The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-08-03
Hamburg Is
SheIIed Anew
CONTINUED from Page u

Father OF Raids
1--WE been on four recent raids
but this really was the daddy of the
lot," Wigley said. Even the COM
passes were useless. This really was
a shaky do. I never imagined a
storm like this. I think flight was
impossible in it and don't know
how we got back"
Other pilots told of their planes
being iced up or Of being blown up
side down by great winds that made
climbing impossible.
Flying Officer Frank Solomon of
New York City, whose plane once
plunged out of control from 10000
to 5000 feet in the storm, said it
was relief to see FLAX" over the
target.
The attack was in the nature of a
clean up to destroy any important
targets still remaining after the g.
600 tons of bombs dropped on the
city in ten days. The raid through
such weather also was calculated to
have strong psychological effect on
Germany.
If Hamburg's industries now are
completely wrecked, Germany's u
boat production would be forced
down by approximately one-third
experts estimated.
European reports indicated that
fires still we're burning in Hamburg
from last weeks eight Anglo-Afri-
can attacks in 100 hours when last
nights formations roared in for a
new thunderbolt saturation attack.
New Conflagrations
Returning crews reported new
CONGREGATIONS set by tens of thou
sands of incendiaries and high ex-
plosive bombs ranging up to four
ton super block busters.
Reconnaissance photographs and
reports reaching neutral countries
indicated that much of Hamburg
already was a ghost city" with
whole blocks only heaps of twisted
steel and broken bricks and mortar
The Nazi Danish radio was heard
broadcasting that the flow of refu-
gees from Hamburg, once Ger
many's biggest port with a popula-
ton of 1,682,220 resembled that OF
French civilians who clogged the
roads in advance of victorious Ger
man armies in 1910
The Stockholm newspaper Alton
bladet quoted seaman just re-
turned to Goteborg from Hamburg
thta the city had been practically
abandoned" Business was paralyzed
he said, and even the public food
stations were unable to provide a
bite of food or a glass of water
The Stockholm Acknowledgment
placed raid casualties at 8,347 kill
ed, 1861 wounded and 1914 miss
ing. Altogether 259 industrial build
ings and 1858 residences have been
destroyed and STA houses badly
damaged, it said. Not a house In
Hamburg escaped some damage, ac-
cording to the newspaper.
8 Attacks. 10 DAYS
Last nights raid ran up the to-
tai number of attacks on Hamburg
in the past 10 days to nine and the
number since the start of the wal
to lot. Between 5000 and 5000 tons
of bombs were believed to have beer
dropped in the last nine raids alone
The fate of Hamburg has spreac
panic among inhabitants of other
important German industrial cities
Swedish reports said, and the ex-
odus of refugees from these were
said to number In the millions.
Ten of thousands are fleeing Der.
lin, it was said, and those remain.
ing in the German capital were re-
ported feverishly digging trench
shelters in the public parks.
The Stockholm Aftonbladet sale
in a Berlin dispatch that the Naz
party has been given the task O.
preparing the German people fol
future raids. Significantly, Hitler;
name was not mentioned in con-
nection with the air raid precau
tions, presumably because the Nazi
considered 1t undesirable that h
should be connected with such al
unfavorable condition.
Censorship Invoked
The nervous tension in officia
circles in Berlin over the Allied
aerial offensive was reflected In thu
invoking of stringent measures OF
two Swedish correspondents whit
cabled detailed reports Of the raie
precautions.
Details were lacking, but a Stock.
holm dispatch said Gunnar T'hors-
tenson Phil, Svenska Dagblade
correspondent and one OF the best
informed foreign journalists In Ber'
lin, had been forbidden to COM
municate further with his papel
and possibly had been ordered u
leave Germany.
The Stockholm Dagens Nyhetel
was unable to contact its CORE
spondent, Ivar Vesterlund, though
there was no indication that he hac
hAan a1darSi fyaR tbs hssantxY.