Evening star., 1943-03-14
1000 Tons Of Bombs Blast Essen;
y. S. Flyers Raid French Areas;
Nazis Gain in Fight for Kharkov
Fires Reported
Still Raging in
Krupp Works
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
LONDON, March 13.-The RAF
dropped more than 1000 tons OF
bombs on Essen last night, and
this afternoon while fires were
still raging there in the Krupp
works American heavy bombers
flying the daytime schedules of
the pre-invasion aerial offensive,
attacked Axis rail installations
just behind the vulnerable
French Coast.
This time the Flying Fortresses
blasted Amiens, so miles northeast
of Rouen-which they had bombed
yesterday for the second time in a
week-and so miles inland from
the Channel coast.
1t is through these key rail juno
tions, Rouen and Amiens, that the
Germans must pour most of the
supplies to their defending troops
along 100 miles of coastline between
the Somme and Seine Rivers.
Dieppe, scene of the Allied inva-
sion tryout of last August 10, is in
the center of this stretch of coast.
Railroad yards at Abbeville and
Polk also were attacked in the day
light sweep, U. S. A. A. F. head
quarters and the British Air Minis
try announced in a joint COM
munique
All Bombers Return.
All the American bombers re-
turned from the days operations,
but six of the escorting Spitfires
were reported missing. The COM
munique said four enemy aircraft
were destroyed by the fighters and
some" by the bombers.
London had an alert tonight, but
officials said it had been "a mis-
take" and there was no explanation
why it sounded.
While the Air Ministry announced
last midnight that Essen already was
the second most blitzed" city in
Germany, next to Cologne. Raj
bombers were on their way to hand
Essen its heaviest blow. Hundreds
OF the big planes overwhelmed the
Essen defenses to carry out the
concentrated attack, which cost the
RAF % bombers. a
Reconnaissance officers reported
that huge fires in the center of the
important Krupp works still were
blazing at 3 pm. today. Aerial pho
tographs showed that two of the
largest Krupp workshops which es-
capped the heavy pounding week
ago were destroyed last night.
Damage in Other Areas.
The Air Ministry news service
said additional heavy damage was
inflicted by incendiary and high
explosive bombs in industial dis
tricts outside the Krupp area.
The British Press Association said
last nights attack was not the
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Germany. however. The greatest
weight of bombs known to have
been dropped in one attack, it said,
was more than 1900 tons on Co.
logne in the first 1000 bomber raid
on the night of May 80, 1912.
Sir Archibald Sinclair, Secretary
OF State for Air, had asserted that
previous raids on Essen constituted
probably the heaviest blow struck
at German war industry" and the
Air Ministry news service announce
ment that last nights attack was
even bigger than the one on
March led to the assumption that
this raid was the heaviest ever.
However, observers said Mr.. SIM
clair specifically referred to the
damage done to German war in
dustry" and not to the weight of
bombs dropped nor the damage to
city that is not entirely industrial,
such as Cologne.
The air correspondent of the au-
thoritative British Press Association
likened the raid to the air and