Evening star., 1943-07-09
Continued From First Page J

don its first daylight alert since
June 27.
Casualties were expected to prove
heavy at the southeast town, where
large theater was hit and three
adjoining business buildings, with
apartments above, burned.
One raiding plane crashed in
flames south of Croydon. The two
occupants were killed.
The London bound raiders were
headed off short of the metropolitan
area, the British reported.
Antiaircraft guns were in action
in two of the home counties sur
rounding London and planes were
heard overhead, diving and twisting
out of the field of fire and then
heading back toward the coast.
The London all-clear came Is
minutes after the warning. The
alert was Dondon's 650th 6f the war.
BY returning relentlessly to such
prime targets as Cologne. the Raj
hopes to destroy industrial shops
which might have been missed on
previous sweeps, wreck reconstruc-
ton work and rasp the nerves of
workers to the point where their
efficiency will be seriously impaired.
Six months after the 1000 bomber
raid ON Cologne last year. aerial
reconnaissance showed that much
Of the damage had been repaired.
Subsequent attacks took care of
that, but again restorations were
attempted. Well-informed sources
said this indicated the Germans
could not afford to abandon the
Ruhr- Rhineland area and that Brit
ism attacks there necessarily would
continue.
The Vichy radio in a broadcast
recorded by the Associated Press
said today that Paul Joseph Goeb-
bells. Nazi Propaganda Minister, had
arrived in Cologne to examine the
damage caused by Allied raids on
that city.
Sweep Across Channel.
The heavy British bombers had
scarcely returned from their night
foray over Germany when forma-
tions of Allied fighters swept out
across the Channel in the direction
of Northern France to continue the
offensive by daylight.
Britain, meanwhile, passed raid
free night.
The attack on Cologne was the 119th
on that city. The big Rhineland in
dustrisl center had been attacked
twice before in the last two weeks
once on June 20 and again last Sat-
urday night. Both assaults were
highly concentrated.
The RATS big bombers had not
been out since Saturday nights raid,
when they also struck at Hamburg
and targets In the Ruhr. Operations
since then have been limited to
comparatively minor operations
against communications and air
fields in occupied territory by In
truder patrols.
Aided by Good Weather.
The RAF night raiders were IA
vored by good weather, the skies
clearing last evening after a day
of thunderstorms.
Despite the unfavorable conditions
yesterday RAF Typhoons and Mus
tangs carried out offensive patrols
over Northern France and the Low
Countries. The planes were reported
to have destroyed one German air
craft and damaged several locomo-
tives. One Raj plane was listed as
lost in these sallies.
The German high command in its
Friday communique gave this ver-
sion of the Raj night raid:
British bombers again carried out
terror attack on Cologne and it's
environs last night. There were
casualties among the population as
we'll as devastation in residential
quarters. Cologne Cathedral was
again attacked and hit" 1t claimed
that six of the raiders were shot
down.