Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-04
Nazi Bombers Fail
10 Cripple Britain 5
Production for War
/ US. Writer Finds Domose
To Midland Plants Is
) Less Thon 5 Per Cent
BY TAYLOR HENRY,

AAAoclAted FreSS WAT CoTreSponoeht.
BIRMINGHAM. England, Sept. 4.
heavy attacks by Nazi
bombers, the Midlands-England's
industrial heart and center of her
war production-appear to have suf-
fered only slight damage.
I have just completed q survey
of Birmingham and its surrounding
industrial area, and would say, as
q rough estimate, the output for
the whole area has been reduced no
more than per cent.
/ saw only two factories so badly
damaged that production ceased
and these were small plants.
While others have been hit dur
ing the last three weeks of intensive
night raids, the damage appears to
have been comparatively small and
production has continued almost
uninterrupted.
My estimate is based on observa-
ton OF the damage done by bombs
to essential parts of works and on
talks with workmen.
/ used no Chamber of Commerce
figures or government information.
In fact, the survey was made not
only without official guidance but
without oficial knowledge, except
that I reported to local police as q
registered alien, as a matter of
course.
I just hired a car and a local
driver, who took me wherever I
wanted to 60.
Saw Every Bomb Factory.
When saw a plant which had
been bombed, stopped, checked
the damage and talked with the
workmen, many of whom have
worked right through the raids.
Afterward I asked the driver if
he knew of any more damage.
Sure" he answered, my own
home and otherf."
Then he took me to other places
about which I hadn't thought.
Now I have his word for it that
up until $50 pm. yesterday. a few
hours more than year since the
war began, there isn't a single
bombed factory and not more than
20 damaged houses in the Birming-
ham area which I haven't seen.
Because Of military secrecy 1t is
impossible to name individual fac
tories. But for examples. let's take
three and call them A, B and C.
Factory A was bombed three
weeks ago. An underforeman said
two bombs landed square on us"
and I could see they had. There
was gaping hole in the roof of one
shed and all the windows of another
were blown out. But the plant was
working at full speed.
The first week after we got ours,
production dropped little under
normal the underforeman said.
But the next week we were 1914
per cent above normal, and we are
sticking there"
At factory B, the Naz bombers
scored five hits. One destroyed a
warehouse with about four hours
output in it. Others made craters in
the ground, breaking windows with
the force Of the explosions.
Many Houses Are Hit.
Workmen of factory B estimated
they were about 10 per cent below
normal nroducfion
Factory C has escaped entirely.
On the other hand, there has been
considerable damage in residential
areas, particularly in the slums and
workers houses around some of the
factories
Only few of Birmingham's 1000
600 inhabitants have been killed by
bombs during these three weeks. A
few hundred were left homeless
after the first heavy bombing. during
which several rows of houses were
demolished.
People began leaving town then,
but nearly all Of them are back.
However, some still pile mattresses
in their cars and sleep in the open
country, returning in the morning.
The Midlands are apparently too
far inland for German fighter es-
corts to reach during the day. so
single bombers carry out raids at
night.
There have been SOME direct hits
in the center of Birmingham. One
was on a small factory just back of
my hotel, another on a Greek-style
public market building.