IMMENSE DAMAGE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24604, 12 May 1941, Page 5

IMMENSE DAMAGE

RAID ON MANNHEIM CONCENTRATED ATTACK MANY FIRES STARTED (Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, May 10. Last night's concentrated attack on Mannheim and Ludwigshaven was a highly successful operation against one of the most important industrial objectives in Western Germany. The two towns, though separated by the Rhine, are to all intents and purposes one. Mannheim is one of the largest of Germany's many river ports, and is a railway centre and the scene of many industries At Ludwigshaven the whole of the north part of the town is occupied by one of the largest chemical factories in the world. The weather was excellent, and the moon left both cities fully exposed. Powerful high explosives did immense damage on both sides of the Rhine, and incendiary bombs contributed largely to the work of destruction. At one time a pilot counted 27 major fires, and another mentions a large factory at Mannheim which was being rapidly gutted There were fires in all parts of the town, among the docks and railway goods yards, and in the area occupied by tin. Ludwigshaven chemical factory. Other Objectives

An Air Ministry communique states: "The Bomber Command's main attack last night was directed against industrial targets in Mannheim and Ludwigshaven. The weather was good, and the attack was concentrated and destructive. Extensive fires were left burning among the docks and industrial quarters. A small number of aircraft also bombed industrial objectives in Berlin The docks at Calais and Ostend and other ports in occupied territory were also attacked. One of our bombers destroyed an enemy fighter. From these operations two aircraft of the Bomber Command are missing.

"The Coastal Command attacked the docks at Boulogne and Ijmuiden last night, as well as the harbour at Kristiansand and aerodromes in southern Norway One aircraft is missing.

"The Fighter Command carried out offensive night patrols and bombed aerodromes in Northern France. In the course of patrols over the Channel during daylight yesterday two enemy aircraft were destroyed by our fighters. Two of our fighters were lost, but one pilot is safe." The Week's Activity

R.A.F. activity over Germany during the week included attacks on Hamburg and Bremen, when the largest force oi: British aircraft yet sent over Germany took ( part in a very heavy attack on industrial targets. Cologne was also raided, and new bombs were dropped, causing considerable damage to oil plants and refineries. Mannheim was the target of a heavy attack during the week, which was distinguished bv the intensity of the attacks. In operations directly connected with the Battle of the Atlantic the German warships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were attacked four times, and the submarine base of St. Nazaire was raided on an equal number of occasions Twenty-three British aircraft are missing from the week's operations. In the Mediterranean theatre the remarkable feature of the week's air fighting was activity over the sea. in which Free Jugoslav aircraft participated. Several heavy attacks were delivered against enemy convoys, in the course of which a destroyer and five merchant vessels were hit and destroyed and one merchantman sunk. Six enemy aircraft were shot down and others damaged during two raids on Crete three were destroyed at Malta. Raids in Africa The R.A.F. heavily raided the aerodrome at Rhodes and caused considerable damape. Raids on enemy posi-. tions and en aerodrome in North Africa were both heavy and extensive. Benina was attacked no fewer than six times. Derna four times and Benghazi harbour four times At Benina in particular numerous troop carriers wercdestroyed and damaged on the ground. In East Africa attacks were directed mainly against fortifications *and troop concentration* On May 4 over 100 transport vehicles are estimated to have been destroyed near FalagaPass. Free French forces attacked the Gondar landing ground. Thursday's Heavy Raid

An Air Ministry communique describes Thursday night's massive R.A.F. attacks on German naval and industrial centres and elsewhere, and also vesterday's widespread daylight operations by Bomber, Fighter, and Coastal Commands aircraft. It states: "Hamburg and Bremen bore the brunt of the heaviest attack yet made by the R.A.F. on Germany The weather was good, and our bombers pressed home the attacks with decisive results, in spite of strong opposition. High explosives caused widespread destruction, and many great fires were seen raging in the shipyards and industrial quarters of both cities." The intensity of the raids on Bremen and Hamburg < 3n be gauged from a fuller description by the Air Ministry. A record number of aircraft attacked, and incendiaries in tens of thousands and high explosives in hundreds of tons covered the cities with fires and smoke. Buildings were rent and smashed. Germany's submarine and shipbuilding yards were remorselessly bombarded and left with fires blazing in their midst. Pilots' repcrts speak of " areas a mass of flame, in which it was impossible to distinguish the separate fires," of terrific explosions, of smoke rising 10,000 feet and of "our most powerful bombs dropped into the heart of the rasing fires.' The Press Ass' ciation's aeronautical correspondent estimates the number of bombers which took nart in the attack at between 300 and 400.