July 16, 1945; PRE-INVASION BOMBING OF JAPAN:

THIS WAS REPORTED TODAY,JULY 16, 1945:

Lowell Mass. Monday July !6 1945

 

Yank Air-Sea Forces
Wreck 10 Nippon Cities

Carry Pre-Invasion Attack on

Enemy Homeland into 41st Day

GUAM, Tuesday, July 17. (AP)—Between 450 and 500 Superfortresses in a. predawn attack today showered fire bombs on four Japanese cities over a 460-mile stretch. The targets ranged from Oita on the northeast coast of Kyushu to ffiratsuka, 34 mile-, southwest of Tokiyo.

More than 2500 tons of incendiaries were dropped on thefour cities in the raid, which was the 53rd fire bomb mission carried out from Mariana bases.

 

GUAM, July 16. (UP)—American army planes carried

the pre-invasion attack on Japan into the 41st day todav
on the heels of a shattering air and sea bombardment by

the U. S. Third fleet that wrecked 10 northern Japanese

cities and virtually cut Hokkaido off from the main island
of Honshu.

Tokio reported without confirmation that Admiral!

William F. Halsey's Third fleet broke off the assault on'
northern Honshu and Hokkaido last night, "presumably I
due to bad weather."

But the Japanese alerted their defenses up and down

the smoking coast and warned that Halsey's mighty" bat-
tlewagons cruisers and carriers would be back to repeat the destructive week-end strike

 

 

 

Stalin Arriving

In Potsdam Late
This Afternoon

By Merriman Smith -

POTSDAM, July 16. (UP)

President Truman toured the war-ravaged heart of Berlin today while awaiting the opening of the Big Three conference which was postponed until tomorrow by a delay in the arrival of Premier Stalin.

Prime Minister Churchill also made a two-hour tour of Berlin. His party reached the chancellery 10 minutes after Mr. Truman's left. For 20 minutes the 70-year-old prime minister roamed through the ruins of the chancellery like an experienced mountain climber.

Mr. Truman left Potsdam at 3.30 p. m. with an armored escort. For two hours he traveled through the streets of central Berlin, critically viewing the" destruction wrought by the Allied armies and air forces..