Allied Air Assault

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 58, 9 March 1944, Page 5

Allied Air Assault

LONDON, March 8. In another powerful blow against Berlin today, United States heavy bombers dropped more than 10,000 high-explosive bombs and 350,000 incendiaries. This followed a heavy R.A.F. night attack on the railway yards at Le Mans, 110 miles south-west of Paris, one of the main railway yards between Paris and the so-called Atlantic wall.

At lunch time today the streets of Berlin ■ echoed again to the throb of a great fleet of American bombers in the sky overhead. For the second time in three days formation after formation of Liberators, racing across miles of sky, sought out the capital's remaining war plants. Long-range British and American fighters escorted the bombers, and according to the Germans there were fierce battles with the Luftwaffe interceptors. • [ This was the fourth American raid over the Berlin district within six days, and the second heavy attack. On Monday Fortresses1 and Liberators bombed the city's airfields and other \ targets. The first American planes were over Berlin on Friday. They were followed next day by Fortresses, blazing a trail for'this week's great assault. ■ . . ■ One of the first Mustang pilots to return from today's raid said that the German defences were just as fierce as they were on- Monday. There was hardly a cloud in the sky-, but soon the air was filled with black puffs of anti-aircraft fire- and swarms of German fighters. The Germans say that the American bombers crossed the Dutch coast at a great, height, divided up into seven huge box formations, and were covered by a very strong fighter force. There were fierce battles for 200 miles before the bombers reacted Berlin, and then. there were battles over the city itself. A correspondent at an American air base said that the bomber force was about two-thirds as strong as that sent out on Monday, but the fighter escort •was the largest which has ever taken the air. More than 1000 fighters were out, and some of them made two sorties. ' •. _ A communique from United States "headquarters says that one of the main targets was a ball-bearing factory in the. eastern suburbs of Berlin. American bomber losses appear to be considerably lower than in Mon- ' day's attack over Berlin, and a large number of enemy aircraft were destroyed. HEAVY DAMAGE IN HOLLAND. . While the heavy bombers were on 'their way to Berlin, American medium bombers flew to within 15 miles of the German border to bomb an airfield in Holland. This was one of ■ two airfields which were attacked by 150 Marauders, escorted by R.A.*., Dominion, and Allied fighters. Heavy damage was done, and the formations returned without the loss of a single bomber or fighter. Later Marauders agsin went out across the Channel to make an assault on another airfield. A, few hours before this attack a big force of British Halifaxes and Lan- . casters returned from a night raid on L^ Mans, which is an important distributing centre for German-con-trolled traffic botfnd for the .Germancontrolled ports of Nantes, Brest, LorienVand. St. Nazaire. The bombing was again concentrated. . ■ Photographs taken during the Fly--inc'Fortresses' attack on Toulon yesterday showed hits in the dock yard area, an ammunition plant, and among TJ-bpatslfand other vessels in the bay.