Evening star., 1944-03-26
RAF bombers
Follow Up Big
Raid on Berlin
$500 Tons Dropped
On Capitol Friday
At Cost of 73 Planes
By the Associated Press.

| BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, Sunday, Mar. 90
Royal Air Force heavy bombers-
making a prompt followup tc
their massive raid on Berlin Fri
day night when more than 2,80C
tons of explosives were rained on
the battered German capital
roared across the English Chan
mel last night to strike again at
continental targets.
1t took the armada an hour to
pass over the English east coast
Not all Of the planes appeared to
be headed in the same direction.
The force over one area seemed
smaller than the nearly 1,00C
bombers which, in Friday night
operations, beat through the fiercest
defense the Germans yet have
thrown about their capital and
punched lightly at other Nazi cities
at a cost of 73 big planes.
1t was the heaviest loss ever suf.
fered over Berlin-presumably mos
Of the bombers fell in air battles tc
or over the city-but the assault
lifted to some $4,000 tons the weight
of bombs hurled on the capital since
last November 10.
Last nights bombweight on Ber-
lin equaled the record mark poured
down on 1t by the RAF February is
The RAF bomber command sen,
out more than 1000 planes in the
night parade with some hitting al
the Baltic Sea port of Kiel and other
objectives. The Germans said Leip-
zig-a favorite diversionary target
of previous Berlin raids-and Wei
mar also were hit and that 1l2
planes were downed.
Marauders Smash at Hirson.
United States medium Marauders
covered by Thunderbolt fighters
slashed at the rail city of Hirson In
Northern France today, continuing
the air offensive against rail tar
gets. Hirson, near the Belgian bor-
der, Is junction of lines leading
to several French port cities.
An indication that new operations
against Germany were under way
tonight came from the German
radio which broadcast that several
nuisance planes are over Northwest
Germany and are heading toward
Central Germany"
The Berlin blow climaxed one OF
the most terrific 60-hour bombins
period of the war leaving four oi
Germany's great war centers burn.
ing tonight.
In addition to the capital they
are the naval base of Kiel, the air.
craft manufacturing and rail city
OF Frankfurt and the ball-bearins
factory center of Schweinfurt.
100 Planes Strike at London.
The Berlin raid was the fifth since
Wednesday in which either by da,
or night more than 1000 planes l1av,
struck the Reich in single attacks
In the so hours up to dawn to.
day at least 10000 United State.
tons of bombs have been unloadee
on Germany and occupied TERRITORY
by Allied planes.
In those go hours nearly 7.0o(
sorties individual fights hav,
been flown against Germany from
the west, probably 5000 of them BY
heavy bombers.
AS the British bombers were ham.
mering Berlin, the Germans wer,
retaliating with the longest attach
on London in more than a year b,
about 100 planes.
One Lancaster pilot declared tn,
Germans put everything the,
had" into their defense of Berlin
THE flax was heavier than I'v,
ever known it, and it seemed the,
must have used every searchligh
they could lay their hands on"
RAF Loss Second Heaviest.
The RAF loss was the secon,
heaviest of the war-six under tn
79 that fell January 10 in raid OF
Leipzig.
Considerations of weather, grow
ing aerial strength and reports O
damage already inflicted on Berlil
indicated this attack might presag
an intensification of the campaig
i To Erannx thot anx,ital <xsaialrlx.