GOING ALL OUT

Grey River Argus, 10 January 1944, Page 5

GOING ALL OUT

ALLIED AIR FORCES In France and Germany (Rec. 8.10.) LONDON, Jan. 9. Allied planes on Friday concludeo the most intense week of air assault; against Europe of the war, carrying out a total of eight thousand sorties. „ . A German communique says: British and American bombers yesterday attacked Ludwigshafen Mannheim, causing considerable damage. The Air Ministry statd: Yesterday night Mosquitoes of the Bomber Command without loss, attacked objectives in Western Germany. R.A.F., Dominion, and Allied fighters on Saturday afternoon carried out offensive patrols over Northern France. One enemy aircraft was destroyed R.A.F. Blitz AGAINST FRANCE. LONDON, Jan. 7. To-dav was the eighth day of the continuous day and night air assault on targets in France. Royal Air Force Mitchell and Boston medium bombers and Typhoons to-day attacked military objectives including airfields in. _ northern France, states the Air Ministry. The meduim bombers were escorted and covered by Royal Air Force and Allied fighters. The Typhoon bombers were supported by Royal Air Force

fighters. : la. 1 W/h. I*l United States Marauder medium bombers to-day attacked military objectives in northern France without loss. They were escorted and covered by Royal Air Force, Dominion. and Allied fighters. The formations of aircraft which crossed the English Channel to-day are believed to have penetrated fail lv deeply bevond the French coast. The formations appeared to include a large number of bombers. They returned across the Channel from one and a half to two hours later. Typhoon fighter-bombers opened the assault with successful attacks against various targets, including the Maupertus airfield on the Cherbourg Peninsula. Afterwards Typhoon fighters swept the peninsula. One force, comprising 200 Marauders, without loss, returned home extending the record of consecutive lossless sorties to over 1700. It was, in addition. the eighth attack which Marauders, without loss have carried out against the same target since December 12.

Not until Mosquito bombers, escorted by Spitfires, also Typhoons and Hurricane fighter-bombers attacked targets in northern France late this afternoon did the Luftwaffe make a fleeting appearance, in which three Focke Wulf 190’s were destroyed and three were damaged. Wing Commander R. D Yule, D.F.C. and Bar, a veteran of the Battles of France and Britain, shot down one Focke Wulf. The Mosquito attack brought the number of aeroplanes operating against northern France to-day to approximately 750. Royal Air Force medium and light bombers and fighter bombers, m small formations, attacked military objectives in northern France. There were escorted bv Royal Air Force and Allied fighters. Royal Air Force, Dominion and Allied. fighter carried out an offensive natrol on northern France. Three enemy aircraft were destroyed. Six Allied machines are missing. , Bomber Command Mosquitoes last night attacked objectives in western Germany and northern France. Other aircraft laid mines in enemy waters. All returned. \ ■

( Deeper U.S. Raids INTO GERMANY. LONDON. Jan. 7. Strong fo»es of United States Flying Fortresses and Liberators attacked targets in south-western Germany to-day. They were escorted by American fighters and given withdrawal support by United States, Roval Air Force, Dominion and Allied fighters. Flving Fortresses on Wednesday shattered the vital Bauer and Schaurte factory near Dusseldorf, producing about half the high-grade nuts and bolts used in the German war industry. The British United Press correspondent at a United States Army Air Force bomber station says that the Fortresses did not start out to bomb the factory. They found it through a gap in the clouds after an unsuccessful attempt to bomb assigned targets. United States aeroplanes, which thrust over 400 miles into the German industrial belts, were unchallenged. The only opposition came from the ground defences. STETTIN DAMAGE (Rec. 8.10) LONDON, Jan. 9. According to the Stockholm “Afton Bladet,” Stettin harbour is almost unusable after the R.A.F. raid ot last Wednesday. The Swedish Foreign Office announced that the Swedish Consulate in Stettin was destroyed in the raid. NEW U.S.A. NIGHT FIGHTERS (Rec. 8.10) WASHINGTON, Jan. 9. The U.S. War Department .announces that a new twin-engined night fighter, the P. 61, or “Black Widow,” is now in production at the Northrop Company’s plant in California. This plane has a fairly long range, an effective speed and climb characteristics. It is equipped with the latest, devices for the destruction of enemy bombers. K.O. for Germany PREDICTED 'BY U.S.A. LEADER. ’ LONDON. Jan. 8. The Cl)ief of the United States Army Air Force (General H. H. Arnold) expressed a belief that the minute Germany is knocked out of the air the Germans will crack. He said: “The Germans will then know that the war is lost. Three-fourths of Berlin is destroyed. We are going ahead to complete the job. We are picking out war centres throughout Gerinanv and wiping them out. This of course, will take some time. We have knocked Japan’s first team out of the air and we are working rapidly on the second team. The Luftw'affe’s first team is now limited almost entirely to attempting to stave' off British and American bombers. but instead of slowing down the; British and American bombing we are stepping up Germany’s destruction." . The Press Association’s aviation writer states that the entire absence /of German fighters from the Euro-, pean skies to-day is the clearest indication yet of the British and American Air Forces’ complete mastery of the- air and the Luftwaffe’s urgent need to conserve aeroplanes. Although the Germans have stepped up their fighter strength in Western Europe bv 1000 planes a year, it is

evident that they still are not prepared to risk inevitable air clashes. This is the first time that United States aeroplanes have penetrated so deeply into Germany and have not met fighter opposition. The Germans have frequently neglected a target in occupied territory, but they have never failed to make a desperate bid to save one of their own important' war centres.