AIR OFFENSIVE SPEEDED

Grey River Argus, 28 February 1944, Page 5

AIR OFFENSIVE SPEEDED

FOUR GERMAN CENTRES Bombed Day and Night AMERICANS DOUBLE ATTACKS LONDON, Feb. 26. The U.S.A.A.F, announces that in addition to Regensburg and Stuttgart heavy bombers of the Eighth American Air Force on Friday also attacked the Messerschmitt assembly centre and the experimental station at Augsburg and the major airframe components factory at Furth. The bombing results were good. The 15th U.S.A. Air Force from Italy joined in the attack against Regensburg in the third co-ordinated assault in four days in Germany from the west and the south. The bombers were supported by large forces of the Bth U.S.A.A.F. fighters, also of the 9th U.S.A.A.F., R.A.F., Dominion and Allied fighters. The fighters shot down 27 enemy aircraft for the loss of three. There are 31 American bombers missing. An Allied .air communique from Italy stated: On Friday an aircraft components plant at Regensburg was attacked by escorted heavy bombers. Hits were scored on many buildings. A small formation of night bombers continued attacks on Thursday night on an aircraft factory at Steyr. Bombers flying for over ten hours from Britain, struck against two plants—Pfufening in the western suburbs of Regensburg, which make fighter components, and Obertrauling, five miles west of Regensburg, formerly an assembling centre for Messerschmitt transport. The two plants constitute Germany’s most important fighter production centre. The plants were heavily ’ damaged by Flying Fortresses. The headquarters of the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe stated: The Luftwaffe sustained a tremendous blsw on Friday. Heavy bombers and fighters of our eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces and fighters of the Eighth, Ninth and Fifteenth Air Forces destroyed 142 enemy aircraft on Friday in their attacks against German . fighters and aircraft factory works at Regensburg, Augsburg-and Furth, and a ball-bearing plant at Stuttgart. In a vain effort to protect vital remnants of German fighter production, the Luftwaffe opposed our attacking forces furiously. . Our Fifteenth A.A.F., which joined contact , with the Eighth A.A.F. in a co-ckdinated attack on Messerschmitt works at Regensburg encountered from 250 to 300 enemy aircraft. Our Italian based ■' force destroyed 95 fighters. There are 39 bombers and five fighters of our Fifteenth A.A.F. missing. Some of these may have landed on remote friendly fields, which .are numerous in. the Mediterranean area.

Heavy bombers of our Britishbased Eighth A.A.F. destroyed 23 enemy aircraft, and fighters of our eighth and Ninth A.A.F., also operating- from England, shot down 26. Some of the enemy aircraft we encountered were of a bomber type. Our Eighth A.A.F. bomber losses are 39 bombers and five fighters. Photographs taken during the attacks at Regensburg, Augsburg, Stuttgart and Furth show good results.

A United States Air Force spokesman said: Strategic bombing since January 1 reduced production of German twin-engined fighters to twenty per cent., and the single-engined fighters to fortv pei’ cent., and also destroyed twenty-five per cent, of the bomber production.

R.A.F. Night Raids ON AUGSBURG. (Rec. 8.40) LONDON, Feb. 26. On Friday night R.A.F. planes made another great double attack on German industry. Augsburg, which already had been hard hit by Americans during the day was the main target. The Air Ministry states that the bombers were in very great strength, and Augsbfirg, an important production centre for aero and submarine engines, was twice attacked by large forces of Lancasters and Ha'lifaxes. The weather was favourable. Reports indicate the bombing as effective. Mosquitoes attacked other objectives in South-west Germany and in the Low Countries. An 'extensive mine-laying operation was carried out. Intruders bombed airfields in the Low Countries. There are twenty-four of the R.A.F. aircraft missing. Wellingtons from the Mediterranean area, attacking an Austrian target for the first time, bombed Steyr, which was still smoking from an earlier attack of Flying Fortresses. Late on Saturday afternoon Mosquitoes of the Canadian R.A.F. squadron on offensive patrol over Central France destroyed an enemy glider tug and two gliders it was towing. R.A.F. Typhoons destroyed three enemy aircraft over Northern France. ~ An air correspondent writes: Although there was less air activity over the Straits of Dover during Saturday, R.A.F. fighters made a good number of sorties, and groups of them were seen on the south-east coast flying to Northern France throughout the day; An MEIIO was destroyed by R.A.F. fighters on offensive patrol off the French coast in the morning. . Typhoons continued the offensive with strikes against military targets in Northern France on Friday. Marauders of the United States 9th Air Force attacked airfields in Belgium and Holland. Air Force, Dominion and Allied bombers, escorted by Allied Typhoons and Spitfires in the afternoon again attacked military objectives in Northern France. Heavy bombers, escorted by British and American fighters, attacked the aircraft works at Regensburg, the ballbearing works at Stuttgart and other targets in South-western Germany on Friday. FRIDAY'S AIRCRAFT LOSSES. (Rec. 6.50.) RUGBY, Feeb'. 26. An Allied communique from Italy stated that on Friday the enemy lost 93 aircraft in encounters with Allied aii- forces based in Italy, including those raiding Regensburg. This is the highest figure yet achieved by Allied air forces based in Italy, from all operations, including the attack on Regensburg. Thirtv-nine Allied bombers and five fighters are missing. Including the Italian front, Allied ’planes on Friday, flO.yv oyer eight hundred sorties. Enemy activity over the beach-head amounted to four sorties on Friday.—B.O.W. THURSDAY’S RAIDS. LONDON, Feb. 26. Allied bombers on Thursday night twice hammered Schweinfurt, German centre of ball-bearing production. They released a huge bombload on wreckage, still burning from a daylight attack by United States bombers twelve hours before. British Wellingtons on Thursday night from Italy made a night attack on Steyr, in Austria. More than 1,000 Royal Air Force night bombers from Britain were out over Germany, lhe

to be made available. _____ total weight of bombs dropped on Schweinfurt within 24 hours was more than 2,000 tons. This is the biggest attack ever against a single industrial target. The attacks on Schweinfurt were at intervals of two hours. The enemy began to lay fighter, flares during the first, but not a single flare was seen during the second attack. British crews saw fires caused by United States bombers before the first target indicators were dropped. Within a few minutes great numbers of incendiaries were dropped and clouds of black smoke ' rose. Fires were still burning to guide the second force, but again target indicators were laid. The ground defences were strong at the start ofj the first attack, but decreased. Though it has only 60,000 inhabitants, Schweinfurt is considered by economic experts to be the most important industrial centre of its kind in Germany or occupied Europe, and it is probably the most vital bottleneck in the whole of the enemy’s armament industry. This is. because its main factories used to produce about 50 per cent, of the ball and roller bearings of all types available to the Axis. Bomber Command last night again made over 1,000 sorties, states the Air Ministry. Thirty-five British aircraft are missing. , NOTED PILOT MISSING. ' LONDON, Feb. 25. Squadron-Leader Geoffrey Warnes. the only fighter pilot with “invisible eyes,” is missing and is believed’ killed. The day .after war broke obt he volunteered as a pilot, but owing to his eyesight he was onlv commissioned for ground duties. His great ambition was to fly, and after he had been three times rejected, he heard about contact lenses—invisible glasses that fit close against the eyeballs inside the eyelids. He took four days’ leave, had them fitted at his own expense at a cost of £5O, and, after sixteen months, he was posted to a fighter squadron,