The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-06-23
.Mulheim Bombed
Attack Costs 80
Allied AirplaneS
BY WALTER CRoNKITE

UNITED Press Staff Correspondent
London, June %. - Hun
dreds of Raj heavy bomberS
dumped 1000 tons of ex-
plosives on a blazing mass"
of Nazi war factories at Null
helm early today at the eli
max of a month in which the
vital Ruhr industrial valley
suffered the most intensive
attack ever launched against
a comparable area.
Mulheim where 35 British bomb
ers were lost, could be seen ablaze
for a distance of 100 miles after the
Raj thrust into western Germany
which boosted to 4,700 tons the total
of bombs dropped on western Europe
since Saturday night.
Starting with Dortmund on May
%, which was the heaviest raid OF
The war up to that time, the allied
offensive has hit seven Ruhr cities
which had total population OF al
most 100000 with more than 10000
tons of explosives. Allied, neutral
and axis reports have described the
results as almost paralyzing" some
Nazi war production centers and as
sharply reducing output IN other
areas.
The raids have cost the Raj 215
airplanes and around $500 airmen
lost or missing.
May 23-Dortmund, 80 planes lost;
May 27-Essen, % lost; May 20 -
Wuppertal Q,500 tons) 33 lost; June
12-Bochum, "a lost; June 14-Ober-
haussen, 18 lost; June 21-Krete1d
Goo planes A lost; June 22-Mul-
helm, IS lost.
But the current offensive is de-
Scribed as merely getting up steam.
Daylight operations continued and
air sources said that the intensity
of attacks by day and by night would
be increased steadily this summer
as more and more American air
planes arrive in this thea.er.
A German broadcast said the Raj
attacked Oberhausen, only a few
miles to the north, in addition to
Mulheim last night, but there was
no confirmation of this from allied
quarters. The broadcast said the
raiders had caused much devasta-
ton" in terror raids"
British Wellington bombers from
the northwest African air force,
striking only IL hours after Amert-
can Mitchells had bombed the same
target, set many fires in the mar
shalling yards AT SaleIno, ltaAan
railroad junction 80 miles southeast
of Naples, Monday night. Daylight
activity of the Northwest African
air force was confined to patroll1ng
yesterday
Thirty five bombers were lost in
the Mulheim attack, the third in
little more than "a hours on Ger
many's bomb blasted Ruhr VAL
ley.
Thousands of incendiary and high
explosive bombs, including many
four ton super block busters, were
dropped on Mulheim, site of the
United Steel Works and other arms
plants, in what the air ministry
described as "heavy" raid.
preliminary reports indicate the
bombing was we'll concentrated" the
ministry said.
Returning crews reported that
large fires kindled by their bombs
sent smoke rising to 5000 feet over
the town. Some pilots returned by
way of Krefeld and HulS, other
Ruhr towns bombed by British and
American formations yesterday, and
said fires still were burning there.
1t was the first raid of the war
on Mulheim, though a nearby air
field was attacked four times IN
1940
A communique said fighter COM
mand aircraft joined in the nights
offensive with intruder patrols over
occupied Holland and France.
Coastal observers reported that
other British planes subjected the
channel coast of northern France
to a particularly heavy lombard
ment that lit up the continental
sky.
The intruder patrols were credit
ed with destroying two enemy air.
craft over Holland. One British
fighter was lost
Mulheim, town of 10000, is sit.
uated Just east of Duisburg in the
Ruhr Valley. Its factories turn out
railway cars and repair locomotives,
Of which Germany is reported to he
especially short.
The town is one of the principal
railroad outlets from the Ruhr to
southern Germany.
A German broadcast described last
nights attack as a British terror
raid"
Participating Raj crews said good
visibility favored the attack, though
German anti-aircraft batteries put
up stubborn defense. Many night
fighters were seen and a number of
combatS were reported.
The Mulheim attack was believed
to have boosted the tonnage of
bombs dropped by British and
American planes on European tar
gets in a little more than "a hc.s.rs
to at least 3,700.
The current series of raids began
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