250s from 100 feet with a spacing of 30 feet. A direct hit was scored on the bow which instantly silenced the ships anti-aircraft guns. The bomb explosion was followed by a billow of flame. Moderate AA from one of the other ships

 

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