ANGLO-U.S.A. BLITZ

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 March 1945, Page 5

ANGLO-U.S.A. BLITZ

FURTHER HEAVY ATTACKS

THOUSANDS OF PLANES USED RUGBY, March 21. Another 24 hours intense activity against Germany is announced by American and British air forces. About 1300 United States Fortresses and Liberators escorted by more than 700 Mustangs attacked nine airfields in North-west Germany, and. a tank plant at Plauen south of Leipzig, in clear weather this morning. Some airfields are bases for jet-propelled ME 262’5.

R.A.F. Lancasters escorted by R.A.F. Mustangs, this morning made a heavy attack on the oil refinery at Bremen. The R.A.F. last night bombed synthetic oil plant at Ejohlen, southward of Leipzig, and an oil refinery at Hemmingstadt near Heide in SchleswigHolstein. • Mosquitos attacked Berlin, Kassel and Bremen. More than 900 R.A.F. bombers were engaged in these and other operations yesterday. Thirteen bombers and one fighter (pilot of which is safe) are missing.

A Mediterranean air communique says: The Allies flew more than 3000 sorties yesterday for the loss of 18 aircraft, including five heavy bombers. Three enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground and three in the "air. This morning, R.A.F. Lancasters with 22,000 pound and other bombs, attacked a railway bridge across the Weser in the neighbourhood of Bremen. This afternoon another force of Lancasters escorted by Spitfires made a heavy attack on railway yards at Munster on the main line from Osnabruck to the Ruhr. Reconnaissance has furnished fresh evidence of the destructive power of ten ton bombs. The Arnsberg railway viaduct has collapsed info the river, either because of a direct hit, or because a bomb exploded in the bed of the river and undermined the foundations. Two spans of about 100 feet long are down. The embankment leading to the viaduct is also cut over a distance of 115 feet by a vast crater, the centre of which is at the base of the embankment. Rails are hanging over the gaps. 150 GERMAN’PLANES LOST.

I LONDON, March 21. . At the northern end of the Rhine front, German road and rail communications were blasted by large forces of Allied aircraft yesterday. Fifty German aircraft were shot down and 100 destroyed on the ground. “Desperate German efforts to reinforce tne northern Rhine front facing Marshal Montgomery’s armies brought British and American Tactical Air Force pilots out in strength on Tuesday,” says Reuter’s correspondent with the 2nd Air Force. “They heavily attacked hedgehog positions forming bottlenecks on road and rail routes from the east. Heavy bombers pounded Hamm and targets in the north-eastern tip of the Ruhr. They also ranged over German communications from Arnhem to well east of the Rhine bend. The targets included oil storage tanks in Amsterdam.” TTr _ , Bright weather on Wednesday enabled Allied air forces to sweep out early in strength in continuation of. a massive assault, stated their correspondent at Supreme Allied Headquarters. The Germans on Tuesday put up the heaviest anti-aircraft barrage thus far encountered by R.A.F. planes, which were out to destroy all rail and road communications in the northern German plain. Enemy traffic to the northern front was brought to a standstill. At least 117 German planes were destroyed or damaged on Tuesday. Five were brought down in combat and 112 hit on the ground. The Germans are trying new ways of camouflaging rolling stock, in a desperate effort to get supplies to their front Typhoon pilots on Tuesday saw a line of coaches with rails and sleepers painted along the roofs. Flak cars protect the few trains that are struggling to a front over damaged lines. JET PLANES DESTROYED. An American Air Force struck at nine German airfields including jet plane bases with 1100 heavy bombers of a total of 1300 engaged this morning. Almost simultaneously other heavy bombers attacked the plant at Plauen south of Leipzig, which is turning out tanks and other armament. Seven hundred Mustangs accompanied the total force of heavies. They shot down at least nine jet plan in combat and destroyed at least 40 planes, mostly of other types in ground strafing attacks. The airfields attacked were in the area of Noith west Germany, between Wilhelnshafen, Bremen, Munster and the Dutch border. Some airfields received “one-two-three punch. The Fortresses dropped bombs from a noi - mal height, escorting fighters armed with fragmentation bombs caved at low altitude to cover the dispersal area then lower still to shoot up planes on the ground which had been missed in the first two attacks. A colonel, who is a veteran combat pilot, and now director of bombers on General Doolittle’s staff, said the attacks were designed to check the recently accelerated activity of jet planes against both air and ground forces. Another officer said: The Jerries had some very fine dummies one end of the field, but they did not fool us. We searched for the planes parked in the woods and made a mess of them.” LARGE AREA AFLAME.

(Rec. 12.10 p.m.) LONDON, March 21. ' Front-line hedge-hog towns guarding the approaches from the Rhine to Bremen and Hanover and also the marshalling yards of the entire North German plain and a great group oi Luftwaffe airfields north and northeast of the Ruhr were to-night aflame and covered with palls of smoke rising in some cases 10,000 feet, stated Reuter’s correspondent with the Tactical Air Force to-night. The unrelenting all-out assault by the British and American Tactical Air Forces against German front line targets from the Ruhr to Holland today was stepped up with powerful assistance from R.A.F. Bomber Command and the Eighth and Ninth American Army Air Forces. Ceaseless raids, which started at the first light of dawn, were concentrated at first against the German river front defences facing the American Ninth Army. Medium bombers from the Ninth American Air Force, escorted by British fighters, fought through a cordon of flak to pound the key communication centres of the Koesfeld and Dulmen, both about 30 miles north-east of Wesel. Tactical Air Force medium bombers started numerous fires, many of which were oil blazes, in marshalling yards at Bocholt, 12 miles north of Wesel, while fighter-bombers went in low to demolish one train and many rail trucks in the strategic centre of Winterswijk, at the approaches to the V country. Simultaneously medium bombers and rocket-firing planes were over Dorstein. Isselburg, Anholt, Bocholt, and Haltern pounding railyards to rubble and reducing roads to stretches of closely-knit craters. AUSTRIAN OIL REFINERY (Rec. 10.5 a.m.) LONDON, March 21. Nearly 1000 Italy-based Liberators and Fortresses yesterday attacked the Kornburg Oil refinery 10 miles

north of Vienna, reports the Exchange Telegraph Rome correspondent. The refinery which specialises in lubricating oils was left in flames. Other heavy bombers cut the Vienna-Munich railway at Weis and heavily damaged railyards at Amstetten and Saint Polten.

GERMANS AS “DUCK SOUP”

MIAMI, March 20.

General Arnold, at a Press conference, said: Germany’s jet-propelled planes have not inflicted the damage the Nazis have claimed. They have shot down very few of our aircraft. We have shot down more jet-planes than we expected. Germany to-day has probably more aeroplanes than ever, but has no air force, because our attacks have practically destroyed her oil industry. Hence German pilots lack proper training, and become “duck soup” for our airmen. However, we are getting little opposition. The Japanese air force is also suffering a decline in skilled personnel, many of whom have been left on by-passed islands. GESTAPO IN DENMARK. (Rec. 11 a.m.) LONDON, March 21. Thirty R.A.F. Mosquitos this morning bombed and destroyed the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen. The German Army Headquarters was also blasted, reports the Danish Press Service. Reuter’s correspondent with the. Second Tactical Air Force, confirms the destruction of the Gestapo Headquarters. He says that Mosquitos went in in three waves at low level. According to the Stockholm radio Danish attacked the Gestapo headquarters after the R.A.F. raid releasing many imprisoned compatriots. including several wellknown Danes. Many Gestapo officials were killed.

RAIDS ON ENGLAND LONDON, March 21. A few piloted enemy aircraft crossed the coast of southern England last night, some penetrating inland. Bombs were dropped on the outskirts of two towns and also near a village. TRANS-ATLANTIC RECORD. MONTREAL, March 21. An R.A.F. Transport Liberator flew non-stop from Montreal to London, 3346 miles, in 13 hours 34 minutes. assisted by very favourable winds. The previous record was 14 hours. EXHIBITION’S TOUR RUGBY, March 21. The R.A.F. exhibition now touring France and Belgium, has already attracted well over 1,750,000 visitors The exhibition, comprising photographic and physical exhibits, opened bv Air Marshal Sir A. Coningham, in Brussels in November, ran for eight weeks, and was visited by 750.000 people. It ran for a similar period in Paris. Both the French and Belgians have swarmed round the various exhibits, showing particular interest in photographic enlargements of bomb damage in Britain, living bomb damage, and the results of R.A.F. damage to German industrial centres.