AIR OFFENSIVE

Evening Star, Issue 24287, 31 August 1942, Page 4

AIR OFFENSIVE

HEAVY RAIDS ON GERMANY INDUSTRIAL CENTRES ATTACKED n (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, August 29. A strong force of R.A.F. bombers last night attacked objectives at Nuremberg and Saarbruckon. Thirty of our ;n bombers are missing, id ;j] Nuremberg, formerly a beautiful w old city, has been turned by the Germans into an important centre j. of war industry. It is well known as i a Nazi stronghold, has a tank factory, large aluminium works make ing piston rods and castings, and a factory making heavy electrical ie equipment. It is also an important 1_ railway centre with great repair ,3 shops for locomotives and rolling , r stock. The weather was perfect for the at- ® tack, with scarcely a trace of cloud for miles around the target and with a ® brilliant moon. With fires springing e up from the targets the crews could see • s buildings and streets almost as clearly as in daytime. n One-Lancastor pilot reported that tcr- !® irific fires were raging when his aircraft 11 arrived, and he started more. The defence was very strong, d Bomber crews saw many combats going 5 on around them as night fighters atn tacked. At least one Messersclimitt 110 ■ was destroyed. The attack on Saarbrncken was made ® by a force almost as strong as that h which visited Nuremberg. There was 11 some haze over the town, but many fires 1 were reported. Boston aircraft of the Bomber Com- • mand, escorted by fighters, attacked a the docks at Ostend this morning, while 7 other bombers attacked power stations b in the Lillo-Lens area. Two enemy i fighters wore destroyed during diversionary sweeps by our fighters. Two 1 bombers and one fighter are missing. ; It is' officially stated that United - States Flying Fortresses, escorted by i R.A.F. fighters, bombed a German - aerodrome near Courtrai, Belgium, to- - day. Many bursts were seen on the i target. On the return trip Flying Fortresses beat off attacks by enemy fighters, several of which were severely damaged; though their destruction could not be confirmed. During this operation diversionary sweeps, in which United States fighters participated, were made. None of our ours is missing. There was slight enemy activity over Britain to-day. Bombs were dropped at widely-separated places, and some - damage and casualties are reported, i One enemy bomber was shot down off i the south-west coast bv our fighters. L BOMBS OVER ENGLAND PASSENGER BUSES HIT LONDON, August 29. A number of passengers were killed when two enemy planes dropped bombs yesterday near throe buses in Bristol. The buses crumpled up and burst into flames. When enemy raiders last night scored direct hits on miners’ houses in a northeast of England village, five women, two children, and one man were killed and a number of children were injured. A.R.P. workers rescued a baby boy alive after digging in ruins throughout the night; An enemy plane bombed an -inland town in the south of England in daylight, killing five men and one woman. It is announced in Berlin that the Luftwaffe last night bombed Sunderland. and in a daylight raid on Cardiff ( bombs were dropped on a large munitions factory, causing fires. i NEW ZEALANDERS SCORE 1 CLASH OF FIGHTERS < (British Official Wireless.) (RUGBY-, August 29. 1 One F.W. 190 was destroyed by a 1 New Zealand flight lieutenant, who was with an auxiliary squadron forming part of the escort for the Flying Fortresses which bombed an aircraft factory at Meaulte, says the Air Ministry News Service. The New Zealander, who is a flight commander, went down with his section to attack five F.W. 1901 s. and, after giving one a short burst, saw 1 the pilot fall out. He started to rejoin I the formation when another enemy air- t craft appeared. Our pilots attacked it, s and it went down in a spin, but they e were not able to see it crash. c NAZI SHIPS ATTACKED " t DIRECT HITS SECURED LONDON, August 28. The " Air Ministry says that a Now Zealanc\er, Pilot-officer R. A. Peters, participated in an attack by Hurricane bombers against shipping in the Channel. Peters and a Canadian sergeant, after flying together across the Channel for about three-quarters of an hour, spotted three ships south from Gueni- ( soy. Peters said: “We attacked the leading two. I twice scored direct hits p on mine, and the Canadian also scored A a, hit. I circled the ships afterwards, tl and saw both badly listing. One was cr sinking when we loft.” n i