AIR OFFENSIVE

Grey River Argus, 12 May 1944, Page 5

AIR OFFENSIVE

FRANCE AND BELGIUM Mosquitoes Over Germany LONDON, Mav 10. Marauders arid Havocs on Wednesday morning dropped over 450 tons of bombs on four targets in France. Approximately one hundred Marauders bombed railyards at Creil, twentyfive miles north-east of Paris. Havocs and Marauders bombed railyards at Tournai (Belgium) reporting good hits. Columns of smoke rose twelve thousand feet, when the Mons railyards were hit. Two Marauders have not returned.

Thunderbolt and fighter-bombers bombed a railway bridge at NantesGassicourt, railway yard and power plant at Valenciennes, and strafed an airfield north of Rheims.

Bostons, Mitchells and Typhoon fighters and fighter-bombers kept up the attacks against military targets in F'rance all day on Wednesday. The Luftwaffe resisted the onslaught more vigorously than lately. Three German "fighters were shot down. Five of our planes are missing from these operations. Marauders late on Wednesday afternoon bombed a rail bridge near Rouen, railyards at Douai and Tourcourt and military objectives in the Pas de Calais.

Photographs made during yesterday’s attacks on Western Europe by United States heavy bombers indicate good results on the three marshalling yards and seven or eight aerodromes attacked. Three concentrations of high explosives were put into the marshalling yards at Thionville and at Luxembourg there was heavy damage to rolling stock and engine roundhouses. At Liege, a concentration of bombs fell across sorting sidings, and also hit carriage and repair shops, while a second concentration hit locomotive sheds and repair shops. Heavy damage was also done to power plant. Attacks on aerodromes resulted.in the destruction of a number of hangars and damage to runways and dispersal areas. English south coast towns again had a wakeful night, due to explosions which. made the houses rock “as if in the throes of earthquake.” Heavy gunfire from the other side of the Channel again shook the towns late this afternoon.

The “Daily Mail’s” correspondent at an unnamed English coastal town, referring to the effect of the explosions says: There is hardly a shop or house without some slight damage. Windows fell in, ceilings caved, crockery broke, and pictures fell. Shopkeepers found their window displays in.chaos. Many people waking up hurried to shelters thinking an air raid was in progress. For the first time since the big air offensive from Britain began, the .official figure was available of the total number of planes engaged in a single day. The Air Ministry stated that four thousand British and American bombers and fighters of all types operated from Britain yesterday. Of these only twenty-one were lost. It is probable the day as a whole was a record for an offensive against Ger-man-occupied territory. The Press Association’s aviation correspondent says it would take many thousands of words to describe the devastation in detail. At least twenty-six target areas were plastered with thousands of tons .of bombs—military targets, railways, aerodromes, bridges, riverlocks, transshipment sheds, and coastal targets. During the first four months of this year, 1941 British and 117 American bombers operating from Britain were reported lost over Germany and Northern Europe, said the Secretary of State for Air, replying to a Commons question.

RAID ON BERLIN. LONDON, May 10. On Tuesday night, Mosquitoes attacked Berlin. Many 4000 pound bombs were dropped. The crews reported the night was clear and they could see all the distinctive landmarks of the city. The ground guns opened up but the Mosquitoes were in and out before the guns could get range. R.A.F. ATTACKS. ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT. (Rec. 12.35.) LONDON, May 11. The Air Ministry, in a communique, says: On ‘Wednesday night, Bomber Command ’planes operating in strength, attacked railway yards in Lens and Lille in France, and in Ghent and Courtrai in Belgium; and a military objective on the Frencn coast Mosquitoes attacked Ludwigshaten. Mines were laid in enemy waters. There are fifteen bombers missing. THURSDAY'S ATTACKS. (Rec. 12.40.1 LONDON, May 11. Strung Allied formations including all tvnes of ’planes carried on an air offensive against Europe after daylight on Thursday. German radios went off the air after announcing at 8 a.m. that enemy ’planes were over South-western Germany.