NAZIS LOSE 142 FIGHTERS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 13, 11 October 1943, Page 5

NAZIS LOSE 142 FIGHTERS

Battle Over Bremen DEFENDERS USE NEW

TACTICS (British Official Wireless.)

(Received October -10, 7.15 p.m.)

RUGBY, October 9.

A strong formation of Flying Fortresses and Liberators attacked an aircraft factory, port facilities and shipbuilding yards at Bremen, north-west Germany, and submarine installations at Vegesack, 10 miles north-west of Bremen, yesterday, according to an announcement from the United States beadquarters. Thunderbolts furnished support and cover for the Fortresses. Strong opposition was encountered, the Germans apparently using new tactics against the heavy bombers, but 130 enemy fighters were destroyed by them ana the Thunderbolts destroyed 12. From these operations, SO bombers and three fighters are missing. The United States bomber crews, in spite of the ferocity of the battle over Bremen were jubilant over the results of the operations. Fighters and flak over the city did not prevent the bombers' pounding their loads on to the target areas, which soon became wrapped ■in dense smoke. The chief target was an aircraft factory which turns out Junkers 87’s, and Stuka dive-bombers. Another target was the important Deschimag shipbuilding yards. The forces which bombed Vegesack aimed at submarine installations. Some of the 130 fighters destroyed appeared to be armed with rocket guns. Fortress crews claim that an additional ov were probably destroyed and 42 damaged. Thunderbolt pilots reported that fighters attacked savagely, apparently to enable the rocket-gunned interceptors to get at the bombers. ' Berlin radio says that strong Allied air forces terror-raided north-west German coastal territory on Friday. Largescale destruction was caused in tae centre of Bremen and residential quarters and public buildings. . were damaged. There were heavy civilian casualties. Defences in Quandary. The German air defences seemed to be in two minds on Friday night when the Bomber Command made a double attack, says the Air Ministry. The major attack was on Hanover, but another force of heavy bombers went to Bremen—which had been bombed by the U.S.A.A.F. a few hours before—and in a quarter of an hour dropped a great weight of bombs. Crews in the main force could see the Germans laying flares over Bremen as they swept on tiieir way to Hanover, while at Hanover itself things were comparatively quiet when the first bomber reached' its target. . One pilot said: “Some of us got there just before zero hour and we circled round till it was time to go in and bomb. We thought the defences would be ready for us, hut in fact they were slow getting off the mark. I’lak was not particularly troublesome and was not so intense as tile barrage we had seen going up over Bremen.’ Later on, searchlights began co-oper-ating with fighters. Cones swung round to form a bright lane into Hanover. More, and more fighters began to reach the target area, and one pilot who arrived toward the end of the attack saw as many as six enemy aircraft while he was over the town. Many combats took place, and as the battle reached a climax the sky ■became alive with enemy fighters, bursting flak, and the red lines of tracer. Sometimes when a fighter had succeeded it turned on its white navigation light and circled over the spot. Sometimes it was the fighter that fell blazing through the sky. for the bombers gave a good account of themselves in the many encounters that took place. Huge Explosion. Fires in Hanover grew steadily in spite of all the efforts of the fighters to break up the concentration of bombers. Smoke began to pour up into the sky. After the attack had been going on for some little time, a -huge explosion was seen in the target area. There was a brilliant blue flash, followed by a plume of black smoke which shot up into the air and then gradually spread out over the sky. Armament, engineering, aircraft component, textile and chemical works make Hanover one of the most important of Germany’s industrial centres. It is also an important railway junction on the line between Berlin and the west. One of the bombers previously reported missing is now known to be safe.