CONCENTRATED AND EFFECTIVE RAID

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 201, 26 August 1943, Page 5

CONCENTRATED AND EFFECTIVE RAID

(By Telegraph -Press Association—Copyright' Reed. 8.30 p.m. London, Aug. 24. R.A.F. bombers gave Berlin last night its heaviest attack of the war. It was a massive and highly-concentrated raid, made in very great strength, and was twice as heavy as any previously made on the German capital. The bombers were over the city in fair weather just before midnight. Great fires broke out, and columns of smoke rose three miles into the sky. Some enemy fighters were destroyed as the raiders were on the way to Germany, and also over Berlin. R.A.F. fighters took a hand in the operations by making' widespread attacks on airfields in Germany and cccupied territory. Some of them went as far as Hanover. Fires were still burning in Berlin ibis morning following the attack last night by the R.A.F., when 1700 tons of bombs were dropped in 50 minutes. This bomb load was twice as heavy as in any previous attack on Berlin. The bombing was highly concentrated and pilots report that the raid was an outstanding success. Fifty-eight R.A.F. bombers and one fighter are missing.

The last big raid on Berlin was' in March, when 900 tons of bombs l were dropped. In last night’s i raid—the seventy-third the Ger-' man capital has suffered—over 1700Jons of bombs we’*e dropped —four times the weight, of the explosives dropped by the Germans in their biggest raid on London. The Air Ministry says that the crews themselves are very confident about the results of their massive bombardment. They spoke of huge fires which they could see hundreds ot miles from Berlin on the way home, of several big explosions and a pall of smoke three miles high. The Germans had long prepared plans to meet the attack which they knew would come as soon as tne nights were long enough to enable our aircraft to get to Berlin and attack in the darkness. "I have never seen so many fighters before,” said one pilot who has taken part in most of the big raids on the Ruhr and Hamburg on his return from Berlin last night. “There were about 20 belts of searchlights inside the capital and around it. and these! were co-operating with the lighters. We streaked across the beams as last as we could and the searchlights came after us, chasing us across the sky. We got through them all right, but just as we were going to l»omb a lighter came for us and I had to take evasive action. Fights were going on all over the place.” The rear gunner of a Halifax whose aircraft was one of the first to attack said the guns did not open up until the bombing had actually begun. “We did not see any flak at all until we had finished our bombing run, and even then when the ground gunners did start up the fire was ot particularly heavy,” he said. “There were numerous fighters, some flying with their navigation lights on.” The pilot of a Stirling spoke of a huge explosion as he was making his way out of the target area. “It seemed right in the centre of the city and mus< have been something really big,” he said. Other pilots reported much cloud along the route, but it cleared before Berlin was reached and visibility over the target was excellent. Smoke from fires is reported to have reached as high as 15,000 feet. It is known that at least 12 enemy fighters were destroyed. Fires were still raging over Berlin this morning. There was a thick pall of smoke, and it was difficult for the reconnaissance pilot to see details, hut during the 20 minutes he was over the city he saw no transport going in or cut. Recent attacks on Berlin have been confined to harassing raids by R.A.F. Mosquitoes. which wont over the city on five nights during one week recently. It is officially announced in Stockholm that the Swedish Legation in Berlin is being removed to a place outside- the capital. With the fate o! Hamburg before them, the Germans had been preparing for a major attack or. Berlin, and the citizens had been warned to be ready for the R.A.F. A great number of people had been evacuated. Berlin makes arms, ammunition, tanks, and every kind of war weapons, and also has important railways.