RAF strikes Pas-de-Calais area
Attack aimed at bases for pilotless planes
Bulletin
SHAEF, London, England (AP) –
U.S. heavy bombers pounded half a dozen Nazi air bases in a great arc extending halfway around the Normandy battle zone today.
SHAEF, London, England (AP) –
RAF heavy bombers smashed last night at enemy installations in the Pas-de-Calais area of France from where the Germans are believed to be launching their pilotless planes, while other British formations hammered a synthetic oil plant near Duisburg and targets in Berlin.
The night blow against Pas-de-Calais came a few hours after U.S. Flying Fortresses and Liberators in the last hours of daylight yesterday pounded these same installations.
Despite day and night thrusts at that portion of the French coast nearest to England – an area battered repeatedly before the invasion – the Germans kept their mysterious robot planes hurtling across the channel last night in a continuation of attacks kept up yesterday and the previous night. Damage and casualties were caused in several places in England.
Although miserable flying weather once more hampered the air support of the invasion armies yesterday, Supreme Headquarters said 2,500 sorties (individual plane flights) were flown by Allied air units – about 1,000 of them by U.S. heavy bombers and their escort in the twilight smash at the Pas-de-Calais.
The night attack on Berlin was made by Mosquitos, while British Lancasters and Halifaxes continued the Allied campaign aimed at drying up Hitler’s war machine by dumping tons of explosives on the Fischer-Tropsch synthetic oil plant at Sterkrade, about five miles north of Duisburg.
Thirty-three RAF bombers were missing from last night’s operations, described by the Air Ministry as involving a “very strong force.” This indicated about 1,000 planes were used.