The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1918-03-21
48 TONS OF BOMBS
DROPPED ON HUNS
FIFTY KILLED IN THE RECENT
RAID OVER KoRLENz.
BRITISH MAKE 225 FLIGHTS
Twenty-Six German Aeroplanes Were
Brought Down On Sunday, Eight
cen Of Which Were Destroyed.
Great Activity In Air.


London. March 20.-Fifty persons
were killed and great material dam
age was done by bombs dropped by
allies airmen when they raided Kob-
LEM, Germany, March IL, according to
neutral traveller who arrived Monday
at The Hague, the Times says.
The people believed the raiders were
Americans" the traveller said. Il was
in the neighborhood of big munition
works at Mulheim (north of Koblenz
and also on the Rhine) at ten minutes
past noon, when suddenly all the fac
tory whistles started blowing and the
sirens were sounded
Women Dash for Shelter.
MANY women rushed from the
works for the bomb proof shelters,
while passing street cars were stopped
as the crews bolted into houses. Four
or five airplanes were visible in the
clear sky.
Presently some one exclaimed:
They are Americans!' Another person
screamed aloud: The Americans are
NOnllh6s n DuICuIldu 4 huGW IuoHcu
up to me and said: Didn't tell you
the Americans would come sooner or
later?'
| cannot say whether the machines
actually were American, but the strik-
ing thing was the evidence that there
has been general skepticism whether
American airplanes ever would come
and equal fear of them when they do"
The traveller added that. although
the machines merely passed over Null
helm at 1870 on their way to Koblenz,
it was not until o'clock that the "all
clear" signal was sounded.
Make 255 Flights Into Germany.
Two hundred and fifty-fve flights in.
to Germany. have been carried out by
British aviators and only ten machines
have been lost, James Ian MACPHERSON
parliamentary secretary of the war; Of
fee, announced in answer to ques-
tion in the house of commons today
regarding the results of recent air
raids into German territory. More
than ton of bombs were dropped
on Mannheim on March IS, he added.
Mr.. MACPHERSON said eight direct
hits had been obtained on the Badische
Sodafabrik at Mannheim. The British
raiders were attacked by an enemy
formation and two of the enemy ma
chimes were downed, the others being
driven off. All the British returned.
Dropped 48 Tons Of Bombs.
The 255 flights. Mr.. MACPHERSON eX-
planned, constituted thirty-eight raids
into Germany, all since October. The
aviators dropped forty-eight tons of
bombs. They had to surmount the
difficulties presented by frost snow
gales and heavy mist, which often pre-.
vented them from seeing the German
iron works and factories they were to
attack
Most of the raids were carried out
in daylight. The number of these ex
petitions and the amount of explosives
dropped we're increasing steadily
Photographs which had been taken
showed beyond doubt the accuracy oil
the reports made. The attacks were
concentrated on objects of military
importance.
Mr. MACPHERSON also said there had
been a steady increase in the strength
of the enemy's aircraft defenses
These aircraft, however, had been de
: feated with loss whenever they at
tempted to intervene.
Fell rs German AeropIanes.
London. March 20.-Eighteen Ger
man machines were destroyed, eigh
were driven down out of control ant
an observation balloon was destroyed
by British ayiators in the air fightini
on Sunday, according to an officia
statement late last night on the west
ern front.