ALLIES SURPRISED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21605, 6 January 1945, Page 3

ALLIES SURPRISED

NAZI RAID ON ’DROMES AIRFIELDS UNGUARDED PLANES NOT DISPERSED (9.30 a.m.) LONDON, Jan. 5. Messages delayed by the censor about the Luftwaffe’s attack on Allied airfields on January 1 from British and American correspondents in Belgium say that the Luftwaffe, apparently aware of tlie unguarded state of some of the airfields, caught most of them by surprise and even took their time over their strafing and bombing runs. One correspondent says that despite the costly lessons of the last two or three years some airfields hac! planes parked, wing-tip to wing-tip, without the slightest attempt at dispersal. The only explanation l'or this ancl the lack of aek-nek lire on some fields, seems to he overconfidence in Allied air strength, the correspondent adds. The authorised statement, that the raids “caused some damage” is completely disproportionate to the number of enemy planes claimed destroyed. Actually it was a “thin air” victory for the Allies, but military secrecy prevents the whole story being told.’