Evening star., 1944-06-24
u. ). Planes Hammer
Nazi Gun Positions OF
Cherbourg Outskirts
Roll Bridges, Airfields
And Other installations
Attacked Behind Front
By the Associated Press.

| BY the Associated Press.
SUPREME ALLIED HEAD
| QUARTERS, June 24.-American
Fortresses and Liberators, rang
+ ing over France with escorting
fighters which made up a total
force of 500 planes, hammered
rail bridges, airfields and other
enemy installations behind the
Normandy battle zone today,
while Marauders ripped up four
German gun positions blocking
the advance of infantry into
Cherbourg.
(The Berlin radio reported
American heavy bombers also
were heading into northwest
Germany
Rome dispatches said American
Liberators today blasted the Ploest
area in Romania and Fortresses at
tackled rail bridge on the Oltu
River near Piatra-Neamt on the
main line from Ploesti across Ro-
mania to Central Europe. Intense
fax and a number of enemy planes
were encountered during the raic
on Ploesti, which also was hit yes
terday by Fortresses.
The Channel skies were jammed
with Allied planes OF all types, which
roared back and forth continuously
for more than five hours this morn
ing and which were still going strong
at noon
Devastating Results.
Renewing their close support OF
| the Allied invasion troops, the
Marauder medium bombers, under
Thunderbolt escort, dumped more
than $50 tons of explosives on the
heavy guns near Cherbourg. Grew
members described the results as
| devastating.
Encountering only negligible anti
aircraft fire and no German planes
at all, the entire force of Marauders
an descorting planes returned from
the mission, which was carried out
| in good weather.
IiIC plOW CdIllC
Raj Lancasters smashed at Nazi
rail bottlenecks $50 miles south OF
the Normandy fighting zone, and
after Mosquitoes struck rail yards at
| LisieuX, Wire, Dreux, Evreux, Veneuil
and Mezidon, and downed two Ger
man planes over the beachhead.
Rail Yards Bombed.
The big British Lancasters BLASTED
| the yards at SainteS, north of Bor
deaux. and at Limoges, thus main
tanning 36 hours the Allied cam.
paign aimed at sealing off French
rail lines now choked with German
reinforcements for the Normandy
battlefront. Two heavy nigh
bombers were missing from thi
operation.
Pilots raiding Saintes reported {
big explosion in the middle of tn,
attack. and said it lasted at leas
/ four seconds.
The Germans rocket bomb attacl
on Southern England continued
through the night and until afte
daylight. The droning pilotles
projectiles plopped down on variou
sectors in bigger patches than ever
although at less frequent intervals
1900 S0rties Flown.
/ The Raj night attacks came afte
series of daylight blows by Amer
ican planes yesterday against the
Pas-de- Calais coast and communica
tions hubs used by the Nazis. Thre,
thousand sorties were flown in sup
port of the land operations, despit,
Iunfavorable weather.
RAF fighters played an importan
part in a tank battle yesterday wher
eight rocket-firing Typhoons caugh
concentration of German tank
moving into battle east of Caen ane
left at least 20 of them blazing.
In the 24-hour period ending a
dawn today, % Allied planes wer'
lost including Is heavy bombers
while 18 German planes were de
stroyed.