BOMBS ON GERMANY

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 March 1945, Page 5

BOMBS ON GERMANY

MANY CENTRES RAIDED

HAMBURG, RUHR & BERLIN RUGBY, March 22.

R.A.F. bombers, this afternoon, were over Germany in great strength. Heavy attacks were made by Halifaxes and Lancasters, escorted by Spitfires and Mustangs, on Bocholt, Dorsten, - and Dulmen, an advance base for the defence of the lower Rhine, north and east of Wesel. A heavy attack was also made on the rail and industrial town of Hildesheim. The, offensive against German rail bridges was also continued by Lancasters, escorted by American Mustangs.* Two railway bridges were attacked with 10-ton bombs.

More than 1300 United States Flying Fortresses, 'and Liberators in clear weather to-day attacked nine German Army stations in the Ruhr Valley, and five enemy airfields, including jet-plane bases in northwestern and southern Germany. Over 700 Mustangs provided the escort and attacked targets in central Germany. The targets included army encampments and concentration centres in the Ruhr at nine places, and five airfields.

An Anglo-American communique states: In daylight yesterday escorted R.A.F. bombers continued the offensive against enemy railways and oil plants. Last night, two attacks were made on Berlin, one by the largest force of Mosquitos yet despatched to the German capital. Lancasters attacked an oil refinery at Hamburg and a benzol plant between Bochum and Dortmund. Over 1000 R.A.F. bombers were engaged, of which 12 are missing. Ten airfields in Western Germany and a tank plant south of Leipzig were attacked yesterday by 1400 escorted Allied heavy bombers. Forty-three enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground. In other Allied operations 19 enemy aircraft were shot down. Altogether nine Allied heavy bombers, five medium and light bombers, and 21 fighters are missing.

TOWNS IN FLAMES LONDON, March 22. Crews of Tactical Air Force medium bombers returning from attacks on Dovsten, north of the Ruhr, reported they had not passed over a single sizeable town that was not aflame. “It* really is staggering how anyone can continue to exist in that inferno. It is beyond me,” said one pilot. The attack on Dovsten was one of a series which medium bombers carried out in the area opposite Marshal Montgomery’s front including marshalling yards and junctions in Bocholf, Borken and Isselburg. A British United Press correspondent stated: Allied aircraft on Wednesday flew 6200 sorties in attacks against German targets. An all-out air attack against every type of objective on the north German plain was renewed in great strength at dawn on Thursday after all nightlong activity by Mosquitos over an area from the Dutch coast to the Ruhr.

LUFTWAFFE MASTERED. LONDON, March 22. “The Royal Air Force Bomber Command in the morning and the afternoon continued the campaign to isolate the Ruhr from Central Germany,” says the Air Ministry News Service. “They dropped 22,0001 b bombs in attacks against a railway bridge across.. the Weser in the neighbourhood of Bremen. A heavy attack was made later against the railway yards at Muenster. The attacks were aimed at stopping • the supply of coal from the Ruhr to industries. Coal is already piling up near the mines. , “A strong force of Royal Air Force bombers in the afternoon attacked railway yards at Rheiner. “The 9th Tactical Air Force flew 700 sorties deep behind the German lines, and claim that three railway bridges were destroyed near Warburg, 100 miles east of the Remagen bridgehead.” " n , Reuter, summarising the day s widespread operations, says: “The Luftwaffe was completely smothered, and the air forces have established their complete mastery of the German skies.”

ESCAPE ROUTES COVERED.

(Rec. Noon). LONDON, March 22

The whole great back door to Berlin between the Ruhr Valley and Bremen was put under Allied bomb and rocket fire, to-day, as the Air Forces switched from the captured Saar and the virtually cleared Palatinate to prepare the forthcoming onslaught of which General Eisenhower warned the Reich, says the Associated Press correspondent at Supreme Headquarters. Day and night Allied air blows against the Ruhr amount to the slow relentless crippling of the whole north-west Germany. The huge area of rolling plain east of the Rhine, against which the Allies have been solidly encamped for weeks is being systematically deprived of the power of movement which constitutes ability to resist a modern full-scale onslaught. The Press Association’s correspondent says that over 100 Mosquitos took part in the raid on Berlin. The jubilant airmen described the raid as “the best yet.” The bombs they dropped brought the total taken to Berlin by Mosquitos to about 2000 tons in 30 successive nights. During the night thev also bombed ten marshalling yards north of the Ruhr. The unrelenting air attack on the Germans’ last escape routes from the Palatinate, yesterday, caused a large German column to halt, wave .white flags and await capture by the Seventh Army, reports Reuter’s correspondent at Supreme Headquarters. The Germans west of the Rhine are now herded in a 300 square mile triangle pocket, originally 5000 square miles. The German positions at the east end of the Siegfried Line are holding fairly strongly in a desperate effort to keep open the last avenues for flight. The Seventh Army yesterday took prisoner 6000. The provision of transport for the mounting German prisoners is becoming a problem.

MEDITERRANEAN AREA RUGBY, March 22. . For the fourth successive day the Mediterranean Tactical Air Force yesterday sent over a thousand medium and fighter bombers to blast enemy supply areas in Italy, Austria and Jugoslavia, states a Rome correspondent. The most outstanding attack of the day was when fighterbombers —Mustangs and Kittyhawks attacked Venice Harbour, while Tunderbolts shot up the harbour anti-aircraft defences in support of the assault. A 3000-ton vessel was set on fire, and hits were scored on the stern of a second mechantman. A third ship was also damaged. Hits were also scored on an escort vessel, and two barges and a supply barge were set on fire. An explosion was seen on docks and warehouses, and flame shot up 5000 feet. A Mediterranean Air communique states: The Allies flew 2573 sorties Three enemy aircraft were destroyed in combat, and eight Allied aircraft, including three heavy bombars, are missing. BRITAIN’S FIRE GUARDS. RUGBY, March 22. All fire guards in Britain will stand down from Saturday next. Stating this in the Commons, the Home Secretary and Minister of Home Security said: “Should enemy attacks against this country make it necessary, I am sure

the fire guards will again resume duty promptly if called upon. Fire guard duty has been irksome but the value to the country inestimable. I should like to acknowledge the debt we owe to the fire guards for thd constant vigilance in defence of our industries and homes. Mr. Morrison added it would still be necessary to maintain a reasonable standard of civil defence arrangements in establishments which already had such arrangements. ‘ FOUR NEWRECORDS. RUGBY, March 22. Four world flying records have been established by air crews of Allied Eastern Air Command flying British and American aircraft. Firstly, il is now disclosed that Liberators completed on an operational mission a round flight of more than 3000 miles. This is equivalent to a Lon-don-based heavy bomber making a non-stop return flight to Moscow or Istanbul, bombed up. The R.A.F. squadron who achieved this feat were in the air for periods varying from just under 17 hours to just over 19 hours.

Secondly, an R.A.F. Mosquito flew a round flight of more than 2400 miles on a photographic reconnaissance mission in eight hours 50 minutes. ■ This is equivalent to a Mosquito taking off from a London airfield and making a non-stop return flight to Leningrad or Sofia. Thirdly, R.A.F. Beaufighters in January, operating from a base in India, attacked two coasters off Tavoy (Burma), 200 miles south-east of Rangoon and left them in flames. The attack was well inside the Japanese fighter defence arc and the flight was of 1350 miles. This is equivalent to fighters based in southeast England shooting up targets in Prague or Milan and returning safely. The fourth record was set up last week, when United States Mustangs achieved, a complete tactical surprise in shooting ,up Don Muang airfield, Bangkok, Siam. This is equivalent to London-based fighters shooting up airfields in Vienna. They destroyed 31 Japanese planes, probably destroyed five others, and damaged eight.