AIR ASSAULTS ON FORTRESS OF EUROPE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 June 1943, Page 3

AIR ASSAULTS ON FORTRESS OF EUROPE

Number of Ruhr Centres Blasted BRITISH AND AMERICAN NIGHT AND DAY ATTACKS EXTENSIVE WAR AREAS LAID WASTE LONDON, June 33. Following on the heaviest air attack of the whole war—that made by formations of the R.A.F. Bomber Command on Dusseldorff and Munster on Friday night—aircraft based in Britain have struck heavy and widespread blows against Hitler s European fortress in the past 24 hours. In daylight today R.A.F. bombers and fighters made largescale offensive operations over Northern France and the Low Countries. Mitchells attacked targets at Flushing in Holland, Bostons went for industrial targets at Lille, in Northern France and for the second day running’ Typhoon bombers attacked the airfield at Abbeville, in France. Many squadrons of fighters supported the raids. Spitfires shot down one enemy fighter. Two bombers and two fighters were lost. Over the Bay of Biscay this morning two Mosquito fighterbombers sent a Focke-Wulf four-engine Courier crashing into the sea. These Couriers are used for long-range attacks on Allied ships and for spotting for U-boats. AMERICANS IN BATTLE Two large formations of American heavy bombers in daylight today attacked Kiel and Bremen. They flew without escort. Over Kiel they ran into more enemy fighters than they had ever before and fought the bigg'est battle ever fought by American bombers against German fighters. United States fighter squadrons were out over the enemy coast and shot down five German machines. Twenty-six American bombers and two fighters are missing. BOMBS RAINED ON BOCHUM Last night a great force of four-engine bombers carried on the Battle of the Ruhr by attacking Bochum. The raid was not so heavy as the record attack on Dusseldorf on the preceding night, but more than five two-ton bombs were dropped every minute, besides tens of thousands of incendiaries. Late arrivals reported two large areas of fires, one in the northern district and the other in the southern portion of the city. The Germans seem to have brought up even more guns to strengthen the outer defences of the Ruhr. One Halifax pilot said the barrage did not let up once. The Germans seemed to have massed guns miles deep. Another pilot said the enemy was using more searchlights than for some time past and night fighters were out in force. Twenty-four bombers are missing from the night s operations, which included mine laying. Bochum has a great number of coke ovens and several bigsteel works. The last time it was raided, over a month ago, over 1,000 tons of bombs were dropped. A reconnaissance plane which flew over Munster yesterday reported that fires started in Friday night’s raid were still burning. Photographs show that considerable damage was done.