Evening star., 1942-05-09
British SET Fire
To Vital Nazi
Plane Plant
R. A. F. Losses Heavy
In New Low-leveI
Ruid on Rostock
Bv the Associated Press.

Bv the Associated Press.
LONDON, May 9-Big British
bombers pressed home attacks
from 400 to 800-foot levels last
night to leave In flames the Ger
man aircraft works at Warne-
muende, Baltic port for Rostock,
in heavy night operations which
cost 19 planes, the Air Ministry
reported today.
The low-level attacks were made
in the face of intense defense"
by the Germans of a target which
the British declared TO be of highest
Importance in their campaign to
knock out the German air force in
the west.
They followed by a few hours
Sir Archibald Sinclair's declara-
ton that the first task Of the r.
A. F. was to pave the way for
invasion by crushing the Nazi air
force at it's bases and at its sources
of machines-such large aircraft
works as that at Warnemuende.
There also is seaplane base at
Warnemuende.
Calais Area Attacked.
Resuming this campaign. fighters
made almost constant cross chan
nel sweeps from dawn to dusk, and
in the afternoon a heavy formation
of escorted bombers sped home from
the Calais area. from which heavy
explosions had been heard.
The British saw in the intense
defense of the plant at Warrle-
muende an indication of the seri-
BUSINESS with which Nazi Air Min
ister Hermann Georing regards the
attack on such factories.
In contrast to the defense at the
Rostock Heinkel works which suf-
fered four heavy night attacks last
month, the r. A. F. last night en-
countered fierce barrage of anti
aircraft fire and a great concentra-
ton of searchlights. including two
made up of as many as AZ beams"
1n Berlin D. N. B. announced
the attack on Rostock and Warne-
muende, and reported that IL OF
the raiders we're shot down. The
news agency, describing the at
tacks as terror raids" said there
was damage to non-military tar
gets and civilian casualties0
The r. A. F. losses were listed as
the heaviest of night operations In
five months, although it was be-
lieved larger number of bombers
attacked Rostock and Lubbock re-
Gently.
Base Vital to Naxis.
Last December 80, the British lost
10 bombers attacking Northwest
Germany and in November lost 81
in bombing Berlin.
warnemuende, on the Baltic coast
at the mouth of the River Warne
which leads to Rostock, Is not only
a seaplane base, submarine training
station and site of the important
Heinkel aircraft plant but also the
terminus of train ferry to Denmark
which the Nazis use to send troops
and supplies to Norway.
The attack was a resumption OF
the r. A. F.'s offensive against the
Reich after a one-night lull.
Nazi night raiders, meanwhile.
we're active over East Anglia, scat
tering bombs which a communioue
said did some damage and caused q
small number of casualties
One of the German raiders was
reported shot down over Britain and
another was reported destroyed by
an r. A. F. fighter as it was re-
turning to its base In Holland.
Nazi Solo Pilot Raids Coast.
Authorities said two M@ser-
schmitt 109s were destroyed by q
British fighter after dawn today OF
the southwest coast.
A Nazi solo bomber damaged
homes and shops in a south coast
town. but no casualties were re-
ported.
D.N.B. reported that German
air raiders had attacked the Brit
ish port of Norwich during the
night. The high command said
that important targets on the
English south and southeast
coasts were attacked yesterday
and German bombers sank a pa
troll boat southeast of Worthing.)
At least one more Messerschmitt
109 was announced by the Admi-
ralty as destroyed by the trawler
Horatio which fought of an attack
by six of the German planes with
no loss of life and only superficial
damage.
British Invasion Move Seen.
One Messerschmitt. hit squarely
by shell, crashed into the sea, a
communique said, and another was
last seen on fire and losing height
rapidly"
The r. A. F's Canadian demon
squadron" and Dutch pilots plas-
tered bomb hits on eight out of II
ships in heavily protected convoy
off the Dutch coast Thursday night
(see RAIDS, Page A-sD