ONSLAUGHT ON RUHR

Southland Times, Issue 25691, 28 June 1943, Page 5

ONSLAUGHT ON RUHR

FOUR RAIDS IN : FIVE NIGHTS 1 (8.0.W.) RUGBY,- June 26. The Royal Air Force finished a week’s continuous night bombing with yet another attack in the Ruhr area, the fourth in five nights. The objective was the Bochum-Gelsenkirchen district, which lies in the heart of the Ruhr. , Bochum and Gelsenkirchen have each a population of about 300,000 and many coal mines. Bochum is the centre of the most prolific part- of the Ruhr coal basin, while Gelsenkirchen is s the chief steam coal-mining cen5 tre. Both have many important ’ factories. There is a big steel 3 industry at Bochum, while ’ Gelsenkirchen also produces steel and has two of the largest i synthetic oil plants in the Reich. * Some of the most important railway communications pass through the district. The defences of Essen, Duisburg, Krefeld, Mulheim and Oberhausen, towns heavily bombed in the recent attacks, went into action. An intense barrage came up, but the huge searchlight belt of the Ruhr was handicapped because of cloud and different tactics from those used in recent raids had to be employed. Instead of" trying to cone bombers the Germans directed the searchlights to the base of the cloud so that the bombers would be clearly silhouetted and picked up by fighters. There were running fights all along the rout from the Belgian coast through the Ruhr and back again. Despite the cloud the night never became very dark, but enemy fighters were no more successful in stopping the bombers than on the previous night, and the clouds over the target were soon glowing from fires. According to Mr Elmer Davis, Direc-, tor of the United States Office of War Information, more than 1000 fighter planes and 30,000 anti-aircraft guns had been assembled in the Ruhr and the Allied losses during the week had been heavy. They amounted to 173 bombers, of which 38 were American and the loss of about' 1500 highly trained men. The Germans had probably lost a good many more aircraft in the week. RAID ON MESSINA Flying Fortresses had to shoot their way through swarms of enemy fighters to reach Messina in Friday’s raid, says the Columbia Broadcasting System’s Algiers correspondent. It is officially reported that the anti-aircraft fire over the target was intense. Italian and German fighters pressed the attack from all directions, sometimes ignoring their own anti-aircraft fire and forcing the Forti resses to fight during bombing runs. One of our bomber flights, was tailed to within sight of the African coast. “The fighters Were as thick as gnats,” said one American gunner. Reuter’s Algiers correspondent says that 200 tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs were dropped on Messina on Friday., A Rome communique admits that extensive damage was caused by the Fortress raid on Messina. The casualties were 81 killed and 85 wounded. Reggio de Calabria, one of the two mainland terminals of the Messina ferry, was also raided. | AIRFIELDS ATTACKED Enemy airfields in Northern France were again targets for light bombers and fighter bombers early on Saturday evening. Typhoon bombers attacking Vernay airfield, about 40 miles south of Le Harve, went through a gap in the clouds. Bursts were seen on buildings, hangars and dispersal pens. One bomb fell on a large aircraft on the ground and others near a twin-engined aircraft. Escorting fighters described the bombing results as good. All got back safely. Other Typhoon fighter-bombers swept over marshalling yards at Eu. Hits were scored on sidings and the station. Visibility was exceptionally good. No enemy fighters were seen and all the aircraft returned safely. Bostons, with Spitfire escort, attacked an airfield at Abbeville. AMERICAN LOSSES Major General Davenport Johnson, Commander of the Second United States Air Force, stated at Washington: The Germans have thrown everything they have against the American heavy bombers, but are unable to inflict critical losses. American losses in the European theatre have been approximately six per cent., which is not too heavy. If we can stay under 10 per cent, we can take it.”

The War Department reports that the battle front performance of the P 47 Thunderbolt indicates that it will outmatch the Focke-Wulf 190, which is the best German plane of that class. The first detailed report of the Thunderbolt is based on two consecutive days’ action in France when P 47’s shot down four and damaged two Focke-Wulfs.

500 GERMAN PLANES DESTROYED Russian Air Offensive (Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, June 26. ' Reuter’s Moscow correspondent says the Russian air offensive against Ger-man-held aerodromes reached its peak last week, with hundreds of bombers out every night, except Thursday. He says that of the last 18 days only six have been without major attacks against enemy airfields and adds that at the most conservative estimate 500 German planes have been destroyed on the ground as the result of consistent blasting. Moscow radio states that on Friday night long range aircraft raided the railway junction at Briansk, the station at Anblya and enemy aerodromes. Great fires broke out at the railway junction at Briansk and many planes were, destroyed on enemy aerodromes. Two Soviet planes did not return. , Saturday night’s communique states that nothing important occurred on the front. In the Finnish Gulf Soviet airmen sank an enemy patrol vessel and damaged a trawler. * The Russians made local breachesTn the Germans’ main defence line southeast of Orel, north of Orel and west of Velikiye Luki, according to Berlin radio, which claimed that counter-attacks had restored the positions. A German High Command communique says the Germans and Rumanians carried out successful storm troop operations at various points on the Russian front. The Germans repelled several Soviet attacks in the Orel sector.