“JUST AN INFERNO"

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 April 1943, Page 3

“JUST AN INFERNO"

SMASHING R.A.F. ATTACK ON STUTTGART TERRIFIC RED GLOW OF FIRES. TWENTY-THREE BOMBERS LOST. LONDON, April 15. Making a 900 mile round trip, R.A.F. bombers last night heavily attacked Stuttgart, in South Germany. The pilots had no difficulty in finding their targets. In three-quarters of an hour many 8,000 and 4,0001 b. bombs, as well as tens of thousands of incendiaries were dropped. The men gave vivid descriptions of the terrific red glow of the fire. “It was just an inferno,” was how one pilot summed it up. Except for night fighters, of which three were shot down, the defences were not very strong. The | defences appeared to wilt under the weight of the attack. Fires started by the bombers were seen from 80 miles away. One exceptionally heavy explosion lit up the whole sky. Stuttgart is one of the main links for the traffic between Germany and Italy. It has also large engine' works and manufactures component parts for Üboats. Twenty-three of the attacking aircraft, ten of them Canadian, did not return. ENEMY SHIPS DAMAGED. Whirlwind bombers damaged two enemy ships, probably R-boats, off Northern France. Typhoons followed up this morning and severely damaged three armed trawlers creeping along the Dutch coast. This afternoon Venturas bombed Cherbourg Harbour and fighter-bombers attacked an airfield near Le Havre. FOUR AXIS RAIDERS DESTROYED. Three enemy raiders wore shot down during scattered attacks on the Thames Estuary and Eact Anglia during the night. Sorin? damage was caused and some people were killed. A fourth raider was destroyed over its base in Northern France.