AIR WARFARE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 November 1943, Page 4

AIR WARFARE

BRITISH AND AMERICAN OPERATIONS SURVEY OF RECENT MONTHS. HEAVY BOMBER AND MOSQUITO RAIDS. (British Official Wireless.) (Rcceved This Day, 9.47 a.m.) RUGBY, November 2. In addition to nearly 60 major air raids on Germany alone during the last six months, the R.A.F. Bomber Command has despatched something like a thousand nuisance sorties by Mosquitos against German industrial cities, and only eleven of these Mosquitos are missing. Since May 1, Cologne has had 33 attacks by small Mosquito formaions, Berlin 27, Dusseldorf 15, Aachen 8, Dortmund 6, and 30 German industrial cities have each had one or more “Mosquito" bites.

Apart from the considerable damage their bombs inflict, the effect of these formations upon a country as bombconscious as Germany is incalculable. Frequently Mosquitos, visit cities which have already been heavily bombed, thus keeping the A.R.P. services and munition workers on the jump until the heavy bombers come again. Mosquito bombers for six months on end, although flying in formation towards recognised targets, averaged a loss only just exceeding one per cent. These Mosquito bomber sorties are distinct from and additional to the Mosquito Intruders, which the R.A.F. Fighter Command sends out night after night. Nine attacks in force, with a total of 13.000 tons of bombs, were made by the R.A.F. Bomber Command on German industry during October, states the Ail’ Ministry. Fog caused more nights of bad weather during .the month, than any previous month in 1943.

In joint daylight offensives with the Americans, the R.A.F. operated on 23 days. In offensive operations over Europe from home bases, 102 enemy aircraft were destroyed. Over Britain an additional 24 were destroyed. The R.A.F. lost 227 planes over Europe and none over Britain.