Evening star., 1943-04-18
u. S. Bombers Blast
Focke-WuIf Foctorv:
Allies Close on Tunis
so Germon Aircraft
Downed at Cost of
Is u. S. Raiders
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
LONDON, April 17.-American
heavy bombers, flying unescorted
in strong force, smashed at the
German Focke -Wulf fighter plane
factory at Bremen today and
shot down more than so enemy
planes en- route, but the bold
900-mile round trip cost the
I'm ted States an unprecedented
roid toll of 16 four-engined craft.
The Berlin radio announced that
RAF planes we're again over the
continent tonight. but did not iden-
tify the target. The German broad
coast. recorded by the Associated
Press, said preliminary reports in
dicated IL of the Allied planes had
been shot down.
The renewed campaign to flatten
Germanys armament industry also
cost the British a record loss of SIS
bombers last night out of a force
of more than 600 attacking the great
Skoda works at PilSen in NaZi-
occupied Czechoslovakia and the in
dustrial twin cities of Mannheim
and Ludwigshaven on the Rhine
The Berlin radio Immediately
seized the opportunity to exploit
what it termed sensational German
defensive successes" pointing out in
a broadcast recorded by the Asso-
ciated Press that continental ground
defenses have become redoubtable
adversary of the Raj"
Soviet Planes Stage Raids.
! A spokesman for the 9Th United
States Air Force said the largest
previous loss by an American raid
| ing force was seven bombers, suf-
fered in both the January l raid on
ST. Nazaire and the February 26
attack on Wilhelmshaven
The largest number of enemy
fighters previously downed by bomb
ers alone Was the So shot down by
the Americans in their raid on
| Vegesack March ID. Todays an
nouncement that more than so were
bagged indicated that record figure
might be equalled or surpassed.
Shortly after the American bomb
ers returned, Russia announced that
Soviet planes raiGed Danzig, Koe-
| t3iucI,orr rri1cit
| last night.
The Russians reported the loss OF
only three planes but did not specify
the size of the attacking force It
was the fourth raid of the month
for the Russians who, after months
of hull in long-range bombing
pounded Koenigsberg April 10, re-
turned to the same objective two
nights later and then raided Danzig
April IA.
First U. S. Attack on Bremen.
In smashing at German air pow er
on the assembly line and in the
skies. the Americans carried out
their first attack of the war on
Remen itself.
1t was the second daylight as
sault in two days for the American
bombcrs, which yesterday pounded
the U-boat bases at Brest and Lo-
rient, and it carried the current
Allied pre-invasion onslaught OF
Europe twice around the clock.
An 9th United States Air Force
announcement of today's operations
declared hits were observed square
ly on the target area.
A spokesman said the specific tar
get was the Focke- -Wulf Flugzeug-
bau, which is the largest assembly
line for Germanys best yellow
nose" fighters.
Returning airmen estimated the
number Of defensive fighters at
more than 100, perhaps the largest
force of enemy planes ever encoun-
tered by an American bomber group
They said the anti-aircraft fire
was so thick that at times they