The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-02-25
/ 900 PLANES
BLITz reich
IN new RAID

London, February rs
Cup - American bomberS
were reported by the Berlin
radio to be attacking south
west Germany today IN the
wake of well over 1000 Brit
ish planes which last night
bombarded Schweinfurt and
Steyr, still blazing from
United States raids yester-
day.
A Nazi broadcast said vio-
lent air battles developed af-
Ter the U. S. bombers swept
over the Reich with a power
full fighter escort for the sixth
day of unbroken attacks on
German aircraft centers.
An official DNB News
Agency report Of the raid was
Indefinite, but suggested that
today's American operations
again were on a two-way
basis - from Britain and
Italy - as was the case yes
terday and Tuesday.
Berlin claimed that the strong
escort was unable to prevent Ger
man fighter and destroyer plane
format lions from breaking into the
bomber fleets during the heavy
fighting.
''Other American formations ar
irving from the south likewise lost
a considerable number of machines, -
DNB said, evidently referring to a
separate action.
Observers in southeast England
reported earlier that big forces of
bombers escorted by many fighter
SquadronS flew outbound over the
coast by daylight.
Medium and light American and
British bombers meanwhile struck
in force at the continental coast in
France, Holland and Belgium, and
U. s. Marauders attacked German
SHIPPING.
Stliving for knockout blow, the
bulk of more than 1000 Raj bomb
ers taking off from British bases
last night made two raids on Sch
weinfurt in central Germany, while
Wellingtons operating from italian
bases simultaneously hit Steyr, 80
miles west of Vienna, Austria.
Round The Clock
Soon after the night raiders re-
turned to their bases, American and
British planes swept out across the
channel for new daylight attacks in
the round-the-clock offensive de-
signed to cripple Nad production
and anti-invasion defenses in ad-
vance Of the opening Of a western
front.
Ninth q. S. air force Marauders,
escorted and covered by Allied fight
ers, attacked airfields in Belgium
and Holland from which German
fighters have been taking off to
11arass American heavy bombers in
their raids on the Reich. Raj Ty-
phoon fighter bombers pounded OBJ
jectives along the French invasion
coast.
(The Federal communications
commission reported that the Ger
man controlled Hilversum radio II,
Holland went off the air at 5:22 a.
m. EWT. (l0:22 a. m. British time),
while the Luxembourg, Bremen and
Friesland radios failed to broadcast
as scheduled at 6 a. m)
U. S. Army headquarters in Lon
don disclosed that the American air
forces alone were shooting down an
average of 100 German planes a
day in air battles over the Reich
that may decide the course Of the
war. British and Italian-basec.
American bombers and fighters yes
terday destroyed 1856 enemy air.
craft over Germany for a five-day
bag Of 400.
Highest Pitch
The British night assaults on
Schweinfurt and Steyr increased the
number of Allied planes attacking
Germany during the 24-hour period
to well over 5000 and brought the
about air offensive to its highest
pitch of intensity.
Fires started yesterday by Ameri-
can Flying Fortresses guided the
four-engined British based night
raiders to their targets at Schwein-
furt, site of ball bearing and air.
craft components factories. New
fires were kindled and by the end
of the second attack, Large con-
hagration' was seen with smoke
rising to a great height, the air
ministry announced.
other bombers in what may have
been the greatest force ever sent