Evening star., 1944-08-27
Allied Air Armadas
Blast Nazi Oil ceniers;
|0fher Key Points Hi
By the Associated Press.

sbs
BY the Associated Presa.
LONDON, Aug. 26.-American
heavy bombers, operating on d
schedule Of 100 sorties. per hour
since 8 pm. yesterday, Joined
tactical air units today in q series
Of smashing assaults at Germany,s
oil production centers Is well as|
supply depots and communications
in France.
The bombers lent a massive hand
to the ground troops rapidly OBJ
literating the Nazl 7th Army and
driving closer to the Reich borders.
Enemy air opposition in the last
"a hours was slight after a brief
fiare-up in the preceding three days.
From the heavy bombers over
Germany, the mediums over North
eastern France and fighters and
fighter -bombers over the Seine the
reports were identical-few II any
Nazi fighter planes anywhere. The
bombers reported fax over Ger
many ranged from light to intense.
One Nazi fighter was destroyed In
the air and another on the ground
in the operations against Germany
and American losses for the day
were 10 bombers and six fighters.
OIL Targets Bombed.
Some 1900 heavy bombers and
escorting fighters ranged over
wide area of Germany battering
vital oil targets for the third day
IN succession, and a smaller force
of Flying Fortresses and Lberators
teamed with Allied warships' heavy
artillery in final assault to wipe
out the stubborn German garrison
holding out in the port Of Brest at
the tip of Brittany.
The Tactical Air Forces threw
hundreds of fighter bombers into
nonstop sweeps all across Northern
France, blasting at some 10000 Ger
mans caught. in the Seine trap and
hunting down others on the north
east side of the Seine fleeing to-
ward Germany.
Reports from Allied air bases on
the continent indicated the German
air force had lost its desire to fight
after three days Of desperate at
tempts to ward OF aerial blows fall
ing on the retreating German
troops.
Attack Airdrome Near Bucharest.
About $50 American Liberators
based in Italy bombed the Otopeni
airdrome nine miles north OF
Bucharest in support of Romanian
government forces defending the
capital against German attacks.
Allied airmen, who destroyed IA
German planes In the air and on
the ground during all operations
from the west in the past "a hours,
against loss of 78 Allied planes,
said that the German air force
once more was absent from the skies
today.
This left pilots who in the last "a
hours destroyed or damaged 1O6
tanks and 1853 motor vehicles un-
hampered to continue their blister
Ing attacks on German troops,
armor and transport.
Targets for the Fortresses and
Liberators keeping UP the pressure
on Hitler's badly depleted oil sup
ply were the Scholvenbuer and
Nordstern synthetic oil plants at
Gelsenkirchen, an oil refinery at
Emmerich near the Dutch border,
an 6l finishing plant at Salzbereen,
vest of Osr,abruck. and q synthetic
oil plant at Ludwigshafen In south
srn Germany. "-- as.-,%t
aa-s-G German Datteries. Pounded.
German batteries and other forti-
ned positions were pounded in the
important port Of Brest, which was
hit yesterday by American Ma
rauders and again last night by
part Of big Raj formations Of more
than 1.400 bombers which kept the
new nonstop aerial offensive rolling
through the night.
Raj heavies poured nearly 1000
tons of bombs on the Opel motor
works at Russelsheim between
Mainz and Frankfurt in Germany,
and they hit flying bomb launching
sites and rocket depots in Northern
France. They also hit the rail and
industrial town Of Darmstadt in
the upper Rhineland, and RAJ
Mosquitoes plunged two-ton block
busters down m Rerlip