GREATEST TO DATE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 May 1944, Page 3

GREATEST TO DATE

ALLIED FIGHTER FORCE SENT OVER FRANCE AND GERMANY ESCORTING AMERICAN BOMBERS LITTLE ENEMY AIR OPPOSITION LONDON. May 23. The greatest fighter force ever sent out from Britain on a single mission—more than 1,000 aircraft —today escorted over 500 American Fortresses and Liberators in. attacks on targets in. France and Germany. The targets included six Luftwaffe bomber and fighter bases, five of them south and south-west ol Paris and one in Norm'andy. Marshalling yards l and other targets in France and military objectives in Western Germany were also attacked. Except for eight German fighters which attempted to interfere with one group of bombers, no fighters were seen. The crews reported good bombing results. One 'bomber and three fighters are missing. Aircraft of the Second Tactical Air Force attacked wireless installations on the coast of France and transport in Northern France, Holland and Belgium. Mustangs attacked railway targets in Belgium. One Mustang failed to return. NIGHT ASSAULT R.A.F. BLASTS DORTMUND AND OTHER TARGETS. OVER 1,000 TONS DROPPED ON MAIN OBJECTIVE. (Bv Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright) LONDON, May 23. Aircraft of Bomber Command more than 1000 strong last night attacked the German cities of Dortmund and Brunswick, and also Orleans and Le Mans, in France. Mosquitoes attacked Ludwigshaven, in south.western Germany, and there was a big mine-laying programme. Thirty-five of the attacking force are missing. The weather over Dortmund was clear, and the pathfinders did a good job. The bombing was concentrated, and good results are reported. The Germans tried all they could to break up the bomber formations, but without much success. Dortmund is closely linked with Duisburg, which was the main target for the R.A.F. on Sunday night. Over Brunswick, low cloud made observation of the results difficult. There were scores of night-fighters over Dortmund and Brunswick, and, according to the Germans, air battles began about midnight, and two hours and a half later were still continuing. ALLIED AIR POWER OPERATING LIKE ARTILLERY AT ENORMOUS RANGE. LACK OF ENEMY REACTIONS. LONDON, May 22. The “Daily Mail's’ aviation correspondent says it appears that the Allies’ sole object, in their powerful daylight air attacks, has been to reach military targets on the ground, like artillery firing at an enormous range. The whole picture makes an obvious repetition of the “operation strangle” preceding the latest campaign in Italy. One of the most remarkable features of the latest turn in the west is the complete lack of enemy reaction against Britain. There is no record of a single enemy plane crossing the English Channel in daylight this month, and only five reported over Britain in daylight during April. The enemy at this critical juncture has been forced to rely for aerial reconnaissance entirely on spy planes staying some miles off-shore. HEAVY EXPLOSIONS CAUSED IN DUSSELDORFF. LARGEST LIGHTS UP WHOLE TOWN. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.0 a.m.) RUGBY, May 23. There was a good deal of cloud, some thick with ice, lying over parts of the Continent last night, and several of the Lancasters bombing Dortmund were forced down many hundreds of feet on their way to the target, but prompt on zero hour the first flares went down from pathfinders, and seven minutes latex- the attack began. There was a dramatic series of explosions—six in three minutes. The first, which was the largest, lit up the whole town, tmtil the bomber crews could distinguish streets and houses. The defences of Essen, Hamm, Cologne and Dusseldorf were all roused by the attack! and scores of searchlights were switched on, there being so many at one point that pilots said they thought they would never get through without being spotted. One bomber group reported several fighters in the target area, and there were six combats over the town, one enemy fighter being destroyed. There was no cloud ovex- Orleans or Le Mans. A Halifax bomb-aimer, who was in the attack on the railway yards at Orleans, said his plane was lit up like daylight by pathfinder flares. A Mosquito crew who bombed Ludwigshafen saw a very large explosion in the target area just before they left the vicinity.

SIX RAIDERS DESTROYED OVER BRITAIN. (Received This Day. 9.35 a.m.) LONDON May 23. It is now known that six raiders were destroyed in raids on Britain last night.