Allied bombs hit all over Europe
U.S. and RAF ‘heavies’ strike in Pas-de-Calais and Poland, Italy, Reich and Balkans
By David Anderson
SHAEF, England –
Clearing weather late yesterday enabled formations of both U.S. and British heavy bombers to resume their attacks on the Nazis’ flying bomb bases in Pas-de-Calais while missions against enemy military objectives near the Normandy front were carried out by the lighter planes of the U.S. 9th Air Force.
Solid accomplishments of Allied airpower were effected over Hungary, Yugoslavia and Poland.
Several hundred Royal Air Force bombers flew out soon after last midnight in the direction of France.
The RAF struck “in great strength” at targets in France, said a British announcement early Wednesday.
The lull in activity of the air forces based in Britain, due entirely to poor flying conditions, did not affect the Mediterranean Theater, whence the U.S. 15th Air Force sent 500-700 Flying Fortresses and Liberators for attacks on targets in the Budapest area and at Brod, a key railway town in Yugoslavia.
Stiff Luftwaffe opposition was reported in the Budapest area.
Monday night, British Halifaxes and Wellingtons of the Italy-based forces bombed the Aquila oil refinery at Trieste, the largest refinery in Italy.
Blow from bases in Russia
The blow in Poland was by daylight Monday, when our “heavies” from the bases in Russia of the Eastern Command, U.S. Strategic Air Forces, blasted a Nazi synthetic oil plant at Drohobych in the Galician region. U.S. and Soviet fighters flew as escort.
One clearly defined objective of the 9th Air Force planes operating on the periphery of the Normandy battle zone is the Nazi system of filling stations. Our medium bombers and fighter-bombers methodically search out and destroy enemy fuel dumps.
Two Thunderbolts failed to return from missions that included attacks on railroads, rolling stock and Nazi road transport near Alençon, Laval and Rennes in an area some 120 miles from east of the Normandy front to Nantes on the estuary of the Loire River.
The 8th Air Force employed up to 250 Fortresses and Liberators that pounded the enemy’s pilotless plane emplacements in the Pas-de-Calais area, using both visual and instrument bombing. Five heavy bombers and three fighters were lost.
Defense against the flying bombs has been a preoccupation of the Air Defense of Great Britain and the 2nd Tactical Air Force, two RAF commands. Their efforts were supplemented by the Bombed command, which sent out Halifaxes with a strong fighter escort yesterday afternoon on an attack in northern France.