U.S.A. BOMBER RAIDS

Grey River Argus, 13 May 1944, Page 5

U.S.A. BOMBER RAIDS

ON ELEVEN RAIL YARDS In France, Belgium and Luxembourg I Aus. & N.Z. Press. Assn.] (Rec. 12.15. ■> LONDON, May 12 The Unitgd States Strategic Air Force, in a communique, says: Ihe Eighth Ah’ Force Fortresses and L.iterators carried out two bombing operations on Thursday. They attacked eleven German marshalling yards in France, Belgium, Luxembourg ana Western' Germany. Bombs were dropped in clear weather with generally satisfactory results. Ln emy fighter opposition was weak. bombers shot down three en y ’planes. Fighters destroyed ’planes in combat. Sixteen of bombers'and ten of our fighters missing. RUGBY, May H. United States Liberators, escorted by Lightnings, ' Thunaerbolts and Mustangs attacked three marshal n yards in -France to-day. Switching from rail centres which they P oanded twelve times since -May 1 > and Havocs this morning attacked two German airfields near Pans. _ was no fighter opposition and all ours returned. . . . „„ The day’s operations included an attack by 150 Marauder mea um bombers against nnhtary objectives in Northern France . Hardly had the full impact of their bomb-load been felt than Thunderbolt fighter bombers which provided Hie escor to targets raced in to dlve 'b°mb ob jectives in the same area. It was tne second mission of the aay f°r Marauders, one of which failed to turn. Flak was only moderate and no enemy fighters challenged raiders In the afternoon, Marauders bombed coastal objectives. A small force of Marauders struck with good results at Beaumont le Roger airfiela, seventy miles west of Pans. A formation of Havocs and Lightnings attacked the airfield at Coroilles Envix in twenty miles north-west of Pans. The crews said the dispersal area at Beaumont le Roger airfield was hit effectively. , „ . The skies over Southern England, to-day, reverberated with the roar of bombers and fighters heading for the attacks against targets on the Continent. Londoners saw one massiye force of bombers going out early in the afternoon, arid a report from Kent this evening said that • such masses of planes had never been seen before in one day. “They have been speeding in streams since 6 a.m. ’ The bombers crossed the Channel at intervals.

A 8 p.m. explosions were again heard in coastal towns, where people opened the doors and windows to avert the effects of the blast. The bangs were felt more severely owing to the calm state of the Straits. Within twenty hours ito late evening to-aay, British and American bombers struck a 'bewildering succession of blows against Germanheld railway yards in occupied Europe. At least 17 marshalling yards were smashed. It was the greatest single day’s offensive against yon Runstedt’s vital railway communications and also the twenty-fourth successive day of the pre-invasion air onslaught. Mitchells and Bostons escorted by Spitfires bombed rail targets at Douai. n , Marauders escorted by Thunderbolts, in the evening attacked railyards near Charleville. Havocs attacked the railway centre of Aerschot. R A.F., Australian, New Zealand, Canadian, Czech, Polish, Belgian, French and Norwegian pilots new fighters, which escorted the medium and heavy bombers and fighter-bomb-ers during the day. The targets included railway and river communications, military transport. A German military parade on the beach at Berck was interrupted by Spitfires, which attacked the troops before they nad time to dash for cover. Many casualties were inflicted. “Half-an-hour ago I was flying over a huge area of the ‘invasion coast extending 30 to 40 miles inland. It was completely deserted, said a Typhoon pilot to the “Telegraph’s”' correspondent whoi a'sked him for a pilot’s view of the coast. The .pilot added that British-based air forces had now succeeded in driving the enemy right back from the -positions he had occupied so long. He was compelled to abandon not only important airfields, but the majority of anti-aircraft posts. ‘ The effect when I was just now flying over was rather eerie. There were no trains running, no human beings were observable, nd guns were m action, and no enemy fighters ‘anywhere near us. We had the sky to ourselves. I remember when we went train-busting a few months ago, there were all kinds of targets. Now there are only scenes of desolation. Where the rail lines are not broken, they are idle Whatever military forces may be there, they must be well dug in It seems to me {hat everything that could'be pulled back has gone. We still drop bombs on reputed sites of “secret weapons,” but all that can be seen to-day are the, big craters we have left.” Six forces of R.A.F. bombers were out last night. Four attacked railway yards at Courtrai, Lens, Lille and Ghent and another attacked military objectives on the Channel coast, and „ sixth composed of Mosquitoes bombed Ludwigshafen. Last night, also RA F Intruders, two of which are ■missing attacked airfields in France Sd the LOW Countries. The' total of aircraft reported missing from yesterday’ raids on France and * Belgium are two bombers. and seven fighters. The targets included rail-way-yards in Belgium and bridges in Northern Franfee. .Three enemy planes were destroyed by escorting Spitfires.

32jPLANES LOST. IN VIENNA RAID '“RUGBY, May 11. and Liberators last W ■ nttlcked Budapest and WienermghXat reports a Naples corresneustadt, P mac j e observation of IhTAsults difficult, one Wellington was Lost. -RnHapest the raiders S d ad£fi g hter aircraft Vienna by a force oi r ev 250. Liberators esti factory There was heavy flak o whic h area in defence 11 were destroyed by rose in Ae^er^ e It is possible that escorting g y/ere scored by additional - Twenty-nine bombJrTand tSflghters are missing.

U.S. (BOMBER. CRASHES IN ENGLAND. LONDON, May 11. Hundreds of P®ons ‘he south coast ‘ hl b s o £"g° r adually losUmtea States After the crew baled in g heigh. . Chichester, with a Violent explosion that shook the town.

About 200 houses were aamageu anu 36 persons were injured. R.A.F. PRECISION JOB of ments contained in a house in The Hague that the Netherlands Government asked the R.A.F. to pinpoint nn/i destroy. The documents the R. A.F. successfully blotted out on May 3 were full lists of. all Dutchmen whom the Germans intended to deport to Germany.