ALLIED AIR RAIDS

Grey River Argus, 16 July 1943, Page 5

ALLIED AIR RAIDS

FORTRESSES IN FRANCE Down 45 Enemy Planes [Aust. & N.Z. Cable Assn.) * ■ LONDON, July 14. _ Strong formations of the American neavy bombers, and formations of R.A.F. fighter bombers and light bombers, attacked German aircraft installations in France On Wednesday the Fortresses bombed the aircraft repair and assembly plants at Villa Coublay, aircraft and park at Le Bourget, and an airfield at AmiensGhscy. The bombing results were good at all three targets. Fighter opposition was encountered particularly by the formations attacking Le Bourget and Villa Coublay. The Fortresses were attacked bv about 100 enemy planes, of vzhich ffiey destroyed 45. Eight Fortresses ’ were lost.

The Fortresses attacked airfields at Le Bourget, Amiens and Abbeville. The fighters escorting them accounted for six enemy fighters in addition to those destroyed by the Fortresses. Four fighters were lost in a raid on Abbeville, made by the FrenchLorraine squadron, which celebrated Bastille Dav with the first raid on the enemy.

Typhoons attacked an airfield at Abbeville and Triqueville. R.A.F. and Dominion fliers destroyed three Focke Wulf’s 190. Thunderbolts escorted one Fortress over its target also destroying three Focke Wulf’s 190

Eight bombers and four fighters are missing. Coastal Command Beaufighters today shot down an ME 111 over the North Sea. The enemy aircraft was last seen diving into the sea, breaking into bits as it went down.

Heavy R.A.F. Raid ON RHINE CENTRE. AACHEN SET ABLAZE. LONDON, July 14. Aachen, in the Rhineland, was heavily bombed by the Royal Air Force, last night. Low clouds made it difficult to observe the results. Twenty bombers are missing from the raid. Aachen. 40 miles south-west of Cologne, is an important coal and textile centre, but is still more important as a frontier junction linking Germany with France and the Low Countries. It was last bombed 18 months ago. It was a heavv attack and there was a good number of 8000 pounderers in the big load of high explosives and incendiaries. Nearly every aircraft in one squadron of Lancasters —the squadron had more bombers operating last night than it had ever put out before—carried an 8000 pounder with incendiaries to make up the weight. The Germans depended almost entirely on night fighters to defend this important railway centre, through which traffic from the Ruhr is sent westwards, and products from France are sent to Germany. Searchlights around the town were handicapped because of cloud, and the flak was not heav' by German standards, but the weather alon°- the most part of the route was ideal for night fighters. One pilot described it as “night masquerading as day,” and there were combats all the wav from the coast to Aachen and back again. A few hours after the attack, smoke from fires burnink at Aachen had risen to a height of four miles. This was the renort of a reconnaissance pilot who flew over the town. Thick smoke was drifting away east of the town and stretched as far as the nilot could see. A German communique stated: — The R.A.F. last nmht made a heavy terror raid on Aachen, and greatly damaged residential quarters, destroyed public buildings and cultural monuments. Aachen cathedral was hit. The population sustained heavy casualties.

140 PARIS CASUALTIES.

(Rec. 10.20) LONDON, July 15. The Paris radio says: In the Allied air raids in the Paris area on Wednesday morning, forty persons were killed. One hundred were injured.