Newspaper cutting - Reich arms centre ore fired

Newspaper cutting - Reich arms centre ore fired

Article describing attacks on German war supplies, rail centres and synthetic oil plants some of which were within 100 miles of allied front line. More that 1000, United States heavy bombers involved. RAF Bomber Command Lancasters involved in incendiary attacks on Frankfurt and Stuttgart.

1944-09-14

One newspaper cutting

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NWeedenRC170409-05

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[underlined] THE DAILY MAIL. Thursday, September 14, 1944. [/underlined]

Reich Arms Centres Are Fired

6-Day Air Assault

GERMAN war supply cities, rail centres, and synthetic oil plants are being set on fire or wiped out one by one by Allied Air Forces. Some of the targets are less than 100 miles ahead of the Allied Armies now attacking the Siegfried Line.

Bombers are striking at the rate of 3,000 every 24 hours in good weather, and the assault has been going on for six days.

More than 1,000 U.S. heavy bombers yesterday struck at seven widespread targets in Central, Southern, and Western Germany, including Merseburg and Lutzkendorf, near Leipzig, and Ludwigshafen – synthetic oil plants – and Schwabisch-Hall airfield, north-east of Stuttgart. Reconnaissance here revealed activity with Me. 262 jet-propelled fighters.

The U.S. fighter escort shot down 33 enemy planes in the air and destroyed 20 on the ground.

These great daylight blows followed within a few hours of the most devastating fire-raising attack ever carried out.

Great Fire Raids

Many hundreds of R.A.F. Bomber Command Lancasters showered 600,000 incendiaries on two German cities – 400,000 on Frankfort, 90 miles from the advancing Allies, and 200,000 on Stuttgart, 60 miles from the front.

Reconnaissance found that the great rail yards at Frankfort were packed with military supplies for the Siegfried Line, and before midnight heavy bombs were exploding all over the railway yards.

In daylight last evening strong forces of aircraft of R.A.F. Bomber Command with fighter cover attacked the railway junctions and yards at Osnabruck and the Nordstern synthetic oil plants in the Ruhr. Two of our aircraft are missing.