BOMBERS’ ROUTE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25466, 22 February 1944, Page 3

BOMBERS’ ROUTE

WEATHER DIFFICULTIES BATTLES WITH FIGHTERS (Rec.’ 7 p.m.) RUGBY, Feb. 20. The weather during Saturday night’s attack on Leipzig presented severe difficulties. A dense cloud belt, heavy with ice, covered the route, and the bombers had to fly through it. Above the sky was clear, but the winds were very variable. Several bombers arrived before zero hour and circled the city waiting for the first flares to go down. Once again the operation developed into g battle between the fighters and the bombers. Most of the crews agree that the fighter attacks were concentrated on them from the time they crossed the enemy coast. Strings of flares floated down to light up the route. More enemy aircraft arrived on the scene in the later stages of the bombing, but they never seemed so numerous as along the route to the target. Searchlights did not get through the clouds, which were so thick that the glow below was rather faint. Black smoke billowed up 22,000 feet. * . An experienced bomb aimer saw a huge explosion near the beginning of the attack. A vivid blue flash came up through an 8000-foot cloud and lit the sky. He said the glow of fires was about the brightest he had ever seen. A Junkers 88 collided with a Lancaster near the enemy coast, and was seen to hit the ground in flames. The Lancaster got home safely, with a large hole in the fuselage and other damage. Another all but collided with a fighter, which just missed it by banking steeply. Fighters made 11 separate attacks on one Halifax, which, although severely damaged, was brought safely back. ,

The loss of 79 planes is the heaviest Bomber Command has ever suffered in any single day or night operation. The previous highest night loss was 58. against Berlin on the night of August 23. Sixty American bombers were lost in daylight over Schweinfurt on October 14.

Leipzig has large war factories, including more than 20 making aircraft components. Since the war began the huge buildings which housed the annual Leipzig Trade Fair have been converted into workshops for, the repair of Junkers aircraft engines. The city is an important railway centre, and one of the largest junctions on the German supply route to the Russian front. The Berlin radio, claiming that 83 four-engined bombers were shot down over Leipzig in the early morning, says: “ During an aerial battle unequalled yet over Europe the German night fighters, in ' close collaboration with the anti-aircraft units, inflicted the greatest defeat on the enemy so far The R.A.F. bombers thought they could avoid heavy losses in a largescale attempt to hoodwink the defences. The disaster which befell the RA.F. shows to what extent the German night fighters have learnt to deal with formations which approach under the cover of utter darkness and thick cloud.” •