PROMISE OF MORE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 June 1942, Page 3

PROMISE OF MORE

MR CHURCHILL’S MESSAGE TO BOMBER COMMAND HERALD OF WHAT GERMANS WILL RECEIVE. CITY BY CITY FROM NOW ON. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, May 31. The Prime Minister, Mr Churchill, has sent the following message to the chief of the Bomber Command, Air Marshal A. T. Harris: “I congratulate you and the whole of the Bomber Command upon the remarkable feat of organisation which enabled you to dispose over 1000 bombers over the Cologne area in a single night and without confusion to concentrate their action into as short a time as an hour and a half. "This is proof of the growing power of our bombing force, and it is the herald of what the Germans will receive city by city from now on." Cologne, which stands on the Rhine in western Germany, is one of Germany’s greatest industrial, commercial and transport centres. Its normal population is about 750,000. huge Organisation NEEDED TO MAINTAIN AIR OFFENSIVE. GERMANY’S BEST EFFORT DOUBLED. (Received This Day, 10.30 p.m.) LONDON, May 31. Last night’s raid was the 107th against Cologne. The R.A.F. in previous raids had used upwards of 300 machines, while it is estimated that Germany used 500 for her heaviest raids against Britain. ■ A colossal organisation is needed to ' maintain an average offensive of one thousand bombers. It is impossible, because of bad weather, to send a bombing force every night. Therefore, in order to maintain an average of 1,000 a night it would be necessary frequently to send over at least 3,000. For- this force, assuming that two squadrons operate from one aerodrome, over 120 aerodromes would be needed, while the crews would total about 18,000 and the ground staff needed to handle the force about 400,000. Cologne’s defences are believed to include 120 searchlights in addition to many powerful anti-aircraft batteries. The R.A.F.’s targets in previous raids included the Franz Clouth rubber works, the Garmand and Deuta railway yards, the Kolnippes Railway Works and the large Kalk and Humboldt Deuta factories, which make plane and submarine engines. Cologne’s main industries are engaged in the production of chemicals, synthetic oil, rubber and explosives. The main railway station was recently badly damaged.