Nuremburg Virtually Wiped Out by Air Raid

Manawatu Times, Volume 68, Issue 205, 30 August 1943, Page 5

Nuremburg Virtually Wiped Out by Air Raid

iOO,OOO Reported Killed at Hamburg INDESCRIBABLY TERRIFIC ASSAULT ON BERLIN Received Sunday, 8.50 p.m. LONDON, Aug. 28. It is estimated that over 1500 tons of -dgii explosives and tens of thousands of incendiaries were dropped on Nuremburg within 45 minutes on Friday night. Huremburg was virtually wiped out, o-ys the Sunday Times’ correspondent at a bomber station. The raturning orev.s reported great columns of smoke with red cores rising from 15,000 to 20,000 feet which could be seen 150 miles away. The ground defences were overwhelmed and the city was an inferno within a few minutes of the beg.nmng of tne attack. The commander of a Lancaster squadron participating in the raid expressed tne opinion that .ne city had oeen obliterated.

A German communique admits that tne R.A.x*. raid caused casualties aud heavy devastation in residential quarters.

Two hundred thousand were killed in tne Hamburg corn Dings, says tne He w York Times’ Ankara correspondent, citing neutral and German reports. Thirty thousand of the victims died in .nr raid shelters.

The raid on Berlin last Monday is described by neutral sources as inaescriDawly terrific, if raids line turn continued it would be impossible to suana up against tuem. A hotel in the Adion district of the city was levelled and vast fires were still raging late on Tuesday. German fighters were up in great strength on xriday nigut wnen Nuremourg was raided. The enemy used the 3ame tactics as in the Berlin attacn and left it aimost entirely to night fighters and searchlights, states the Air ministry News Service. The crews report that tuere was not a great deal of flak over Nuremburg itself but there were more fighters and searchlights ifian experienced pilots had seen for time.

The struggle botween the bombers and enemy fighters went on all along rae route and still continued when our aircraft were on the way home. Aa the the aircrews approached heavily deiended towns in Southern Germany searchlights were switched on and scores of fighters rose to attack. A tremendous force of fighters awaited the bomaers over the target. One pilot described the fighters as “milling around like uees.” A great concentration of searchlights tried to pick the combers up for them and some of the crews saw as many as ten fighters at a time—a large numoer to see at night time. An iLnerican officer who flow in one bomber to watch the raid said he was very impressed by the timing and concentration of the attack.

The Air Ministry announce that on Friday night aircraft of Bomber Command made a very heavy attack on Huremourg, the important railway and industrial centre in South Germany, reports so far received indicate that the attack was. weil concentrated. Mosquitoes bombed objectives in the Ruhr. Fighter Command Mosquitoes and Beauflghters on intruder operations attacked railway targets and airfields in France and the Low Countries. Thirty-three of our bombers are missing.