ALLIES’ AERIAL OFFENSIVE

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 January 1944, Page 6

ALLIES’ AERIAL OFFENSIVE

WEEK’S 8,000 SORTIES

LUFTWAFFE INACTIVE • LONDON, January 9. Allied aircraft yesterday concluded the most intense week of air assaults against Europe of the war, carrying out a total of 8000 sorties. In the afternoon Royal Air Force, Dominion, and Allied fighters carried out offensive patrols over Northern France. One enemy aircraft was destroyed. Mosquitoes of Bomber Command again attacked targets in Western Germany last night. One aircraft is missing. , Great forces of British and American aeroplanes, each many hundreds strong, ranged over Europe in fine weather on Friday, sweeping over the big Luftwaffe bases and industrial areas of Germany and France without sighting a single enemy fighter. Even the United States aeroplanes, which thrust over 400 miles into the German industrial belts, were unchallenged. The only opposition came from the ground defences. The Air Ministry states that Royal Air Force Mitchell and Boston medium bombers and Typhoon fighterbombers opened the assault with successful attacks against various targets in Northern France, including" the Maupertus airfield on the Cherbourg Peninsula. Afterwards Typhoon "fighters swept the peninsula. The medium bombers were escorted and covered by Royal Air Force and Allied fighters. The Typhoon fighter-bombers were supported by Royal Air Force fighters. Two hundred United States Marauder medium bombers attacked military objectives in Northern France without loss. They were escorted and covered by Royal Air Force, Dominion, and Allied fighters, and extended their record of consecutive sorties without loss io more than 1700. It was, in addition, the eighth attack which Marauders, without loss, have carried out against the same targets since December 12. Not until Mosquito bombers, escorted by Spitfires, also Typhoons and Hurricane fighter-bombers, attacked targets in Northern France late in the afternoon did the Luftwaffe make a fleeting appearance, in which three Fockc Wulf 190’s were destroyed and three were damaged. Wing Commander R. D. Yule, D.F.C. and Bar, a veteran of the Battles of France and Britain, shot down one Focke Wulf. The Mosquito attack brought the number of aeroplanes operating against Northern France on Friday to approximately 750. Strong forces of United States Flying Fortresses and Liberators attacked targets in South-western Germany on Friday. They were escorted by American fighters and given withdrawal support by United States, Royal Air Force; Dominion, and Allied fighters. A German communique says British and American bombers on Friday attacked Ludwigshaven and Mannheim, causing considerable damage. On Friday night Mosquitoes of Bomber Command without loss attacked objectives in Western Germany, states the Air Ministry. The Press Association’s aviation writer states that the entire absence of German fighters from the European skies on Friday is the clearest indication yet of the British and American Air Forces’ complete mastery of the air and the Luftwaffe’s urgent need to conserve aeroplanes. Although the Germans have stepped up I heir fighter strength in Western Europe by 1000 aeroplanes a year, it is evident that they still are not prepared to risk inevitable losses m air clashes. This is the first time that United States aeroplanes have penetrated so deeply into Germany and have not met fighter opposition. The Germans have frequently neglected a target in occupied territory, but they have never failed to make a desperate bid to save one of their own important war centres. According to the Stockholm newspaper “Afton Bladet,” Stettin harbour is almost unusable after the Royal Air Force raid on January 5. The Swedish Foreign Office has announced that the Swedish Consulate in Stettin was destroyed in the same raid.

RAIN LIMITS ACTIVITY.

RUGBY, January 9

R.A.F. fighters, including Typhoons, crossed the Straits of Dover towards Northern France on several occasions during the morning, according to Press messages. Small groups of fighters were seen returning. The weather again restricted big-scale activity however, and in the afternoon conditions became worse, as the result of rain and mist, visibility being very poor.

JET-PROPULSION PLANE

LONDON, January 9

The Daily Express city editor says: •News of the jet-propulsion plane caused a bigger stir in London on Friday than any invention of recent years. It sent speculators hurrying to sell aircraft-propellor shares on the theory that they may be adversely .affected. The shares of companies believed to be concerned in the development of jet propulsion planes were eagerly ‘bought. People also came, panicking, to sell Pvolls-Royce £1 shares, which dropped 3/- to 10-/-. Shares of the De Haviland Co. which has big propellor interests were bought because people associated the Company with the new invention. It may be a long -time before jet planes affect the earnings of the aircraft industry. Their disturbing influence on shares prices should soon wear off. • The Associated Press of Great Britain says: Major Alexander de Seversky, the noted aeronautical designer, is of the opinion that jet-propelled aircraft would not be employed extensively for distance flying. He believes its high fuel consumption will -limit jet-propulsion to home defence interceptors and to heavy carrierbased bombers. It also might permit heavier bomb loads for existing bombers, and give them added speed ioi avoiding attackers. COMMAND CHANGES

RUGBY, Jan. 8. The Air Ministry announces that Air Marshal Sir JohnSlessor has been appointed deputy to Lieutenant-Gen-eral Ira C. Eaker, Air Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean. He will command all the Royal Air Force units under Lieutenant-General Eaker. The appointment of Air Chief Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas, formerly air commander in the Middle East, as Commander-in-Chief, Coastal Command, Roval ’Air Force, is also announced. Sir John Slessor has commanded the Coastal Command since November, 1942. GEN. ARNOLD’S COMMENT. WASHINGTON. January 7. The belief that the minute Germany is knocked out of the air the Germans will crack, was expressed by the Chief of the United States Armv Air Forces (General Arnold). “The Germans will then know that the war is lost,” said General Arnold. “Three-fourths of Berlin is destroyed. We are ffoing ahead to complete the job. We are picking out war centres throughout Germany and wining them out. This, of course, will take sometime. We have knocked Japan’s first team out of the air and we are working rapidly on the second team. The Luftwaffe’s first team is now limited al-

most entirely to attempting to stave off British and American bombers, but instead of slowing down the British and American bombing we are stepping up Germany’s destruction.”

BERLIN’S RECONSTRUCTION (Reed. 11.16 a.m.) LONDON, Jan. 9. Dr. Goebbels is making elaborate plans to rebuild the enormous bomb--1 devastated areas of Berlin. He has mustered 125 of the best architects in Germany whose task it will be to make Berlin the largest city of Europe. | Writing in “Das Reich,” Goebbels I announced that the new Berlin would be 30 miles in diametei’ and have a population of ten million. Squares and ornamental lakes will decorate the city and make a real garden city, he said. i Before the war Berlin’s population was 4| million. The area of the city 'proper was 27 miles and Greater Berlin covered 340 square miles. According to Swedish correspondents the British air raids have destroyed 50 per cent of the city and badly damaged another 25 per cent.