BERLIN HAS HEAVIEST AIR BLOW OF WAR

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 40, 17 February 1944, Page 5

BERLIN HAS HEAVIEST AIR BLOW OF WAR

OVER 2500 TONS

Forty-three Allied Planes Missing

N.Z Press Association-Copyright Kec. 10 a.m. LONDON, Feb if? Bomber Command planes 'i a *i night took the offensive Germany in very great strf™ flying in. all operations moJe tftn' 1000 sorties, reports an Air Mmist?v communique. The main oStive was Berlin, where well over 2500 tons of high explosive and incendiarv bombs were dropped ar 5 Crews of Mosquitoes, which were over the target after the main force left, reported a very large a w fire with smoke rising to a height of 20.000 feet. neight In addition to the main attack Lancasters made a feint attack on Frankfurt-on-Oder, 50 miles east nf Berlin, while Mosquitoes bombed objectives in western Germany and H? land. Many mines were also laid m enemy waters. Forty-three of our planes are missing. All Over in Twenty Minutes The raid was carried out in densest cloud. It was comparatively uneventful except for the people of Berlin, says a Press Association correspondent at a bomber station somewhere in England. Bombing began soon after 9 pm and was all over in about 20 minutes. The cloud prevented the observation of results, but the crews saw a big red glow below them The crews from one station reported that, with one or two exceptions the anti-aircraft fire was not unusual. Few night-fighters were met, although many fighter flares were dropped. Thirty-five planes from this station participated in the operation and all came back. None showed even a scratch. The Press Association aviation writer says last night's load of bombs dropped on Berlin was the biggest weight ever unloaded on a single target. This raid was the fifteenth major assault since the battle of Berlin began on November 18. The last heavy attack was on January 30, when over 1500 tons of bombs were dropped. A similar tonnage was dropped on Berlin on January 27 and 2S. Berlin radio's version of last night's R.A.F. attack, was: "The British air Huns made another terror attack against Berlin last night. They used favourable weather conditions, the cloud cover over Berlin being thick, to drop their bombs at random over various districts. Extremely heavy anti-aircraft fire met the terror planes and shot down a number over the city area. "Damage was caused, particularly in residential districts. Several churches and hospitals were hit. The brave Berlin population, which once more stood up to the enemy terror with hard determination, suffered casualties."