Fifty-one Chinese aeroplanes were destroyed in a Japanese air raid on Nanchang, major Chinese base in Kiangsi province, yesterday affer-noon, a Japanese China Sens Fleet Communiqué issued at 12 o'clock midnight claimed, Shot down by Jepanese pursuit and bombing craft in, what was officially described as one of the most violent air combats, were 45 Chinese craft out of a total of 50 that took to the air, Included among the Chinese craft were Soviet-built 1-15 biplanes and 1416 monoplanes, American Curtiss-Hawk machines and British gloucester Gladiators, (Hit by bombs while grounded were six Chinese machines, Three of these were set on fire, the commun-que said, Japanese losses were given at one machine "missing.
In addition to bombing grounded aircraft the Japanese air armada also attacked hangars and other buildings at both the old and the new airdromes in Nanchang.
The Chinese aircraft engaged in the combats were described in the communique as comprising "almost the entire first line aerial defence force of China."
Weather conditions for the raid, during which several hundred bombs were dropped, were stated to be "ideal."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.