Evening star., 1944-02-21
Raids
Continued From First Page.)

building capacity by 43 per cent?
Leipzig alone was hit by 1900 long
tons of explosives in the RAF Sat-
urday night raid just before the
Americans swept in to lay waste
greater portions of the city.
At Stuttgart are the great Daim-
ler-Benz auto works now engaged
in turning out engines for Messer-
schmitt fighters and Heinkels, the
Bosch works which is one of Ger
many's leading specialists in ignition
equipment for all kinds of engines,
and factories for production of
tanks, trucks and submarine parts.
Stuttgart also is one of the main
railroad functions on Germany's
lines to Italy.
Sixty-fve Nazi fighters were
downed by gunners aboard the four
engined American bombers and 81
fell to escorting fighters yesterday
a United States headquarters COM
munique declared today.
2l U. S. Bombers Lost.
American losses were 81 bombers
and three fighters, two under the
first announced casualties of %
bombers and four escorts, the bull
letin added.
The American bombers also were
reported to have hit Posen in
Poland, site of a Focke-Wulf parts
plant, yesterday, but United States
headquarters declined comment. A
blow at Posen would represent a
1,5O0-mile round trip.
Raj, Dominion and Allied fighters
provided support for the American
plunge against German fighter plane
factories at Leipzig, Gotha, Bern
burg, Brunswick and Halberstadt
and against military objectives in
Tutow, Oschersleben and elsewhere
in the Reich.
"At stake to great degree" said
United States headquarters state
ment, sis Germany's ability to resist
the coming invasion. The ultimate
objectives not only are to complete
the domination of the air when the
invasion comes, with resulting re-
duction in ground and naval casual
ties, but also the increased freedom
for bombers to make precision day.
light attacks on war industries and
communication"
The statement marked the first
time the American Air Forces had
given information to interpret the
meaning of an attack.
More men than are In an infantry
division were involved, Gen. Ar
mold said, an indication that up
wards of $1,000 flyers participated
The wide range of the targets
from Tutow, Is miles due north
of Berlin, to Leipzig in Southern
Germany-scattered available enemy
defense aircraft. Gen. Arnold
pointed out that this diversion, COM
bined with the timing of the Amer
lean attack Immediately after the
heavy Raj night assault, helped
keep American losses comparatively
low. Some of the Americans flew
in sight of Berlin.
Photographs brought back from
Bernburg revealed that 240 bombs
landed on the Junkers assembly
plant there. Explosions enveloped
the target. Other bombs fell among
more than 100 enemy planes on the
ground.
Berlin Tells of Fires in Leipzig.
For Leipzig the attack came only
q matter of hours after the Raj
night bomberS had laid waste a
great section of the city. The city,
Germany's first largest industrial
center, was hit with 2,576 American
tons of high explosives and incendi-
aries.
At the same time, Mosquito bomb
ers hit Berlin and other formations
bombed targets in Western Ger
many, Holland and Northern
France.
Berlin said great fires were set
in Leipzig and that casualties were
caused.
The RATS loss of 70 bombers was
the heaviest ever inflicted by the
Germans. The previous Raj high
was So in the Berlin raid Of last
August %. The United States Air
Force lost 60 on two occasions-the
Schweinfurt attack of last October
IA. and the Brunswick Oschersle-
-Halberstadt assault Of January
IL.
While the American heavy bomb
ers were attacking the German
targets yesterday medium Maraud-
ers of the new United States 9th Air
Force veered from their steady
pounding OF Northern France and
attacked targets in Holland.
Uncle Sam needs your waste
bacon grease, drippings, vegetable
shortening. Take them to your