Evening star., 1943-11-23
1000 Bombers.
Hammer Every
Section ofCity
No Fighter Opposition
Met; 26 Craft Lost
In Night Operations
MAP on Page Az


By the Associated Press.
LONDON, Nov. In the
heaviest aerial bombardment in
history, 1000 RAF bombers last
night raided Berlin and left the
German capital "a great sea of
flames and explosions.
Returning pilots reported the
cloud cover over Berlin was so thick
the Nazis were unable to send up
any night fighters or operate search
lights. Instead they just poured
flax through the overcast.
Twenty-six bombers were lost in
the Berlin raid and subsidiary
operations, which included Mos
quito bomber attacks on Western
Germany and mine laying in enemy
waters.
First hand accounts from Berlin
correspondents of Stockholm news
papers told graphically how destruc-
ton ran through the heart of the
city, wrecking government buildings
and foreign legations.
Berlin never can recover from
this blow" the Aftontidningen
quoted its sources as saying.
Industrial Areas Hit Again.
Industrial areas still burning from
the heavy raid last Thursday night
were smashed again. Strong forma-
tions of daylight bombers roared
across the English Channel to add
further weight to the growing allied
effort to wreck the Reich by aerial
assault.
The Aftontidningen gave a pre-
liminary estimate of 10000 persons
dead and injured. Berlin officially
admitted "a very large number"
killed and injured.
There were two attacks, said the
Stockholm Aftonbladet correspond
ent. The first came early and when
the all clear was given, people
swarmed from shelters. They hard
ly had reached the streets when the
sirens hoWled second time. Thus
many were trapped outside shelters
and the casualty toll mounted.
The RAF's force consisted almost
entirely of four -engined bombers
Taking oe from Britain In the late
afternoon for their mile journey,
they delivered their first attack
around pm. i
Speer Headquarters Destroyed.
Stockholm dispatches said the
headquarters of Production Gar AL
bert Speer, minister of munitions,
was destroyed. 1t was located be-
tween the destroyed Aftonbladet Of
flee at Brandenburger Tor and the
French Embassy building on Pariser
Platz.
1t was from DR.. Speer's Office of
200 rooms that he directed Ger
many's war production, for which
he is responsible
How crippling this blow might be
to the Speer and other administra-
tive centers was difficult to say be-
cause Propaganda Minister Joseph
Goebbels previously had ordered the
evacuation of Berlin and at least
some sections of government Offices
also had been moved.
Reports reaching Stockholm said
the attack was heavier than even
the greatest raid ever launched on
Hamburg.
All Districts Damaged.
All the districts of the city of
100000 as we'll as the suburbs were
damaged and particularly heavy
devastation occurred in the center
of the capital near Unter Den
Linden, Alexander Platz and Fried
richstrasse, said Zurich dispatch
from Aftontidningen
The tonnage of bombs cascaded
on Berlin probably exceeded the
1900 tons dropped on Hamburg in
the last big raid on that city in
August.
Returning pilots said that despite
solid cloud overcast they could
see for 10 miles the great sea OF
flames and explosions" in Berlin.
The city today is covered by a |
huge black cloud of smoke, Swedish
correspondents reported.
I'VE have had horrible hours,"I
messaged the Stockholm Alton
bladet correspondent from Berlin.
Berlin burned throughout the night.
Great sections of dwelling quarters,
including workmens', are a flaming
sea of fire. A great number of
government buildings were hit"
1t was unofficially estimated in
(See RAIDS, Page A-6.)