VISIBILITY GOOD

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 August 1943, Page 3

VISIBILITY GOOD

FOR ATTACK ON MILAN DAMAGE TO MANY FACTORIES. DISCLOSED IN PHOTOGRAPHS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10.10 a.m.) RUGBY, August 16. Visibility was as good as our crews have ever known it for the attack on Milan last night and the moon was extraordinarily bright. The eclipse was over soon after our bombers had crossed the Channel. A Lancaster pilot said: “The attack began shortly before midnight. Smoke from old fires below covered part of the target area, but not to any serious extent. As the attack developed, smoke rose up to 10,000 feet.”

The defences of Milan were again rather stronger than before, but the flak was by no means severe. On the other hand, the Germans put

up a great number of night fighters over France—it was exactly the right weather for them. The first repoits of combats and interceptions show that at least two enemy fighters were destroyed. Photographs taken by reconnaissance aircraft over Milan at midday on Sunday show that three oil fires were burning, in a factory then, while other fires were raging elsewhere. The new photographs also show at least twenty more industrial plants damaged. ALLIED LOSSES MUCH SMALLER THAN HAD BEEN EXPECTED. CANADIAN DIVISION RESTING. LONDON, August 15. The Algiers correspomfent of the Exchange Telegraph Agency says that because of the narrowing enemy front the Canadian Division in Sicily has been withdrawn from the line and is at present resting. A high British officer stated that the Sicilian campaign had been a very economical victory. The Allied casualties had been less than half what the Allied command expected. The smallness of the losses had been due to surprise and a policy of not sacrificing one man if it could be avoided.