NIGHT ONSLAUGHT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 November 1943, Page 3

NIGHT ONSLAUGHT

LUDWIGSHAFEN BLASTED BOMBERS START FIRES & BIG EXPLOSION MORE RAIDS BY MOSQUITOS LONDON, November 18. R.A.F. heavy bombers — British and Canadian Lancasters —Jast night bombed Ludwigshafen, in Bavaria, one of Germany’s greatest inland ports and home of the biggest chemical works in the world. Many fires were started and there was one very big explosion. The bomber force employed was not of the largest size, but it was strong enough to make the loss of one bomber a very small percentage of the total. The Germans put up many squadrons of night fighters and the weather was reasonably favourable for interception, yet the enemy failed to make contact with the main bomber force of Lancasters and Halifaxes and not until after the last bomber had left was Lidwigshafen itself lit by a dense shower of fighter flares. The attack was made entirely with heavy high-explosive bombs and was highly concentrated, the bombs causing a number of fires and exceptionally large explosions. Mosquitos were again out over Western Germany and some 'of them also raided Berlin. There was no enemy air action over Britain yesterday, but London last night had its fourth alert in ten days. Some bombs were dropped on a town in South-East England. TARGETS IN NORWAY ANOTHER AMERICAN ATTACK LONDON, November 18. American Liberators based in Britain attacked targets in Norway today, for the second time this week. Official photographs confirm that heavy damage was caused by the American Fortresses and Liberators in their raids on Norway on Tuesday. Pipe-lines carrying water to a powerful hydro-electric turbine of the large power-plant at Rjukan was hit and six buildings of a munitions plant at Rjukan also received a direct hit. A molybdenum mine and pithead buildings at Knaben were severely damaged. This is practically the Germans' only source of molybdenum.