FIRES STILL BURN IN GDERMAN CITIES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 229, 27 September 1943, Page 6

FIRES STILL BURN IN GDERMAN CITIES

RAJ BOMBER RAWS

Waves Of Planes Cross To France At Night

British Official Wireless Rec- 11 a.m. RUGBY, Sept. 26. A large number of fires were still burning m Mannheim and Ludwieshaten yesterday afternoon many nours after the R.A.F. Bomber Com. £!!ik? s c : hea i vy tack on Thursday night. Smoke still hung over a laree part of the cities. Fresh damage done that night was severe, especially in the dock, central and Neckar Stadt areas. It is now known that in the attack on Hanover on Wednesday night very heavy damage was done by fire to the Wollewascherie works, the second largest wool-combers in Germany. Damage clone to the Nordwelle wool-combing factory at Barmen last year had an important effect on the clothing situation of the German armies in Russia during the winter. Paris radio says that 1000 people were killed and 13,000 injured as a result of the three recent Allied raids on Nantes. Fourteen thousand houses were destroyed. United States Eighth Air Force Marauders, escorted and supported by R.A.F., Dominion and Allied Spitfires, attacked the Longuenesse airfield at St. Omer this afternoon. All returned safely.

Vessel Torpedoed A medium-sized merchant vessel was hit by a torpedo wh;n Coastal Command Beaufighters, escorted by Spitfires, attacked a large enemy convoy off the Dutch coast to-day. The escorting vessels -were also attacked with cannon and machinegun fire. When last seen the merchantman was down by the stern. The Beaufighters encountered stiff opposition, several pilots saying that they had never seen so much tracer before. Two Beaufighters are missing. Four Mosquitoes of the Fighter Command engaged eight Junkers 88 in the Bay of Biscay last evening. Two of the enemy were destroyed and several others damaged, some seriously. One Mosquito was lost. A large fleet of bombers and fighters of the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force took part in a great operation from Britain early to-night. Observers say that waves of machines crossed the coast between Dover and Dungeness towards France in a continuous stream for some time. High-flying fighters left many vapour trails, which made unbroken lines in the sky from Folkestone to well inland from Boulogne. Two great formations of bombers were observed crossing the coast in Dungeness area. Some fighters, after sweeping the skies over Northern France, returned in about threequarters of an hour.