Allies blast refineries, railyards
Budapest area bombed by planes from Italy
By Walter Cronkite, United Press staff writer
Bulletin
London, England (UP) –
British Lancaster heavy bombers attacked German flying bomb bases in northern France without loss today.
London, England –
Five hundred U.S. bombers from Italy smashed at four oil refineries in Hungary and railway yards in Budapest today while another big bomber formation crossed the English Channel in clearing weather to strike at targets on the continent that were not immediately identified.
Three of the oil refineries were in the Budapest area, and the attacking force, which included Liberators and Flying Fortresses, reported good results. The fleet was accompanied by a strong force of fighter planes.
The three oil refineries have a combined capacity of 358,000 tons of crude oil annually. The fourth refinery was located five miles southwest of Budapest. The raiders encountered a considerable number of enemy fighters and shot down several, it was announced.
Railyards raided
Another formation of Liberator bombers attacked the Mantua railway yards in northern Italy today encountering neither flak nor fighters, it was announced.
Thunderbolt fighter-bombers carried out damaging attacks on railway yards crowded with freight trains, at Beauvais and Montdidier in central France, the U.S. Tactical Air Force announced. En route home they strafed 10 freight cars on tracks between Chantilly and Creil, damaging all of them.
Ninth Air Force units in Normandy, it was disclosed today, made a series of attacks yesterday against enemy bridges, an airfield, motorized columns, gun positions, troops, barracks and entrenchments, mostly in the battle area west of Lessay.
Seven planes missing
During the afternoon and evening, Thunderbolts knocked out more than 50 freight cars and left others buried in debris. From these and other operations, seven aircraft were missing.
Eighth Fighter Command Mustangs and Thunderbolts made offensive sweeps over France today, knocking down five German planes and strafing trucks and flak towers, all without loss of a single plane.
Weather improved
The daylight raids followed a new strike into Germany last night by RAF Mosquito bombers which scattered two-ton blockbusters over industrial objectives in the Ruhr and mined enemy waters without loss.
With the weather somewhat improved both over the Channel and Normandy, British and U.S. Air Forces were expected to provide stronger support to the ground forces battling in France. Tactical operations were reduced to 500 sorties yesterday because of a low ceiling and occasional rain.
Hit many targets
The force which crossed the straits in early daylight included considerable bombers, but not in the strength of the previous three days during which the Americans hurled about 3,300 planes in obliteration raids on Munich, the Nazi shrine of Germany.
Although the operations over France yesterday were carried out by comparatively small forces, the U.S. 9th Air Force and the British 2nd Tactical fighter-bombers and rocket-fighters hit numerous targets by Army request with good results.
Down 16 Nazi planes
The Germans sent about 50 planes into the air behind the battle area, and 16 of them were shot down. Seven Allied planes were lost.
One Canadian Spitfire squadron based in Normandy claimed the biggest victory for French-based units. It sighted 12 Fw 190s south of Caen and in a brief dogfight destroyed 10 without loss.
The U.S. 9th Air Force lost six of the seven Allied aerial casualties and claimed four of the 16 victories.
‘Pathfinder’ planes guide U.S. bombers
London, England (UP) –
Eighth Air Force heavy bombers have located their targets through clouds by following directions of highly-trained crews in “Pathfinder planes” using special instruments, the U.S. Tactical Air force revealed to the first time today.
Bombardiers in Flying Fortresses and Liberators release their loads at the time indicated by the “Pathfinders.” The effectiveness of U.S. daylight bombing has been increased tremendously by introduction of this overcast technique, it was revealed.
The Tactical Air Force officially credits much of the increased pressure on the Luftwaffe and German war industry by U.S. day bombing to the new technique.