AIR ASSAULT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25560, 13 June 1944, Page 5

AIR ASSAULT

OPERATIONS STEPPED UP IMPROVEMENT IN WEATHER (Rec. 0.30 a.m.) LONDON, June 12. In Improved weather over France this morning, the Allied air forces stepped up their assault on enemy targets in and behind the battle area, and by the middle of the morning Eiad flown more sorties than were flown all yesterday. Lancasters and Halifaxes of the Royal Air Force last night struck heavily at four railway centres behind the front—Nantes, Tours, Evereux, and Massy-Palaiseau. These attacks are part of the plan to harass and delay the movement of German troops and supplies coming up to the battle area. These four junctions are in a wide arc well behind the battle area. German reinforcements moving from east to west towards the Caen area at night are brought up through MassyPalaiseau or taken north of Paris through Evereux, while reinforcements from the south would be likely to use the junctions of Nantes and Tours. There was a good deal of cloud over France last night, but the crews frequently dived through it to release their bombs.

Very strong forces of Fortresses and Liberators yesterday bombed nine airfields, eight bridges, one army headouarters, and other objectives. Heavy bombers attacked some targets visually, others through overcast by instruments. Escorting fighters destroyed five planes and dive-bombed and strafed ground installations. They ranged as far as 150 miles ahead of the Allied ground forces and attacked more than 300 railroad cars, 25 locomotives, 12 oil tanks, 85 trucks, and 20 other vehicles, including tanks and armoured cars. Planes of the Ninth Air Force flew more than 13,000 individual operations between 10.50 p.m. on June 5 and 4 pm on June 11, averaging about 100 flights an hour over enemy territory. Sky trains and Horsa gliders which landed with the first Allied paratroops and airborne forces on Cherbourg Peninsula in one day flew considerably more than 1000 operations. Sky trains on Saturday and Sunday evacuated seriously wounded men from hastily constructed landing strips on Normandy beaches. . The Ninth Air Force since the invasion has lost 112 planes, exclusive of gliders which were abandoned after discharging airborne troops. Ninth Air Force fighters destroyed 40 enemy planes.