AIR OFFENSIVE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25275, 12 July 1943, Page 3

AIR OFFENSIVE

ATTACK ON CENTRAL RUHR FIERCE ENEMY , BARRAGE (Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, July 10. “ The German defences put up one of the fiercest barrages since the battle of the Ruhr began when our bombers made a very heavy attack on the central Ruhr, including Gelsenkirchen, last night,” states the Air Ministry. ‘‘ The night was too dark for full observation, but it is known that heavy damage was dene. Many large fires were started. Night fighters were much less numerous than usual. The Germans relied more on a terrific barrage. One Lancaster caught in the barrage after it had bombed the target was blown upside down twice in as many minutes, but returned home safely. The huge four-engined bombers rocked like cradles and the crews often thought that their aircraft was hit when, in fact, shells were exploding nearby. Several enemy fighters were damaged and possibly destroyed. We lost 10 bombers.”

More than 1000 tons of bombs fell on Cologne on Friday night, when the great Ruhr industrial centre had its third attack within a fortnight. It was not such a heavy attack as the raids on June 28 and July 3, but the bomb load was big enough to do great damage to the industrial district attacked, in which there were many factories either previously undamaged or reconstructed after the 1000-bomber raid last summer. There was much cloud, with bad icing and electrical storms along the route. It was difficult to prevent the gi‘ns from getting iced up, and many crews spoke of the intense cold.

Reports from experienced reconnaissance. pilots who made special flights over the target indicate that the bombing soon became effectively concentrated. Nearly all the crews had a quiet journey to and from the target, but were hotly engaged over Cologne, where the searchlights were hampered bv cloud, but the barrage was intense. Enemy fighters made repeated attacks when the pilots had a good chance of spotting the bombers silhouetted against the red glow of the fires or the diffused light of the searchlights on cloud. Onb Lancaster destroyed two fighters. Spitfires and Typhoons of Fignter Command to-day carried out wide sweeps over enemy airfields in northern France and escorted R.A.A.F. Venturas to, bomb St. Omer. Typhorns of the , New) Zealand Fighter Squadron attacked enemy aircraft on the ground at Bernay. The New Zealand airmen saw ground crews dive for cover as the Typhoons opened fire. The New Zealanders saw their cannon shells hitting enemy fighters. Typhoon fighters escorting Typhoon bombers attacking the Maupertus airfield did not see a single enemy fighter. All our fighters returned from these operations, but at least two enemy fighters were destroyed in the air. Caen was visited by the largest of several U.S.A.A.F. bomber formations which attacked widely-separated enemy bases in France to-day. The crews were amazed by the lack of fighter opposition at Caen, where the opposition is usually stiff. Fortresses attacking Abbeville did not see a single fighter.

Sir Stafford Cripps, broadcasting to aircraft workers to-zight, said that the Allies had entered a new and more intensive phase of the air war, in which those workers’ best efforts would be more than ever necessary. The Allies were now on the offensive and at almost any moment there might be a great intensification of that offensive. Dislodging the enemy from the occupied territories of Europe would be a costly task, but the aircraft workers could help to keep down the losses.