BOMBS ON REICH

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 275, 20 November 1943, Page 5

BOMBS ON REICH

DOUBLE R.A.F. BLOWS LUDWIGSHAFEN AND BERLIN HEAVILY DAMAGED (By Telegraph —Press Association—Copyright) London, Nov. 19. R.A.F. bombers carried out simultaneous large-scale raids last night on Berlin and Ludwigshafen. Bombs were rained down on Berlin at the rate of 50 tons a minute for 20 minutes. The loss of 32 bombers from the two operations is claimed to be a small percentage considering the scale of the raids. It was the second raid on Ludwigshafen within 24 hours. Recd. 6 p.m. Rugby, Nov. 18. The Bomber Command last night attacked Ludwigsnafen, which is chiefly noted as tne home of the largest chemical factory ra the world, and Mosquitoes bombed objectives in Berlin and western Germany. One aircraft is missing. American Liberators attacked targets in Norway tnis morning. The Lancasters and Halit axes which attacked Budwigsnaien were not a. large force by present standards, but there were sufficient heavy bombers over the upper Rhineland to make the loss of a single aircraft represent a very small percentage. The Germans put up many squaurons of night lighters, and the weather was reasonably favourable for interception. Yet the enemy failed to make contact with the main bomber force, and not until after the last bomber had left was Ludwigshafen itself lit by a dense shower of fighter flares. The attack was made entirely with heavy high-explosive bombs and was highly concentrated. The bombs caused a number of fires and exceptionally large explosions. —8.0.W,