Evening star., 1943-12-21
RAF Rains 1000 Tons Of Bombs
On Frankfurt in Great Assault;
42 Planes Lost in Night Attacks
Big Fires Started
In Nozi Chemical
And Arms Center
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
LONDON, Dec. 21.-Hundred
OF RAF bombers gave Frankfur
its most crushing blow of tht
war last night, raining 1000 ton!
OF incendiaries and explosives OF
the German chemical and arma-
ment center.
In subsidiary attacks other RAJ
formations attacked Mannheim
Ludwigshafen, Mosquitoes stabbed a
Western Germany and Belgium anc
mines were laid in enemy waters.
Forty-two planes were lost in tn.
nights operations.
The big assault probably placed
Frankfurt in the category with Ber
lin, Cologne, Hamburg and Kasse
as Germany's most bombed cities
It was carried out in near tor
strength by force which possibly
numbered 300 or more heavy
bombers.
Huge fires were left burning in
the city of more than half million
which already had been so badly
devastated in 4l raids that a large
proportion of the populace had been
forced to leave.
The Germans previously had re-
ported that last nights attack was
In the southwestern region, where
American bombers from the Medi-
terranean theater struck Sunday at
Augsburg and the Brenner Pass rail
route at Innsbruck.
The bombing of Sofia, capital OF
Bulgaria, by American bombers fo1
the fifth time in recent weeks was
confirmed in an Allied headquarters
communique issued at Algiers.
Twenty-eight enemy planes were
shot down in this and other as
saults carried out by Mediterranean
based planes. Allied losses totaled
II aircraft. The Sofia attack was
first announced last night by the
Hungarian radio.
Continuing the air offensive
United States Air Force Marauders
escorted by Allied fighters, bombed
military objectives in Northern
France today for the second straight
day, Army headquarters announced
this afternoon.
The Allies lost more than 80
planes in the 24-hour operations.
This includes 80 counting Is heavy
bombers over Bremen, 42 in the
RAF sweeps including an unspeci-
fed number of .heavies, II in the
1talianBalkan area and six fighters
over Northern France.
Six Big Bombardments.
Mannheim Ludwigshafen, twin
cities on the Rhine where I. G. Far
beninustrie has the largest chemical
works in the world, have beeen SUBJ
Jected to at least six bombardments
OF 500 tons or more since the start
of the war. They have been well
up on Raj bomber commands list
The tonnage dropped on Frank
furt last night approached the
heaviest raid of the war-more than
2300 tons rained on Berlin the
night Of November 22-and it's ef-
feet on city less than an eighth
have been terrific.
Frankfurt has been the target for
British bombers on numerous occa-
sions, bat last nights raid was the
third major attack (more than 500
tons by the RAF. The city, i'm
portant inland port and rail center
also has been heavily attacked in
daylight by American heavy
bombers.
The Frankfurt attack was the
RATS fourth major operation of a
month which has seen Berlin
bombed twice in strength and Leip-
zig once. Losses to date for De-
cember total 136 aircraft.
Americans Blast Bremen,
American Flying Fortresses ano
Liberators had a big day yesterday
in stabbing body blow at the Naz
U-boat effort by loosing a cargo OF
high explosives and incendiaries on
the Port of Bremen in Northwest
Germany.
The American bombers, escorted
by swarms of fighters, knocked
down 40 Nazi planes.
The American airmen, flying four
miles high in temperatures so de-
grees below zero, found visibility
excellent over Bremen, it was an
nounced, despite German attempts
to shroud the big port under a roll
ing smoke screen.
Until last night, the major force
of RAF heavy bombers had been
idle since the night of December 16
when they cast $500 tons of bombs
on Berlin at a cost of 80 bombers.
Planes Take Two Routes.
The RAF went out early last night
with the planes taking two routes
one over the southeast coast, an
other over the east coast. This
splitting of forces suggested the
RAF was attempting to scatter the
waning Nazi fighter opposition.
During the night the German air
force again tried to retaliate. A
few bombers were over various Sec
tions OF England, giving London a
aalf-hour alert. 1t was announced
they had dropped bombs in south
eastern regions, causing some DAM
age and number of casualties.
AS a result of the Sunday raids
on Innsbruck and Augsburg, Naz
war traffic through the Bremen
Pass was said to have been forced tt
a standstill. 1t was the first attack
from the south on Augsburg, i'm.