NEW BOMBING RECORD

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 36, 6 November 1943, Page 5

NEW BOMBING RECORD

Wednesday’s Allied Raids In West (British Official Wireless and Press Assn.) LONDON, November 4. An Air Ministry communique states that the R.A.F.’s bombing of Dusseldorf last night, was concentrated and ettective< _ , j A small force attacked Cologne, and Mosquitoes bombed objectives in the Ruhr and the Rhineland. Enemy waters were mined, and at least four enemy planes were destroyed by bombers. Fighter Command planes and intruder patrols attacked targets in France and the Low Countries and destroyed one enemy plane. Nineteen of ours are missing.

Over 2000 tons of bombs were dropped on Dusseldorf in last night’s raid. This brought the weight of bombs dropped yesterday by R.A.F. and American aircraft to 4000 tons-the greatest weight ever dropped in German and German-oc-cupied territory in 24 hours.

As in previous attacks on Germany’s great industrial cities, a path-finder force of the Bomber Command arrived oyer Dusseldorf just before zero hour. It was their task to mark out the targets with brilliant flares, and a few minutes after the attack had opened the crews in the great striking force which followed the path-finders could see flares burning for a long time on the ground. The actual bombardment was all over in 27 minutes. The attack was a race against time, as fog was possible at any time after midnight. The bombers reached Dusseldorf shortly before 8 o clock and were back at their airfields well Before midnight. „ ~ , With the R.A.F. over Dusseldorf was the biggest force of Canadian heavy bombers ever sent out from this country. Of the 19 missing four were Canadian. The United States Secretary of War, Mr. Stimson, described yesterday’s American attack on Wilhelmshaven as the greatest daylight air attack in mstory. Over a thousand planes took part.