MASS AERIAL RAIDS

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 November 1944, Page 2

MASS AERIAL RAIDS

GERMAN PLANTS ATTACKED WIDE AREA COVERED i LONDON, November 5. 1 More than 1100 Fortresses and Liberators of the Bth Air Force, escorted by more than 800 Thunderbolts and Mustangs, on Saturday attacked syni thetic oil plants, oil refineries, marshalling yards, and other targets in I Germany. The objectives included I synthetic oil plants and refineries in i the Hamburg and the Harburg area in Northern Germany, in the Ruhr, mihi tary targets in the Hanover region, and I railway yards at Saarbruecken, in the Saar basin. , , „ , The Air Ministry states that Royal Air -Force Mosquitoes without loss attacked Berlin on Friday night. “Escorted Royal Air Force Bomber Command Lancasters attacked in daylight yesterday the “Sheffield” of Germany—the town of Solingen, a few miles south of the Ruhr, famous because of its light engineering industry. The town has been a useful advanced base for the German a rr pyThe bombers made a cloud attack with sky markers. The enemy was completely surprised and the bombing was almost over before the defences could get going. For the first time in daylight the Germans shot up a number of “scarecrows’ which have often been used at night to give the impression of aircraft falling in flames. No fighters came near the bombers or their escort. Bombing was very concentrated, and smoke was rising 8000 feet when the bombers left.” “Five hours after the Lancasters’ daylight attack on Solingen, more than 1000 Bomber Command aircraft were over Germany last evening with Bochum as the target,” says the Air Ministry. “Bochum is one of the principal centres of the Ruhr coal and iron industry, and is an important advance base with three marshalling yards capable of handling 11,000 waggons every 24 hours.” “Twenty Royal Air Force Typhoons attacked a one-man human torpedo factory at Utecht at midday yesterday, when it was known that Dutch workers would be absent,” reports Reuter’s correspondent at Supreme Allied Headquarters. “Twelve direct hits were scored and oil fires blazed up.” The Exchange Telegraph Agency says 40 Thunderbolts, after a force of German aeroplanes had evaded combat, yesterday followed them to their home airfield 10 miles west of Neuss. The Thunderbolts bombed hangars and destroyed 12 of them.” FURTHER ATTACKS. RUGBY, November 5. Railway marshalling yards at Frankfurt, Karlsruhe and Ludwigshaven were attacked on Sunday by more than 1200 United States bombers, Liberators and Fortresses, escorted by approximately 650 Mustangs and Thunderbolts. On Sunday afternoon R.A.F. Lancasters, escorted by Spitfires and Mustangs, made another attack in Solingen. When R.A.F. Lancasters and Halifaxes last night made the heaviest attack yet launched on Bodhum, well over 3000 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombers were dropped. Tochum is one of the main centres of the steel industry in the Ruhr and an important railway town. The weather was clear. When smoke from great circles of fires threatened to hide the target, wind quickly blew it away. The crews saw many explosions from which black smoke rose to' a height of several thousand feet. AH the defences of the Ruhr came into action, and large numbers of night fighters were seen.

The JUB7 sent crashing in flames beneath the nose of the Nazi searchlights and flak crews on an airfield in North-west Germany at midnight on Saturday by a Mosquito of the R.A.F. Fighter Command was one ol the three, enemy aircraft destroyed in one of the Command’s busiest nights since the beginning of October. The Nazi plane was just about to land and Nazi anti-aircraft defences opened up too late to save the Junkers. A New Zealand Mosquito crewbagged one MEI 10 over Antwerp, and a Heinkel 111 flying bomb launching aircraft was shot down over the North Sea by a Beaufighter.

53 U.S.A. PLANES MISSING

(Rec 1.15 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 5. The “Daily Telegraph” states that more than 5000 Allied planes struck shattering blows against German war industries and communications during the 24 hours ended this afternoon.

A U.S.A.A.F. communique says: Thirty bombers and 23 fighters havenot returned from to-day’s raids on German railways marshalling yards, but a number, including six fighters, are believed to have landed on friendly territory. BAID IN DENMARK.

STOCKHOLM, Nov. 4

The Free Danish Press Service says ’that the Royal Air Force raid on the Gestapo headquarters at Aarhus on October 31 killed 110 and wounded 40 members of the Gestapo. ALLIES’ AERIAL STRENGTH

RUGBY, November 5

“We have given the enemy .surprises in the air and there will be more to come, so we must expect the Germans in their turn to produce new weapons which will be militarily less futile than flying bombs,” declared the Secretary of State for Air (Sir ; Archibald Sinclair), speaking at Hull. He said the whole operational strength of the Luftwaffe’s long-range bomber force was now only a quarter of what it was in June, 1940, whereas the Royal Air Force Bomber Command could now drop nearly 20 times the tonnage it could then. In addition, the United States Army air forces in Britain and Italy were now dropping as much as the Bomber Command. Sir Archibald said that in the last six months the Bomber Command had dropped as big a tonnage of bombs as it had in all the previous mouths of the war put together. In October the Bomber Command and the United States Army air.forces working from Britain had dropped 100,000 tons, which was far greater than the entire weight of bombs, including flying bombs, that Germany had dropped on Britain in the whole course of the war. The Bomber Command in 24 hours had dropped more than twice the tonnage of bombs which the Germans had dropped on Britain during the four months and a half, since they first launched flying bombs. Yet; in October the Bomber Command’s rate of loss in night attacks on Germany was less than oneeighth of what it was in June, and was encouragingly low, even in daylight attacks. FLYING BOMB RAIDS. LONDON. November 5. Damage and casualties were caused last night when the Germans resumed their flying bomb attacks against Southern England, including London areas.

The Press Association says people stood in the streets of east coast •towns and cheered as gunners shot flying bombs into the sea. One bomb which got through was held by searchlights until fighters shot it down. A fighter destroyed a Heinkel 111 flying bomb carrier over the North Sea.

Last night the enemy directed flying bombs against Southern England, including the London area, states an official communique. Damage and casualties were caused.

AERONAUTICS COLLEGE LONDON, November 5. Plans for a College of Aeronautics which would be a backbone of future civil aviation are outlined in a report by a special committee. The cost would be £2,500,000. If the construction of a permanent college should not be practicable without serious delay, the committee suggests the adaptation of an R.A.F. station as a temporary measure immediately after the European war.