SECOND ATTACK ON MAINZ

Southland Times, Issue 24822, 14 August 1942, Page 5

SECOND ATTACK ON MAINZ

STRONG R.A.F. FORCE (Rec. 1.10 a.m.) LONDON, August 13. A strong force of Royal Air Force bombers attacked the German transport centre of Mainz for the second, night running last night. Air-fields in the Low Countries were also attacked. Five aircraft are missing. On Tuesday night a strong force of bombers attacked Mainz. The. crews report that the attack was particularly successful. Reconnaissance on Wednesday morning showed fires still burning. Objectives at Coblenz and the docks at Le Havre and airfields in the Low Countries were also attacked. Sixteen bombers are missing from flie night operations and one fighter is missing from offensive daylight patrol on TuesHundreds of high explosive bombs were dropped and 50,000 incendiary bombs were discharged during the raid on Mainz. Special observers circled above the target watching results during the raid. They reported that within four minutes of the attack three large fires were started and that by the end of the raid the number of fires was too great to be counted. The observer who flew over Mainz in daylight on Wednesday found dense black smoke rising to over 1500 feet. In these, attacks the Royal Air Force is following the same careful pattern. Invariably manufacturing and communications centres are the target. RAID ON OSNABRUCK

Osnabruck, which a strong force of bombers attacked on Sunday night, is an industrial town with steel works, railway workshops, and copper and aluminium refineries, but its strategic importance is as a railway centre. It is one of the main outlets from the Ruhr, and the Ruhr-Bremen and HollandHanover lines cross in the city. There are very large marshalling yards and main lines, and the yards were hit. Air crews saw their bombs burst and fires start in the town. Several crews reported enormous explosions. A great box of more than 30 searchlights surrounded the target and flak came up and passed over the bombers as they flew in to drop their bombs. No fewer than 200 bombers dropped over 450 tons of bombs on Osnabruck during the raid, more than the Germans ever dropped on Britain in one night. The bombs included between 40 and 50 of the 40001 b type and between 70 and 80 high explosive bombs were dropped at one time. From the beginning of July to August 11 the Royal Air Force undertook harassing operations on 26 days and only three periods of 24 hours were without raids. Of the 13 night raids made on Germany in only one were fewer than 100 aircraft employed. In one raid over 600 planes were used and in 10 other raids between 200 and 450 machines were employed. INCREASED BOMB TONNAGE

During July 13,000 tons of bombs was dropped on Germany compared with 3500 tons in the same month in 1940 and 8500 tons in July 1941. Mine-lay-ing was also many times increased. Air experts are of opinion that,, given good weather, there is no reason why the bombing should not continue on an equivalent scale. The increase has been made while more and more bombers have been sent to other theatres of war. Dr Josef Goebbels, German Propaganda Minister, admits that Germany is not mass raiding Britain because the planes are needed in Russia. In an article published in Das Reich Dr Goebbels says: “It would be possible to withdraw several thousand planes from the East and hurl them against Britain in massive reprisal attacks on a scale which would deprive the Royal AuForce of any desire to terrorize German towns by spiteful attacks. She does not do this because she is fighting the war to win and not to indulge in any desire for revenge which would split up her forces, which is the aim of the enemy war leaders. The German method, is to concentrate on a great plan from which we will never diverge, however unfavourable the attendant effect.” __