SOLID MASSES OF FIRE R.A.F. HAMMERS KREFELD

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 78, 23 June 1943, Page 5

SOLID MASSES OF FIRE

R.A.F. HAMMERS KREFELD

FIVE 4000-lb BOMBS A MINUTE FORTRESSES VISIT OTHER BIG TARGET (Rec. 11.5 a.m.) Rugby, June 22. Over 700 Stirlings, Halifaxes, Lancasters and Wellingtons last night dropped on Krefeld on the western edge of the Ruhr one of the heaviest loads so far released on any German target. Four-thou-sand pounders were falling five a minute at one time during the attack, which lasted only 50 minutes. The whole target, a pilot stated, appeared to be one solid mass of fire glowing and giving off dense clouds of thick smoke, rising thousands of feet. Later arrivals said the smoke pall was over three miles high. ‘‘lf you can imagine a blaze 5 or 6 times as big as the Coventry one, you will get some idea of what Krefeld looked like,” said one of the airmen. As the first arrivals approached they saw the huge belt of Ruhr defences going into action, but the defences of Krefeld itself were slow to open up and were soon overwhelmed. There were, however, more night fighters than for some time and many combats occurred in the bright moonlight along the route. Zero hour was at 1.30 a.m., and fires started by the first wave seemed to have spread very rapidly. Krefeld is an important steel, coal mining, chemical and textile town with a population of 170,000. It contains the largest producer of high grade steels in Germany—great Deutzsche Edelstahlwerke combine, which turns out nearly 200,000 tons a year. Forty-three of our bombers are missing. The crew of another bomber originally reported missing from the raid has been picked up in the North Sea. SYNTHETIC RUBBER FACTORY Close on the heels of the Krefeld raid, Fortresses were over the Rhineland in force early this morning and to-night. The western fringe of Germany is smouldering and shuddering after 24 hours of attacks. Other Fortresses in daylight torday raided an objective in Belgium. A joint British and American communique describing these operations says: “A large formation of Fortresses with escort penetrated strong A-A fire and fighter defences to attack a synthetic rubber factory at Huls, near Reculinghausen, in the Ruhr, which supplies a very considerable portion of the enemy’s buna rubber and which is the second largest producer of its kind in the whole of Axis Europe. Another, formation of Fortresses attacked a General Motors plant near Antwerp, experiencing heavy fighter opposition. “Bombing results were good and fires were tsarted at both targets. The bombers destroyed a considerable number of the enemy. Many squadrons of American, R.A.F., Dominion and Allied fighters carried out escorting and supporting operations. Spitfires drove off a force of 30 to 40 Fw’s. which tried unsuccessfully to intercept our bombers returning over Holland. R.A.F. Mitchells, with fighter escort, to-day bombed docks and shipping at Rotterdam. Our fighters destroyed seven of the enemy. We lost in these 20 bombers and four fighters.”—B.O.W.