Evening star., 1944-06-28
II. ). Bombers Strike
Nazis in Big Attacks
From Britain and ItaI,
BY the Associated Press,

By the Associated Press.
LONDON. June %. - American
bombers struck the enemy hard to-
day in France, Romania and Bull
garia In mass attacks from Britain
and Italy.
A fleet of $50 or more Flying
Fortresses and Liberators scared
widely over France and Western
Germany, bombing three airdromes
near Laon, targets near Paris and
rail yards at Saarbrucken. BY
night, 1000 RAF heavy bombers at
tackled the Calais robot bomb bases
and rail centers east and south of
Paris. The avowed purpose was to
flatten every Nazi airdrome in
France and tangle every rail juno
ton.
From Italy, 500 American heavy
bombers. with escorting Mustangs,
Lightnings and Thunderbolts, at
tackled two oil refineries near and in
Bucharest suburbs and rail yards
at Chitila, north of the Romanian
capital on the main line to the
Ploesti oil fields, IS miles away.
The Germans said Bucharest itself
and Ploesti both were bombed. The
Karlovo airdrome in Bulgaria, rs
miles east Of Sofia, also was at
tackled A number of intercepting
Nazi planes were destroyed.
Refinery Left in Flames.
Returning pilots reported flames
darting from dense black smoke
erupting from q bombed refinery
northwest of Bucharest and the
Titan oil works in the eastern
suburbs. The Chitila rail yards
normally are clogged with tank cars
and columns of black smoke rose
from them.
Airdromes at Couvren, Athies and
Juvincourt--all in the Laon vicin-
ity-were blasted in clear weather
this morning by the heavy bombers
from Britain.
Fighters also carried out q num-
Der Of straf1ng attacks on trains,
airfields and flak towers.
The British overnight operations
followed day Of brisk Allied aerial
activity in which more than 1000
sorties were flown In unfavorable
weather.
Light bombers also were out dur
ing the night, bombing an enemy
headquarters south OF the Nor
mandy battle area and a military
telephone exchange on the Brest
Peninsula.
z3 Mani Planes DESTROYED.
-Four bombers were missing from
the night operations from Britain
and at least six enemy fighters were
downed. Twenty-three German
planes were destroyed In yesterdays
widespread operations, ranging from
Cherbourg to Paris, and 13 Allied
bombers and eight fighters were re-
ported missing.
Tne Germans contYnued their at
tacks on Southern England With
winged bombs during the night, but
on a lesser scale than on Monday
night.
On one Of the most intensive low
level bombing and strafing attacks
since the invasion pilots of the
United States 9th Fighter Command
late yesterday made one sweep
across France, netting these results:
Sixteen rail yards bombed or shot
up, and 66 locomotives, 37l freight
cars, roundhouse, five ammunition
cars, two troop trains and one am
munition train, all destroyed.
I Allied headquarters in Italy an
nounced today that yesterdays
heavy bomber attacks against OBJ
jectives In the Budapest area and
the railroad yard at Brod, in Yugo-
slavia, as we'll as operations in Italy
cost six Allied aircraft. Thirty
EIGHT enemy planes were destroyed.
Enemy losses at the hands of
Itahan-based planes we're placed Of
ficially at more than 100 in two days.
A total OF IS had been reported de-
stroyed in the air and on the ground
Monday.
More than 100 enemy fighters
were encountered over the targets
yesterday. but the Mediterranean
Allied Air Force said that some of
the pilots were apparently inexpe-
rienced and few Of them were ag-
gressive."