MUNICH HARD HIT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 21607, 9 January 1945, Page 3

MUNICH HARD HIT

DOUBLE ATTACK AMERICAN ~DAY BLOW KEY RAILWAY CENTRES (10 a.m.i LONDON. Jan. S. Royal Air Fuive Bomber Command planes, in very great strength, last night made two heavy attacks on the industrial and railway centre ol Munich. The first attack was made at 7.30 pan. and the second at 9.31) pun. The last ILA.F. attack on Munich was on December 17. The Air Ministry states that the Bomber Command lias already devastated well over .1000 acres in Munich s main city area, but GO per cent ol this great industrial arsenal remains. Munich is the site of factories producing aircraft engines and locomotives besides important chemical and rubber works. The trunk railway routes running direct to the trouts on which the Germans are lighting pass through Munich. The Air Ministry reports that last night the Royal Air Force Bomber Command despatched well over 800 aircraft against Munich, where smoke from large fires was seen rising to a great height. There was strong opposition from enemy fighters. Attacks were also made on Hanover, Nuremburg and Hanau. Night fighters and intruder aircraft supported the bombers and attacked the airfields, i Fifteen aircraft are missing. Fires Seen For 100 Miles

The double attack on Munich was made for various reasons. In recent months the Royal Air Force has found that, with certain targets, more destruction can be done by splitting the force into two andupaking a second attack. The smoke from the fires raised by r the first iorcc then lias a chance of clearing away, whereas h the second force attacked immediately afterward, the smoke might be so dense as to hide the target indicators. Last night the glow of fires started m the first attack could be seen by the crews in the second wave when they were more than 100 miles from the city.

The United States Eighth Air Force to-day attacked enemy transport facilities from the large marshalling yards at Frankfurt to load and rail junctions in Germany just opposite the Ardennes bulge and within the bulge at points in Luxemburg and Belgium rail centres lurther south supplying troops to Uie Saar front were also attacked, the bombers were escorted by Mustangs. It was the sixteenth American air attack on German supply lines in 18 days. , Most of the road and railway junctions which more than 1000 American heavy bombers attacked yesterday were' just east of the Ardennes battlefront," but the bombers ranged over a wide area of Western Germany. One group of Mustang escorts strafed railway lines in the Bremen area, damaging 10 and destroying 50 locomotives and freight cars. Six bombers which were reported missing in Sunday s operations have been found to be safe, making a total of three bombers and one tighter missing in yesterday s operations,