GREAT CORDON OF BOMBS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 191, 11 May 1944, Page 5

GREAT CORDON OF BOMBS

Record Offensive NEARLY 5000 TONS IN 24 HOURS

(By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) LONDON, May 9.

The British United Press aviation corresipondent says that “a great bomb cordon” is 'being established in northwestern Europe by thousands of Allied planes which are now shuttling forth day and night; in the biggest continuous air offensive of the war.

A riug of targets stretching from Liege in the east to Brest in the west has been hammered unmercifully in the past 24 hours by Lancasters, Halifaxes, Liberatore, Fortresses; Mitchells, Bostons, Marauders and Havocs, as well as a host of fighter-bombers. A steady rain of high explosives was poured down, almost without ceasing, on vital German communication points, airfields and ammunition dumps. No area of this size in the world has previously been subjected to such intense air bombardment. The United Press correspondent estimates that oyer 4000 bombers and fighters (n the past 24 hours participated in attacks against German communications aud airfields in north-western Europe, and that between them they dropped nearly 5000 tons of bombs. Possibly the conditions for bombing were better during this 24 hours than ever before, which means that no bombs paid better dividends. Few German Fighters. Today’s offensive across the Channel was kept ujj by more than 3000 Allied aircraft. * German, fighter opposition was weak. A cloudless blue sky over the Straits of Dover throbbed and vibrated with the roar of the Allied planes. Front-line English towns this morning were rocked by a series of explosions across the Channel. Whether it was from our blockbusters or from German blasting operations is not known, but the concussion sjiook houses on the coast for 15 minutes. Once again the spearhead of the air attack was a great Americah battle force of more than 1560 heavy bombers and fighters. It was the third day running that the Americans had beeu out ou tins scale, 'but today, instead of concentrating all their force against one or two in Germany, they set out to hitno fewer than 11—eight airfields and three railway yards.in France, Belgium and Luxemburg. The Americans report that the results were generally good. The fighters claimed five German aircraft, and in addition they shot up others on the ground, as well as locomotives. The American e,.g Ses were six bombers and seven fightAfter this big operation, Mitfiiells and Bostons struck the railway yards at Valenciennes. The visibility was so good that one navigator, a New Zealander, 1* light Sergeant Bert Durrand, of Wellington, saw market day in full swing, with stalls and people in the market place, at Roulers in Belgium. He reported : ‘None of the people- seemed in the least perturbed by us.”

He added that great volumes of black smoke rose for 9000 feet after the attack against the target, with bright red flames in their midst.

Pas-de-Calais Again.

In a combined operation, United States Thunderbolt fighters and Thunderbolt fighter-bombers, Marauder medium bombers. and Havoc light bombers joined forces late in the morning to wage an all-obt assault against military objectives of the Pas-de-Calais. Preceded by over 200 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers which silenced antiaircraft guns and sent scores of the Ger-

man gunners running, a strong force of Marauders attacked military objectives in the coast area across the Channel. Havocs simultaneously raced inland to Aerschot, in Belgium, where they attacked an important railway yard. Approximately 250 medium light bombers

. were used in this operation, while a for- . mation of Thunderbolts stayed aloft to : provide top-cover for the bombers. ■ It- was the first time Lieutenant- ; General Brereton’s highly mobile eomi ponent of the Allied Expeditionary Air Force hud used its various types of planes to carry out a combined attack. None of the bombers sighted enemy planes and none of the fighters had encounters, One Thunderbolt is missing from all these operations. Thunderbolts and fighter-bombers participated in another operation in the afternoon against Mantes. Gassicourt. Mezieres, and elsewhere. Some hundreds of Typhoons, Spitfires and Mustangs swarmed over France, attacking military objectives. Marauders and Havocs in the evening attacked military objectives in Northern France and a bridge across the Seine near Rouen. Mitchells attacked the rail- I way yards at Busigny. I Intensive Dive-bombing. Thunderbolt fighter-bombers and fighters and Lightning fighters of the Ninth Air Force carried out one of their heaviest days’ operations. They dive-bombed railway targets and bridges on the French coast between Dieppe and Calais, and swept widely over France, Belgium and Holland, says an official communique. Only one plane failed to return from these attacks, in which over SOO planes participated. Marauders and Havocs late yesterday evening, in their second assault of the day, strongly attacked a railway bridge near Rouen and other military objectives in northern France. Ono Marauder and one Havoc have not returned. Thunderbolts and R.A.F. Dominion and Allied Spitfires escorted the bombers. 450 of which participated in the day’s attacks, dropping over 800 tons of bombs. British naval fighters. Hying Seafires (Spitfires adapted for currier use), took off from bases in England in sweeps over Brittany today. The German radio gave the all-clear at 9 o’clock after an almost continuous 12-hour alert. Tonight, after 14 hours of sunshine, there is no sign of a break in the weather. 1 At dusk, the temperature was 41 deg., a little warmer than last night. The sky was clear, starlit, with the moon over the French coast. Visibility was good. 1 Berlin radio stated that “flying battleships” were operating with the Ameri- 1 can bombing forces over Euroo-. Tliev ■ were Boeing 1 four-cngim-il phm * r:y | ■ iug two guns and 30 heavy niacliiiuguns, . ■ but no bombs. I 1