“WIPED OUT”

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 204, 30 August 1943, Page 5

“WIPED OUT”

CITY OF NUREMBURG CONCENTRATED ALLIED AIR RAID (By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright) Recd. 7.30 i. London, Aug. 29. The Air Ministry announced that on Friday night aircraft of Bomber Command made a very heavy attack on Nu reinburg, important railway and industrial centre in south Germany. Reports indicate that the attack was well concentrated. Mosquitos bombed objectives in the Ruhr. Fighter Command Mosquitos and Beaunghters on intruder operations attacked railway targets and enemy airfields in France and the Low Countries. Thirty-three of our bombers are missing. It is estimated that over 1500 tons of high explosives and tens of thousands of incendiaries were dropped on Nuremburg within 45 minutes on Friday night. “Nuremburg was virtually wiped out.” says the Sunday Times’ correspondent at a bomber station. Returning crews reported great columns of smoke, with red cores rising 15,000 to 20.000 feet, which could he seen 150 miles away. The ground defences were overwhelmed and the city was an inferno within a few minutes of the beginning of the attack. The commander of a Lancaster squadron participating in the raid expressed the opinion that the city was obliterated. German fighters were up in great strength when Nuremburg was raided. rhe enemy used the same tactics as in the Berlin attack and relied almost entirely on night-flghter® and searchlights, states the Air Ministry News Service. The crews report that there wai not a great deal of flak over Nuremburg itself but there were more fighters and searchlights than experienced pilots had seen for some time. The struggle between the bombers and the enemy fighters went on all along the route and still continued when our aircraft were on their way home. As the air crews approached the heavily-defended towns of southern Germany searchlights were switched on and scores of lighters rose to the attack. A tremendous force of fighters awaited the bombers over this target. Ono pilot described the fighters as “milling around like bees.’’ Thf great concentration of searchlights tried to pick the bombers up for them. Some crews saw as many as ten fighters at a time—a large number to see at night time. An American officer who flew in one bomber to watch the raid said he was very impressed by the timing and concentration of the attack.