Evening star., 1944-05-01
Raids
Continued From First Page.

ers and their fighter escorts. One
heavy bomber, one medium bomber
and four fighters of the attacking
forces failed to return. Escort pilots
shot down Is German aircraft and
destroyed number of others on
the ground while bomber crews
bagged seven German planes.
Three American aerial task forces
of Flying Fortresses and Liberators
spearheaded the Sunday attacks,
directed against German airdromes,
coStal defenses and railyards.
These daylight operations wound
up a month which saw at least 100,-
900 tons Of explosives and probably
more dropped in Germany and oc-
cupied territory by aerial fleets op-
Grating from both Italian and Brit
ish bases.
1t. Gen. James H. Doolittle said
American fighters and bomber gun
ners during heavy bomber missions
by the United States 9th Air. Force
in April knocked out more than 100
German f1ghters-a total "substan-
TALLY more than the entire German
aircraft production for the month" "
s59 U. s. Bombers Lost.
In broadcast to the United
States last night, the 9th Air Force
commander placed the April losses
of his command at 359 bombers and
144 fighters, The enemy fighter kill
included more than 300 German
planes blasted out Of the sky in
aerial combat and more than 500
destroyed on the ground.
Gen. Doolittle's fighters ap-
parently combined the total bag
of his own (Strategic) Air Force
and the United States 9th (Tac-
ticaD Air Force, which furnishes
part of the fighter escort for
nearly every one of the 8th Air
Forces raids, an unofficial check
of communiques reported for
April indicated. These war bulle-
tins do not separate figures for
the two air forces)
The RAF during April sent heavy
bombers out from Britain on 13
nights and they few a total of
around $3.50 sorties at a cost of
215 four-engined bombers The Brit
ish bombers dumped more than 34,-
700 tons of explosives.
The following blows were delivered
Saturday by Allied planes
1.-Two thousand American planes
from British bases rained $500 tons
of bombs on Berlin in an operation
which cost So heavy bombers and
IA fighters. lightweight German
planes were destroyed in combat.
IA streamlined force of British
Lancasters attacked an explosive
works near Bordeaux, an aircraft
factory at Clermont -Ferrand and
other targets in France and Western
Germany without loss. This night
operation also was launched from
British bases.
Nazi Sub Pens Attacked.
3. American heavy and medium
bombers and Allied fighters from
Italian bases struck the great Ger
man submarine pens at Toulon in
Southern France and hit other tar
gets in Yugoslavia and Italy.
Twelve enemy aircraft were de-
stroyed at the cost of IL heavy
bombers and six other planes.
4. RAF Halifaxes, Liberators and
Wellingtons in night raids from
italian lines bombed the Italian
harbors of Genoa, La Spezia and
Livorno.
The daylight attacks delivered by
Allied planes based in Britain yes
terday saw the three formations of
Flying Fortresses and Liberators hit
targets in the Pas-de-Calais area,
an airdrome near Lyon and
fighter nest near Clermont- -Ferrand.
The 9th Air Force announced that
its Marauders and Havocs dropped
more than 450 tons of bombs on
French railyards.
Three airhelds in Northern France
and Central Fpance were bombed
and shot up by Lightnings, thun-
derboltS and Mustangs in a late
afternoon attack which encount-
cred no opposition, and still other
Thunderbolt fighter -bombers re-
turned to Northern France at dusk
to bomb railyards in the Arras-
Cambria area without loss.
Raj Mitchells, Bostons and Mos
quitos also bombarded French rail-
yards.