MOSQUITOES BOMB COLOGNE

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24258, 16 May 1944, Page 5

MOSQUITOES BOMB COLOGNE

Deep Thrusts By Allied Fighters OTHER TARGETS IN LOW COUNTRIES (N.Z, Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 11 p.m.) LONDON, May 15. Royal Air Force Mosquitoes last night bombed Cologne. Other aircraft attacked military targets in France and the Low Countries, and laid mines in enemy waters. German aircraft dropped bombs over a wide area in south and south-west England last night, causing some damage and casualties. Fourteen enemy aircraft v. eiv shot down over England during the night and one over Franco. No Allied aircraft were lost in the night’s operations. To-day aircraft, including Marauders. were seen crossing the Straits of Dover in large numbers. The fact that the spell of calm, fine, summer-like weather in tie Straits of Dover gave place on Sunday to cold north-easterly winds of almost gale strength may have accounted for the small-scale Allied cross-Channel air operations. Mosquitoes patrolling eastern France shot down a Messerschmitt 111. Spitfires over France shot up a freight train. Long-Distance Attacks United Slrtes 9th Air Force fighters set two new distance records on Saturday. Thunderbolt fighter-bombers, late in the al'lernoOn. made , the longest range dive-bomber attack ever down from Britain, striking at the municipal airfield al Bremen, in Germany. Earlier, Mustang fighters escorting. heavy bombers to Stettin, in eastern Germany, made the longest fighter round trip in the history of the 9th Air Force, The dive-bombing attack of 700 miles in all carried the Thunderbolts 100 miles further into enemy i territory than any other such attack yet made. Two of the fighter-bombers failed to return..

Alter 26 days of pounding transport and military targets, in occupied Europe, aircraft of the 2nd Tactical Air Force had a virtual day of rest on Sunday, when bad weather reduced operations. Spitfire fighters, however, taking advantage of more favourable conditions later in the day, harassed the enemy. Aircralt of one squadron attacked a 1000-tori vessel off Flushing and left it blazing amidships. Another squadron “trailed its coat” in search of, trouble in the area east of Paris, bounded by Reims. Melun, and Compiegne. No German fighters responded, but 20 barges were attacked with cannon fire, strikes being observed on many. ■ . The Air Ministry states: Beaufighters of Coastal Command, escorted by Mustangs, attacked a stronglyguarded enemy convoy off the Dutch 'coast on Sunday afternoon. Two merchant vessels were hit with torpedoes and one of the escort, vessels wrs left listing heavily. One Beaufighter is missing.”

Record Trip Across Atlantic MosqUitoes have made" the iastest trip yet' across the Atlantic. They covered the 2200 miles journey from North America in six hours 46 minutes, which i? two hours and 10 minutes better than tire previous record. The Mosquitoes, which were built in Canada, were powered b” Americanbuilt Rolls-Royce Merlin ’ engines. A British-imilt Mosquito, flown by a Russian pilot, recently covered the distance between Britain and an airfield near Moscow in four and a half hours’ flying time, reports the Moscow correspondent of “The Times.” The Mosquito, which was aided by a strong following wind, is believed to have established a record between the two countries. '