NEW HAVOC BOMBERS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21385, 21 April 1944, Page 3

NEW HAVOC BOMBERS

TRY-OUT OVER FRANCE WEAPON FOR INVASION (9 a.m) LONDON, April 20. United States Marauder and Havoc bombers yesterday attacked military objectives on the coast of northern France. They were escorted and covered by Royal Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force, and Allied Spitfires and Thunderbolts. This is the first time that the Havoc, A2O, American light bomber, has been mentioned in an official raid report. The Havocs began operations over western Europe on March 7 when a small force of light bombers attacked the fighter airfields at Conches, 60 miles west of Paris.

Intelligence reports showed that the first mission was exceptionally accurate. On March 18, 19, and 20, Havocs, in slightly greater strength, invaded the heavily-ciefended area of northern France to bomb military objectives. Yesterday Havocs joined the Marauders in u strong attack on the railway yards near Charleroi, in Belgium and also. bombed a power plant at Mon-ceau-sur-Sambre near tne rail centre. They scored bomb hits on about 60 freight cars in the yards and a large railwav engine shed. Equipped with a new dorsal power turret and flying with a far greater capacity aid range, the new Havoc will be employed by the Ninth Air Force as an attack bomber to precede and cover the movement of Allied surface forces into Europe. A highly mobile plane that is frequently operated from quickly lrnPrevised landing strips, the Havoc will be one of the first American bombers to be based upon and fly from the Continent once the footholds are established. Havocs fall into the light bomber class. They have the speed and manoeuvrability of a light bomber but can carry a large bomb load at altitudes up* to 15,000 ft. They are armed with forward and real-firing machine-guns as well as guns in tne dorsal turret which can sweep 300 degrees. Like its companion bomber the Maraudei, the Havoc is equally effective against small moving targets such as armoured cars and troop units in the most fluid battle area and large stationary objectives hundreds of miles behind the front.