Greatest Air Onslaught to Date

Manawatu Times, Volume 69, Issue 66, 21 March 1944, Page 5

Greatest Air Onslaught to Date

(By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.) Received Monday 7.20 p.m. LONDON, March 19. Bomber Command's second 1000sortie attack against the Continent within four nights plus today’s Italybased American assault against Southern Germany marks a new phase in the air war, says the Press Association’s aviation correspondent. Never before has any onslaught of such weight and frequency been launched. The correspondent estimates that in the past five days and four nights no fewer than 20,000 tons of bombs have been dropped by British and American Commands in a coordinated two-way assault from Britain and the Middle East. The targets have stretched across Europe from Bordeaux on the west coast of France to Central Bulgaria and from the Channel coast to south of Rome. The present offensive differs from all previous onslaughts in that heavy bombers make up the greatest proportion of the bomber fleets. Every time 100 bombers invade Axis Europe between 300 and 400 bombs are dropped. This has doubled the estimated load oi a few months ago. The R.A.F. losses last night were under 2 per cent. During this attack 12,000-pounders knocked out the entire explosive factory at Bergelac near Bordeaux. Strong formations of American Marauders escorted by Thunderbolts in the fading hours of daylight today made a scries of attacks against military objectives in the Pas de Calais area. The Marauders flew through withering flak. One plane is missing and another returned with fifty holes in its elevators, bomb bays and wings, and one engine shot out. The Marauders met no fighter opposition. Fortresses late in the afternoon also bombed Pas de Calais, Thunderbolts attacked airfields in Holland and Mustangs conducted an offensive fighter patrol. Forty-eight of the enemy aircraft destroyed on Saturday fell to guns of Fortressos, Liberators, Thunderbolts and Lightnings which took part in the raid on five airfields in the vicinity ot the Udine, states a correspondent from North African Headquarters. In the course of the raid the largest tonnage of fragmentation bombs released in one day by the Fifteenth A.A.F. smashed parked aircraft in dispersal areas and installations. Approximately 80 enemy aircraft maintained vicious attacks but the Fortresses destroyed 39. Photographs revealed that an additional 74 enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground. Fragmentation bombs and preliminary strafing by fighters accounted for 58 enemy aircraft and another 16 were destroyed by Lightnings. Night bombers attacked the railway junction of Plovidv (a town in Bulgaria and one of the most important railways centres in the Balkans) on Saturday. Fifty-six enemy planes were destroyed throughout the day in addition to a large number destroyed on the ground. The Allies flew more than 2000 sorties and the enemy flew approximately ninety sorties over the battle area. The United States Air Force Headquarters announced that Fortresses ana Liberators destroyed 43 enemy planes in operations over Germany on Saturday, making tfio total for the day 82. The Bulgarian Government has ordered the evacuation of all unessential persons from Sofia as well as women and children, says the Berlin radio. The air raids have been a daily feature of Sofia life for five days, adds the radio. Air photographs taken during Saturday of the home-based daylight attacks indicate considerable damage to two Dernier aircraft factories at Friedrichshafen. Aerodromes, hangars and barracks were also considerably damaged and a number of grounded enemy planes damaged or destroyed. For the second time in a week aircraft of Bomber Command made over a thousand sorties in a single night on Saturday, their main target being Frankfurt. One bomber group alone dropped more than a thousand tons of high explosives and incendiaries. This group was in the vanguard of the attacks and its bombs went down at the rate of over 50 tons a minute. A bomber group of the R.C.A.F. was in the attack in great strength and all the Australian bomber squadrons were out as well. Once again the Luftwaffe had to meet two massive attacks within 12 hours—one by American heavy bombers in daylight and the other hy the R.A.F. shortly after dark. During the British night : .:ck enemy fighters encountered were fewer than usual, but the ground defences for miles around tried to join in the battle. While the Frankfurt attack was going on a force of Lancasters was making a dramatic pinpointed obliteration attack on an important explosive factory at Bergerax, some 50 miles west of Bordeaux. The munition works were detonated with a shattering explosion of one of the new 12,000-pounder bombs. It was a perfect example of precision bombing carried out with hairsplitting accuracy.