1000-PLANE RAIDS

Grey River Argus, 2 May 1944, Page 5

1000-PLANE RAIDS

OVER NORTH FRANCE

On Sunday and Monday

LAus. & N.Z. Press Assn.} LONDON, April 30. On Sunday, Fortresses and Liberators of the Eighth U.S.A.A.F., in medium strength attacked aerodromes at Lyons and Clermont-Fer-rand, also military installations in tne Pas de Calais area, with a strong escort of Mustangs, Lightnings ana Thunderbolts. It is oiiicially estimated that 1,000 aircraft participated in these attacks, including 250 to/500 heavy bombers. Lightnings swept the area between Tours and Charters without encountering enemy planes. For the third successive day Mustangs, Thunderbolts and Lightnings, later in the afternoon. bombed and strafed three German aerodromes in Northern and Central France without opposition. R.A.F. Mosquitoes attacked railway yards in the suburbs of Paris. Thunderbolts in the evening bombed railway yards at Arras and Cambrai. All these attacks were carried out without loss Thunderbolts attacked jad’way yards at Nantes-Gafficourt. Bethune and the airfield at Cormeilles, all m France. All the aircraft returned. Marauders, Havocs, and Mitchells, earlier, bombed military objectives m Northern France meeting intense flak. One Marauder is missing. Some escorting Spitfires dropped bombs on the same targets. On Sundaj' night, Lancasters ot the Bomber Command attacked explosive works near Bordeaux and an aircraft factory at Clermont-Ferrand. Reports indicate the bombing was well concentrated. Other objectives in France and Western Germany were also attacked. Mines were laid in enemy water. No aircraft is missing. Colossal explosions were seen by crews during the attack on an explosives factory near Bordeaux, last night. The explosions were still go-, ing on half an hour after the attack was over.

Wing-Commander J. R. Braham. D.S.O. with Bar, D.F.C., with two Bars, brought his total of enemy 'planes shot down to 27, equalling Wing Commander' J. E. Johnson s score, which is only exceeded by Group Captain Malan’s 32 victories. It is estimated that over two thousand sorties on targets in France were made to-day. During April American aircraft dropped twenty-four thousand tons of bombs on enemy targets in Europe including twenty-eight factories in Germany, making aircraft parts. Six of these were almost completely demolished and six seriously damaged, American losses in April were 359 bombers and 144 fighters. They destroyed 1,300 enemy planes in the air or on the ground. Two hundred and fifty bombers flew in waves through intense flak to hammer for an hour targets at Toulon, including an airfield, munition factory, submarine pens, and railway yards. A small number of German fighters challenged the bombers, escorting Lightnings and Mustangs accounted for ten. Pressure on rail communications was carried on by medium and light craft..

FURTHER RAIDS IN FRANCE. (Rec. 9.10.) LONDON, May 1. After sundown on Sunday, powerful forces of Marauders and Havocs of the U.S.A. Ninth Air Force, witnout loss, struck Bethune, Somain and Busigny. These are important enemy railway centres in Northern France. R.A.F., Dominion and Allied Spitfires and U.S.A. Ninth Air Force Thunderbolts covered the bombers: No enemy 'planes were sighted, a series of explosions occurred in Bethune and in Somain. Bombers dropped over 450 tons' of bombs in a widespread offensive in the afternoon and evening. These attacks followed per-? sistent Thunderbolt operations against railway yards in Arras and Cambrai, also an airfield at Creil. (Rec. 12.22.) LONDON. May 1The Allied air onslaught against targets across the Channel was resumed after dawn on Monday by 1,000 'planes. Many hundreds of bombers and fighters passed to and fro over the coast. An Air Ministry communique states that R.A.F. bombers on Sunday night made heavy attacks on an ammunition dump at Maintenow, on railway yards at Achers, near Paris, and at Somain. All three of these attacks were well concentrated. The ammunition dump was seen to explode. Objectives in Western Germany were also bombed and mines were laid in enmy waters. One 'plane is missing. . . The Press Association’s aviationcorrespondent says that, out of 121 nights and days in 1944, the R.A.F. and the U.S.A.A.F. has pounded German objectives on ninety-one nights and ninety-nine davs. There was no enemy air activity reported over Britain yesterday.

FRENCH RAILWAYS BOMBED,. (Rec 1.0.) LONDON, May 1. Bostons and Mitchells of the Second Tactical Air Force escorted by R.A.F. New Zealand and Allied Spitfires this morning attacked railway targets in France. Medium-sized forces of the United States Eighth Air Force, Liberators and Fortresses attacked German military installations in Northern France to-day. Mustangs and Thunderbolts operating in medium strength provided an escort It was the fourteenth and Air Force attack m fifteen days. Paris radio reports that sm«, early morning there has been V^ S N rthern cessant Allied activity over Not them France. ■ ' THE BERLIN RAID. BOW RUGBY, April 30. 'United States Headquarters announce that direct hits were scored on the new Air Ministry m the heart of Berlin, yesterday. Fhotograpns show that three concentrations bombs exploded on the Air M y. the south wing of which was> burning fiercely. There were numer out hits on other Government ings, the Templehof marshalling vards (Berlin’s largest) and Antialter station Another concentration ten on the south-west pdrt of the city h ting the main railway hne entering the city. . , One fortress crew m the Her i raid yesterday, claimed they down eight German fighters during ‘‘4o minutes of hell”. They said tna the enemy ’planes went screaming into the streets of Berlin. The ior - ress itself was twice hit during savage attacks and returned home on two engines. GERMAN AIRCRAFT LOSSES. (Rec. 7.45.) LONDON, May 1- . General Doolittle, in a broadcast to American workers, declared: The United States Eighth Air Force during April dropped over twenty-four thousand tons of bombs. Our fighters and bombers have claimed the destruction of over eight hundred enemy ’planes in the air, and over five hun-

dred on tire ground. This was substantially more than the entire German aircraft production in Aprdv The R.A.F., and the Russians, also with the Ninth and Twelfth and Fifteenth American Air Forces in the past month destroyed an additional large number] of German ’planes.

U.S. Planes in Britain

500 LOST LAST MONTH.

(Rec 7.45.) LONDON, May 1 ■ ( General Doolittle, in a radio address to American workers, stated that the Air Forces of the Americans op?rX flrtte™ lost 359 bombers and 144 fighters. RAIDS in. ENGLAND. t LONDON, April 30. The German News Agency stated that German heavy bombfs gst night again directed attacks against Smith-west .England. The mam target was Plymouth where a large number of explosives and were dropped. Targets on the south roast were also attacked.