Berlin Has Ceased to be Even a Town

Manawatu Times, Volume 69, Issue 58, 11 March 1944, Page 5

Berlin Has Ceased to be Even a Town

Americans’ Third Raid in Fsur Days (By Telegraph—Press Assn.-—Copyright.) Received Friday, 9.50 p.m. LONDON, March 10. A Swedish passenger who has just : arrived in Stockholm by air from Ber- ■ lin stated: “It is too terrible to talk 1 about. Berlin is doomed. It has ceased to be a capital or even a town. ’ ’ The Swede said he spent several days in the centre of Berlin where the Geri mans said they were destroying what the British and Americans had left and were using dynamite to clear away the ruins. The German News Agency reports i that American bombers en route to Ber- . lin yesterday dropped a large number of i high explosives on Hanover. The United States heavy bombers which attacked Berlin today converged on the capital from several directions without encountering fighter opposition. ; This is believed to be because of heavy cloud which completely covered the , Reich capital and grounded the air ; force. The centre of Berlin was today’s tar- , get, the raiders using overcast bombing technique. The thick clouds did not prevent the enemy ground defences : from pumping up more flak than the Americans had yet encountered over i Berlin. The American losses, however, are believed to have been comparatively slight. Some bombers flew backwards and forwards over Berlin before droping their loads. The crews of the Fortresses and Liberators reported “360 deg. runs, ’ ’ indicating that they circled Berlin as their bombs went down. To-day’s raid, which was the third in the past four days, rounds off a period of most intensive attack against Berlin since the R.A.F.’s heavy blows on the nights of January 27, 28 and 30. This is the first time American bombers have actually crossed the centre of Berlin. Mustang pilots protecting the bombers said that the cloud probably prevented fighters reaching the raiders. They added that some German fighters may have penetrated the cloud and attacked the bombers on the homeward journey, but this was considered unlikely. The leader of one Mustang group said that the clouds were so thick that they formed a roof four miles high over Europe. “The only land we saw from our take-off until we returned to base was the peaks of mountains south of Berlin. ’ ’ Another Mustang pilot said that he saw only one Fortress drop, although the flak was very heavy. The Nazis shot a lot of rockets against the bombers, but their aim was poor. A U.S.A.A.F. communique states that seven bombers and one fighter are missing from today’s raid on Berlin. Neither bombers nor fighters claimed the destruction of any enemy planes. All the fighters reported no opposition from enemy planes and a few of our bombers reported minor encounters with the enemy.