POUNDING KEPT UP

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 29 May 1944, Page 5

POUNDING KEPT UP

ALLIED AIR FLEETS MANY EUROPEAN TARGETS WARNINGS ALL OVER REICH Rugby, May 28." Very strong forces of Fortresses and Liberators attacked targets in the vicinity of Cologne and in south-west and central Germany to-daj’. Synthetic oil plants were the main targets. The bombers were escorted by more than 1200 fighters. It is probable that close on 2500 aircraft were engaged in these operations. Thunderbolts made a threepronged attack against the enemy’s transport sysfem in mid-morning, and also attacked oil tanks. All returned. Mitchells, Bostons, Typhoons, and Spitfires also attacked targets in France and Belgium, and other planes were also out on offensive patrol and destroyed three Ju 52’s.

The Bomber Command last night dispatched well over 1000 planes to attack many objectives in Germany, France and Belgium and mine enemy waters, states an Air Ministry communique. A heavy attack was made against a military depot at Bourg Leopold. First reports indicate that the bombing was well concentrated. The main objective in Germany was a railyard at Aachen. Attacks were also made against Berlin and Dusseldorf and the railway centre of Nantes. An airfield at Rennes was heavily bombed. Attacks were made against a number of military objectives on the French coast. Our planes had many encounters with night fighters, at least six of which were destroyed. Twenty-seven of ours are missing.

Raiders last night sharply attacked a south coast town. Successive waves dropped high explosives and incendiaries causing damage and casualties, including some killed. An out-patients' wing of a hospital was set on file and a church was burnt out. lIOCR-TO-HOUR BLASTING After the R.A.F.’s 4000-ton blow against Germany, France and Belgium last night, the Allied air armada to-day. including rocket-firing Typhoons, kept up a terrific hour-to-hour blasting of the enemy’s strongpoints, swinging out fa;- into Germany. “Achtung” air alerts roused practically every area of the Reich with reports of Allied raiders as far east as Silesia. Clouds of Allied planes late in the afternon were still streaming out across the Straits of Dover. The British United Press aviation correspondent estimates that between 3000 and 4000 Allied planes went into action over the Continent to-day. The German News Agency stated that a great air battle was fought over central Germany at noon between fighter-escorted American bombers and German fighters. The-e were also violent air duels en route to the target and on the return flight. The news agency at 4.30 p.m. said German fighters were still engaging the enemy. Marauders and Havocs with escorting Thunderbolts last evening continued the attack against railway targets in France. Marauders again bombed bridges in northern France and Havocs again attacked railway yards at Amiens. It is officially announced that more than 300 Marauders and Havocs took part in both the afternoon and evening attacks on France yesterday. Eleven failed to return from a total of over 600 for the single day. RAILWAY TRAFFIC AT STANDSTILL Since the Ninth Air Force has been operating in Britain, pilots reported that railway traffic has been brought to a standstill. Thunderbolt fighterbombers late yesterday attacked railway yards, freight trucks, locomotives, funnels, gun emplacements and other tfnilitary targets in France. Two failed t* return. The R.A.F. after midnight bombed targets in the Boulogne area. Flares were seen falling between Cap Gris Nez and Boulogne, after which there were violent explosions for 15 minutes which shook Folkestone and other towns on the English side of the Channel. A United States Air Force communique, referring to Liberator and Fortress attacks on railway yards in south-west Germany yesterday stated that Neunkirchen and Konzkarthaus were attacked in addition to Ludwigshafen. Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Saarbrucken. Attacks against railway yards, also antiaircraft engine repair plants near Strasbourg and Metz were made visually. The bombers claimed the destruction of 13 enemy planes. and fighters 36. Twenty-four of our bombers and seven fighters are missing. RECORD DAY FOR FIGHTERS Medium and light fighter-bombers and fighters of the Ninth Air Force yesterday ended a week of furiously increasing activity in which bombers made 1950 individual attacks. Fighters made 4300 against targets in Europe. The figure for fighters is not only a record for the Ninth Air Force but probably stands as the greatest number of fighters anywhere ever thrown against the enemy.

Daylong attacks were made to-day by medium bombers and fighters and R> (rocket projectile-carrying) Typhoons on airfields, wireless installations, transport targets and other military and industri 1 objectives in France, the Low Countries and Germany. Of the American fighters engaged in escorting the bombers and in the strafing hunt which took them as far as Coblenz, only one, a Thunderbolt, failed to return. Over 700 took part from the United States Ninth Air Force alone. No enemy aircraft would challenge the strafers, who destroyed 16 locomotives, two military lorries and attacked a factory as well as flak gun emplacements near Dieppe. NO FIGHTER OPPOSITION British, French nd Dutch Mitchells and Bostons bombed airfields at Cormeille, Creil and E-reux. Their Spitfire escort met no fighter opposition and had the leisure to record excellem bombing results on all the targets. Similar aircraft with Spitfires and Typhoons and escorted by Spitfires attacked military targets in northern France in the evening. Fighters returning from bomb or rocket attacks on military installations made ground strafing attacks on at least two locomotives of military train and German Army road transport. One squadron of Spitfires dived from several thousand feet to rake with cannon and machinegun fire three barges and a tug neir Caudebec.