Evening star., 1943-10-11
GermansLose
300PIaneS in
Attack
Sunday Assaults on
German Cities Cost
Americans 81 Croft
BY the Associated Press

LONDON, Oct. 1l.-Boosting
Nazf plane losses to more than
300 in three days, American Fly
ing Fortresses and escorting
Thunderbolts shot down 102
enemy planes yesterday as the
big bombers tore through stub
born defenses to blast the i'm
portant German transportation
centers of Muenster and Goes
field.
Thirty bombers and two fighters
a communique said, were lost by
the American formations, which also
hit an enemy airfield near En-
schede, Holland, in the climax to
week end of violent Allied aerial
activity which riddled the Germans
fighter strength.
CToday's German communique,
broadcast from Berlin, said 81
Allied planes, nearly all of them
four -englned bombers. were shot
down. The Germans said 208
Allied planes had been shot down
during the last three days.
While the size of the attacking
American forma tions was not off,
cially disclosed, there was reason
to believe they may have approxi-
mated the record concentrations Of
400 bombers which hammered Ger
man targets on each of the two
preceding days.
New High in Numbers.
The American raids reached a
new high in strength of numbers
on Friday. when Fortresses ard
Liberators bombed the Stuka fac
tory in Bremen and submarine ship
building yards at Vegesack nearby,
and on Saturday. when they flew
a round trip of 1900 miles-their
deepest penetration of Nazi terri
tory-to hit the former free city of
Danzig, the former Polish city of
Gdynia and other targets in East
ern Germany.
1t. Gen. Ira c. Eaker. commander
OF the United States 9th Air Force,
disclosed that the attacking force
On both Friday and Saturday totaled
400 bombers, and said these and
other raids to follow were in prepa-
ration for an Allied invasion of Ger
many across the English Chan
mel and the North Sea
The big push into Germany.
when it comes, will cost lives. lust
as the landings at Salerno did
Gen. Eaker added. 1T is the task
of the 9th Air Force and the RAF
to destroy factories and transport
and weapons of the Germans so our
invasion casualties will be cut down.
This is our stern assignment this
winter. We shall not shirk it,
1000 Take Part.
With 10 men to bomber more
than 1000 American airmen took
part in both the Friday and Satur-
day raids.
The fight now is at white heat"
Gen. Eaker declared
The Americans went out by dav-
light yesterday only a few hours
after Berlin was raided by night
flying RAF mosquito bombers for the
14th time in less than month.
In a quick follow-up to Fridays
American daylight blow, the British
returned to Bremen that night and
also hit the rubber and railroad
center of Hanover for the fourth
time in less than three weeks.
simultaneously, Mosquitoes attacked
Berlin.
A DNB dispatch broadcast by
Berlin and recorded by the British
Ministry of Information said the
American planes yesterday dropped
bombs in the heart of Muenster.
The broadcast added:
Casualties among the popula ton
were considerable as we'll as dam
age to residential quarters, churches
and public buildings"
Hit Many Times by Raj.
Muenster, which has plants turn
ing out chemicals, war machinery
and surgical instruments, has been
hit many times at night by the RAF
(See RAIDS, Page A-14)