WITHOUT PAUSE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 July 1943, Page 3

WITHOUT PAUSE

ALLIED AIR OFFENSIVE AGAINST TARGETS IN GERMANY. AND IN OCCUPIED TERRITORY. LONDON, July 27. The great Allied air offensive against Germany and German-occupied territory, which began at the weekend, is now four days old and is still going on.

Strong forces of bombers and fighters crossed the Channel today to make further attacks on enemy airfields and industrial targets. United States medium bombers attacked targets in France and Typhoons went for targets in Belgium and Holland. Spitfires made offensive sweeps over enemyoccupied territory. All the bombers and fighters came back. In offensive operations this evening nine enemy aircraft were destroyed. Two Allied planes are missing. The Fleet Air Arm destroyed an enemy mine-sweeper off the French coast and destroyed another. A Junkers 88 was shot down over the North Sea by Beaufighters. Mosquito bombers went to Hamburg, where fires were still burning from the weekend raids. Other aircraft were active over France.

One fighter did not get back from the night’s operations. AXIS FACTORIES ATTACKED BY AMERICAN HEAVY BOMBERS. MORE THAN 50 ENEMY PLANES DESTROYED. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, July 26. American heavy bombers attacked rubber factories in Hanover, Üboat and aircraft works at Hamburg and port installations at Wilhelmshaven and Wesermunde. Good bombing results were reported at all the targets. Strong fighter opposition was encountered by the unescorted Flying Fortresses, which destroyed more than 50 enemy aircraft. Allied planes also attacked German airfields in France and Belgium today. From all these operations 23 bombers and three fighters are missing,. The American daylight attack yesterday was Hamburg's fourth in three days, including the Mosquito raid on Sunday night. After receiving reports of the day’s operations, Brigadier-Gen-eral Anderson, commanding the Eighth United States Air Force Bomber Command, stated that the planes destroyed the production output of a huge aluminium factory, damaged submarine facilities in Norway, brought great destruction to the rubber tire output for the German army, and also destroyed a considerable part of German submarine building capacity. They damaged the aircraft' engine assembly plants and a Nazi aerodrome and destroyed about 100 enemy fighters. This was accomplished at only the normal ratio of losses.

ALLIED FIGHTERS RANGING FAR & WIDE. DAMAGE DONE IN MANY AREAS. s» (British Official Wireless.} (Received This Day, 10.10 a.m.) RUGBY, July 27. Large-scale sweeps were carried out by the R.A.F., Dominion and Allied fighters today. R.A.F. fighters also escorted Venturas to bomb industrial targets at Zeebrugge and Typhoon bombers made renewed and successful attacks on airfields at Courtrai, in Belgium, and Woensdrecht, in Holland. German fighters showed no desire to come up and engage the Spitfires and even the flak was light and ineffective, except at Woensdrecht where Typhoon bombers, escorted by Typhoon fighters saw three Messerschmitt 109 s taking off. At Courtrai. Typhoon pilots saw bombs bursting among hangars, in barracks and among dispersals. Volumes of black smoke rose to a great height from bombed buildings. Meanwhile Spitfires made independent sweeps from Ypres to Hulst/in Holland. Fighters, escorting Venturas, saw sheets of flame and volumes of smoke from the bombing of Zeebrugge. No flak and no enemy fighters were encountered. None of our planes are missing from these operations.