CLEAR VISIBILITY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 September 1943, Page 3

CLEAR VISIBILITY

BATTLE WITH NIGHT FIGHTERS GOOD NUMBER OF ENEMY DESTROYED (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10.20 a.m.) RUGBY, September 24. “There was good visibility over Mannheim and Ludwigshafen for the R.A.F's. heavy raid last night, which meant that night fighters were given the responsibility of defending the target,” states the Air Ministry News Service. There was no moon, so the Germans used a great number of searchlights to silhouette the bombers. The fighters dropped flares, which they tried to get in' a line along both the ingoing and outgoing tracks of the bombers. The result was two lanes of flares almost at right angles to each other. There were many combats and first reports show that a good number of the enemy were destroyed or damaged. Pilots say it was easy to identify the dock area and other parts of Mannheim or Ludwigshafen. Fires were soon burning. They were in the shape of a star, with the main blaze in the centre and other fires radiating from it, one crew stated. It is known that heavy damage was done when Mannheim and Ludwigshafen were last attacked on September 5. The main railway station was severely damaged and transhipment sheds and warehouses were gutted. A large part of the Ludwigshafen railway repair shops was burnt out.