The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-03-16

DINE said, but they were engaging Che American bombers and their lighter escort successfully" Only yesterday, American Flying Fort resses and Llberators raided BrunS- wick In Central Germany,
 The record formations of RAF four-engined bombers dropped 2,H00 tons of bombs alone on the great aircraft engine center and com. munications hub of Stuttgart in southwest Germany, and distributed the remaining 800 tons among Mu- nich, unspecifled targets in north west Germany and the French
 western front" railway junction Of Amiens. Forty bombers were lost,
 Weather prevented immediate observation of results of the heavy attack on Stuttgart, but the ar ministry said the glow of huge fires could be seen through the clouds toward the end of the raid.
 Stuttgart has been bombed heav- fly by day and night three times since February 20 and it may be that last nights attack was design- ed as a knockout blow, One source estimated that some 2,800 tons of bombs were dropped on Stuttgart alone last night.
 The raids on Munich and north. western Germany, as well as on railway targets at Amiens, strategic junction controlling the main sup. ply and reinforcement route for German troops on the French in. vasion coast, apparently were de- signed as diversionary attacks tc draw oil night fighters from the main blow at Stuttgart.
 Forty bombers were lost in all the nights operations from Britain, the air ministry announced,
 LArscr Force
 British Wellington bombers from Italian bases simultaneously bomb- ed Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, last night to bring new pressure against HitlerS Shaky satellites to get out of the war. The raid was the sixth on Sofia by American or British bombers and German DUB diS- patch reported it caused "heavy damage"
 The British based RAr night as. sault exceeded in weight any prev. ious one-night offensive by moro than 500 tons. The number oi bombers involved was believed the largest ever sent out by the RAF,
 Swiss dispatches sad that portion Of the attack concentrated on southern Germany was of unparnl- leled dimensions. The triangle formed by Karlsruhe, Mannheim and Stuttgart belched flames whose glow could be seen In Zurich 100 miles away, the dispatches said.
 Watchers along the Swiss German border said terrible detonatlons" were audible from the direction of Stuttgart soon after on hour-long procession of heavy bonberS foSScG over Lake Constance.
 Though there was no F aedinte confirmation, air observt believed the RATS big four-engi :, d homb- CTS may have unloaded some os their new Six-ton super block bus ters on Stuttgart, as well aS tens of thousands of incendiaries,
 The main target at Stuttgart pro- Sum0bly was the Daimler. Benz Works, which manufacture engines for Messerschmitt and Heinkel planes, as well as for tanks and heavy army trucks.
 Other possible objectives included the Hlrth plant, one of the largest manufacturers of aircraft engines and precision instruments in Ger many, and the big Bosch Electrical Works, which turn out electrical and ignition equipment for internal combustion engines.
 The nights raids ended q two. week lull in the RATS heavy night attacks on Germany, during which they made six raids on French ralI- way yards and aircraft plants in an attempt to disrupt German prep- arationS for tho defense of France against invasion.
 The RAF bolnbers crossed the east coast at dusk last night in an hour long procession, then split, with one force heading east and the other southeast at great height, Int. CT 0 third formation crossed the