Berlin Left A Sea Of Flames After Heaviest R.A.F. Attack

Northern Advocate, 24 November 1943, Page 3

Berlin Left A Sea Of Flames After Heaviest R.A.F. Attack

(Received 11.30 a.m.)

LONDON, November 23.

f AST NIGHT’S RAID AGAINST BERLIN WAS HEAVIER THAN ANY EXPERIENCED EVEN BY HAMBURG. A REPORT FROM ZURICH STATES THAT ALL DISTRICTS IN BERLIN AS WELL AS THE SUBURBS, SUFFERED DAMAGE. DEVASTATION WAS PARTICULARLY HEAVY IN THE CENTRE OF BERLIN, ESPECIALLY NEAR THE UNTER DEN LINDEN, ALEXANDER PLATZ AND FRIEDRICH STRASSE.

The Stockholm “Afton Tidningen” gives a preliminary estimate of 10,000 killed and injured in the raid. The Berlin correspondent of “Afton Bladet,” in a despatch today says: “We had some horrible hours. Berlin burned all night. Great sections of the dwelling quarters and buildings in the city are still burning today and are covered with a great black cloud of smoke. Several Embassies and Legations in the diplomatic quarter were burned to the ground.”

26 Bombers Missing

‘•Afton Bladets’ Berlin office was destroyed and a number of suburbs were badly damaged, including Siemenstadt. where the great Siemens electrical works are situated, also Spandau. Milmersdorf, Neukoeln. Lichtenberg and Pankow. Many of these areas were hard hit in previous raids. Transport in many sections of Berlin has broken down and electrical and gas services have been interrupted.” A Press Association correspondent at an R.A.F. bomber base said: ‘•Berlin was a great sea of flames and explosions which the returning planes saw for 70 miles through solid cloud. The clouds were so thick that the Germans were apparently unable to get a single night-fighter off the ground, but the ground defences threw up a great flak barrage.' 1 The Press Association's aviation correspondent estimates that with last, night's raid, about 10,000 tons of bombs have been dropped on Berlin this year. An Air Ministry communique states that the attack was made in very great strength. Preliminary reports show that the bombing was highly effective. Mosquitoes attacked targets in western Germany and mines were laid in enemy waters. Twenty-six bombers are missing.

Heart of Nazi System Evidence from British and neutral sources, also German admissions, make it abundantly clear that Berlin experienced its biggest ever air raid last night. The fact that Allied bombers struck at the heart of the German war organisations by hitting priority targets in the Wilhelmstrasse area is fully borne out by Swedish correspondents. One Swedish source reported from Berlin that the German Foreign Office was among the buildings damaged. It is situated in the area around the Tiermarten Strasse. which contains grim, black buildings known as High Command Headquarters. "Afton Bladets’ ” Berlin office in Pariser Platz, opposite the Adlon Hotel, was burned down. It is pointed out that next to "Afton Bladet's" office is the headquarters of the German Munitions Chief (Speer). Legations Destroyed The Swedish Legation and Finnish Legation were destroyed, and the Hungarian and Danish Legations suffered fairly severe damage. In the centre of Berlin, adds "Afton Bladet.” many theatres were hit while the university town library was set on fire and was still burning this morning. Churches, which were liberally spread throughout the target area, did not escape damage. Among those badly damaged were the famous Gedaechtniskirchc Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial also the Kurfurstendamm.

Berlin Radio Reports Berlin radio reports a heavy Royal Air Force raid on Berlin last night. Heavy damage and loss of life were caused in many parts of the city, mainly in the working-class districts, says the radio. Describing the raid as a terror attack, the German News Agency states that it was carried out despite dense clouds and complete lack of visibility. Irreplaceable historic and cultural buildings were destroyed and others damaged, including several belonging to diplomatic missions of neutral States. The radio reports that a large number of British four-engined bombers carried out last night's raid. Reuter comments that the German public was told about the raid in the first news bulletins today. It is quite unusual for the German radio to give raid news in the first bulletins. This; departure from normal practice seems to indicate that the damage was on an unusually heavy scale. Berlin is being “Hamburged.’’ That is the meaning of German reports on the heaviness of the R.A.F.'s raid last night, says the aviation correspondent of the British United Press. If the R.A.F. is able to maintain the rate of attack during the winter, using a large number of planes as at present available. Berlin should be wiped out as an administrative and industrie.l centre by spring. It will not be an easy task, but another 20 to 25 raids of the magnitude of last night’s should do the job. Great Victory * Berlin had its heaviest air attack last night when a great bomber force dropped over 2300 tons of high explosives and incendiaries. This time there was no.second target. Lancasters. Stirlings and Halifaxes all went to Berlin. After the raid all crews were confident of the results and none had any doubt they had won a great victory. They had beaten night-fighter squadrons, also messed batteries of anti-aircraft guns which were serving as Berlin's second-line defence. Their casualties were well below the average, even for attacks on much easier targets.

It was another cloud cover attack, like that of four nights ago. Both on the outward and homeward journeys bombers flew hundreds of miles over an unbroken sea of cloud. Over Berlin there was an occasional gap through which the crews caught a glimpse of the ground, the vivid coloured lights of marker bombs arising in a pillar of black smoke and a red patch of fire. But bomb-aimers were not looking for gaps. Pathfinders. out in force, dropped in dense •concentration and unbroken succession, target indicators and pyrotechnic flares from the start to the finish. Enemy guns were shooting at the - flares as they fell, but nothing stopped the Pathfinders from building up an unmistakable target of coloured lights

end keeping it thick throughout the attack for just over half-an-hour from eight o'clock. Greatest Explosions Soon clouds began to reflect the glow of fires below and, even through the cloud, several thousand feet thick, the light so bright that the crews saw each other’s bombs as they fell. Twenty minutes after the first bombs dropped hundreds of the crews saw one of the most violent explosions ever reported from a German target. The navigator said: “Everything suddenly went all white. Brilliance stayed in the sky a long time, then coloured to a reddish glow which went on as long as we were over the target. It was like a terrific sunset. The attack was so well concentrated that, while we were over Berlin, we saw oniy one flash —-a 4000-pounder outside the main target area fires We saw about 50 block-busters go off in that time." Very few night fighters were over Berlin and the Germans were forced to let Loose a great barrage which once had been the main defence of the capital before modern tactics forced the enemy to use so great a part of his air force to protect the cities. Searchlights were blocked by clouds and without any hope of bombers being coned, gunners could only blaze away at all the sky over Berlin. There was enough heavy flak, however, to bring a shell near many of the bombers. ‘ Single night-fighters which were ever Berlin while the attack was on hand to face their own barrage. As during last week's attack on Berlinmost anti-aircraft batteries en route were in action.