WELL PLANNED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 March 1942, Page 3

WELL PLANNED

BRITISH PARACHUTE RAID AND SUBSEQUENT ATTACK ON PARIS FACTORIES. CO-ORDINATED OPERATIONS. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) RUGBY, March 5. Air experts point out that the parachute raid last week which culminated in the destruction of the Nazi radiolocation station at Bruneval, 12 miles north of Le Havre, was obviously part of a carefully prepared plan leading up to the Iv.A.F. bombing attack on the Paris arms factories. The problem which laced the Bomber Command was that no risk could be taken of missing the targets when the bombs were being dropped. Daylight raiding beyond the range of fighter escorts was decided to be too expensive and the need therefore was not only for a moonlight night but also for as little interference as possible from the enemy. The radio-location station on the French coast would give the Nazi night fighters time to gain the height necessary for attacking the British bombers and its removal would give them the chance of reaching their targets unmolested. The plan worked perfectly and the bombs are known to have been dropped accurately on the objectives. It is also pointed out here that it is now possible to see the value even of a minor operation such as the raid on Bruneval in the larger Avar strategy, as it has made a direct contribution to stopping supplies of tanks and other armaments going from Germany for use against Russia in Hitler’s contemplated spring campaign. ACCURATE BOMBING. The accuracy of the bombing of the Renault works at Billancourt, near Paris, has been established beyond all doubt by night photographs and by Wednesday’s daylight reconnaissance. In the photographs taken during the bombing much of the works is obscured by the top of the engines and a confusion of smoke, but the daylight photographs taken some hours later show fires still burning. The smoke has cleared away and a great stretch of damage is plain to view. It is evenly distributed over the whole area of the works. The only two sections which seem to have escaped the crippling attack are the tire manufacturing shop, which was not in the target area, and the Diesel engine assembly shop at the extreme tip of the island. Two of the most vital sections—the power station and' sequin tank assembly shops —have been very badly knocked about and othei’ sections which appear badly damaged are the engine shops, rolling mills, chemical products department, keller tank assembly shops, western tank assembly shops, the main gasometer, metal stores department, aircraft depot, administrative offices, modelling department and various repair shops and foundries. TANK SHOP WRECKED. The power station shows a heavily damaged roof and it is probable that the interior suffered extensively. The north-east part of one of the tank assembly shops appear to be almost entirely destroyed by fire and when the original photographs are closely examined wrecked tanks can be seen inside the building through the hole caused by a direct hit. It is believed that this assembly shop was producing 27 tanks a week. One photograph shows great destruction in the area in which the administrative offices, engine shops and components workshops were concentrated and here fires were still burning when the daylight reconnaissance was made. In other photographs collapsed roofs have exposed destroyed assembly lines. The fact that many bombs would naturally not explode till they had pierced the roofs and walls of the buildings makes it probable that the damage to stocks and machinery is even greater than is seen in the photographs. In an attack on a target almost totally surrounded by residential buildings it is unfortunately unavoidable that such buildings will also suffer damage. There was certainly some damage outside the Renault works — mostly occasioned by blast —but having regard to the scale of the attack, this damage was astonishing slight and provides a fine testimony to the care and accuracy of the pilots. The daylight photographs were taken by a reconnaissance aircraft of the Coastal Command which came doAvn as low as 400 feet over the city. It took off and landed in exceptionally bad weather and flew through the German fighter defences.