Evening star., 1942-04-15
R. 4. F. B|astinq
Germans With
Raids
Very Loree' Fires
Are Left in Ruhr
In Night Attacks
nv the Associated Press.

"A hours Of a nonstop air Of
fensive over the continent today
with raids against the strongly
entrenched occupied coast after
leaving very large" fires burning
in the Ruhr valley.
The daylight attacks were made
in the wake of blasting raids on the
Ruhr by a very heavy force of
powerful night bombers and all-day
attacks against Occupied Europe
yesterday.
The gigantic industrial target In
the Ruhr, where most of the German
heavy industries are concentrated,
has been under a hail of heavy
bombs for six of the last 10 nights.
The only Interruptions were due to
bad weather.
The weight of high explosive
bombs being dropped on the Ruhr
was said to run into hundreds of
tons each night an attack is made
The Air Ministry, indicating the
wide scope of last nights raids, an
nounced IL bombers were missing.
The night attacks also included
raids on lie Havre and on airdromes
in occupied territory Mines also
were laid in enemy waters.
Distant Explosions Heard.
The muff1ed sound of distant ex-
plosionS heard at Folkestone from
the direction of the Belgian coast
today indicated that the r. A. F.
had resumed its daylight offensive
against occupied Europe-which set
a record of nine -and-a- half hours
duration yesterday.
Flying too high to be seen, forma-
tions of British planes later flew in
over the English coast, evidently re-
turning from morning forays over
the Boulogne and Calais areas of
occupied Northern France.
Following in te n sive activity
throughout this morning, fresh
squadrons swept over the English
Channel during the afternoon, keep
AlS Bl lilly W IllC pdIICl lIlS VI Val
gets along the continental coast.
Spitfires Above Bombers.
Watchers on the cliffs at Folke-
stone heard the constant rumble of
explosions which betokened heavy
bombardment. Some of the blasts
seemed to come from beyond Calais
and Boulogne.
Spitfires in great numbers circled
far above the bomber flights appar-
emily on guard against German
planes, and watchers saw r. A. F.
rescue craft ready at their stations
to pick up any flyers who might be
forced down in the choppy sea.
The Air Ministry news service re-
ported low-level attack by a Hud-
son bomber on a medium sized Ger
man supply ship in a ford north of
Bergen, Norway, and said the ship
was left sinking after four direct
hits.
Battle High Winds.
High winds prevailed last night
when the Squadrons headed across
the Channel and the French beach
areas where thousands of workers
and German soldiers are laboring
on new Notifications.
In the midst of musical programs,
German radio stations at Hilversum,
Luxembourg, Calais and Paris went
on the air early today. Exchange
Telegraph reported such Interrupt
tions normally indicate shutting
down of the stations so they will
not serve as beacons for aerial raid
ers.
Maintenance of the aerial often
sive on an clock basis
was signaled to English Channel
coast observers by flashes and ex-
plosions from the Cap Girls Nez and
defenses set up against an Allied
invasion.
The night thrust came after Brit
lsh bombers and fighters had wound
up their daylight operations yester-
day over Northern France-their
longest such work of the year-and
fought off Nazi interceptors who
challenged them over the Channel.
Hits Credited to U. S. Pilots.
Two pilots from the United
States-Fhght 1t. Newton Anderson
of Chicago and Pilot Officer Michael
George McPharlin-were credited
with hits on two of eight German
planes in the Channel melee, fought
at 10000 feet. They did not linger
to verify destruction of the craft
Heavy blows in the preceding 48
hours had been directed against
Turin, the site of Italy's royal ar
senal the Krupp works of Essen and
other Ruhr Valley establishments,
and the railway network of Haze
brouck, Occupied France, in raids
of a scope measured by the fact that
% r1lqneS did not return