Nazi Aircraft
Plants
Terrific
Dogfights Mark Action;
New Luftwaffe
Tactics Force
Some U.S.
Escorts Back
Flying Fortresses, striking a new
blow in the concerted preinvasion campaign to wipe the Luftwaffe from the skies
yesterday smashed through some of the heaviest fighter opposition yet
encountered to carry the Eight Air Forces' third heavy blow in 30 days on
Brunswick, where a large portion of Germany's war planes are produced.
The Luftwaffe, judging from early
reports of returning American crews hurled everything it had into a desperate—but
vain— effort to keep the bombers away from the target.
For 21 hours—from the time the Forts
roared across the enemy coast for the 450-mile penetrations to Brunswick until
they reached
the channel again on the way back
—the bombers and their escorts
Direct Hits On Targets
USAAF headquarters late last
night announced that at least 90 Nazi planes were destroyed during the day
against the loss of 29 bombers and 11 fighters.
It also said that the great Central
Germany aircraft manufacturing center had received a severe pounding.
Direct hits upon the targets were
reported.
As the Fortresses- carried on the
already-effective drive to cut into Nazi fighter production, Liberators pounded
the German fighter base at Gilze- Rijen, in Holland, and Marauders again lashed
at the unidentified but much battered secret military targets in France, though
snow and sleet in the straits;, restricted operations.
Marauder crews again reported a minimum
of fighter resistance, but Hundreds of Me 109's, FW 190's and Ju. 83 s mixed it
up with the escorting Thunderbolts. Lightnings and Mustangs.
One, new trick reported in use by
the Nazis was that of concentrating on a portion of the escort long before it reached
the target, engaging them in such severe fighting that the P 47s were unable to go the full distance to Brunswick
some P47's were forced to turn back, leaving a number of fortresses unescorted
to fight it out alone.
Fiercer Than
Jan. 11
The air battle was described by
some crewmen as even fiercer than the Jan 11 attack on Brunswick. Oschersleben
and Halberstadt, when the USAAF lost a record 60 bombers but shot down 152 Nazi
fighters.
Allies In Italy
Beat Off Big
Beach Drive
Main Weight Of
German
Counter-Offensive
Still
To Come, However
A series of heavy German
counterattacks against the outer perimeter of the Allied beachhead in Italy was
beaten off yesterday, but it was believed that despite their strength the enemy
thrusts represented mere probing of the Allied lines preparatory to the beginning
of an all-out offensive to drive the invaders into the sea.
With the initiative having passed.
to Marshal Kesselring the Allies were fighting a defensive battle in- every sector
of the bridgehead, the entire front having erupted into blazing action.
Taking cognizance of the German counter-drive.
Under Secretary of War Robert Patterson said in Washington that the beachhead
was firmly established. However, he warned that the greatest weight of the
German attack was still to come.
U. S. Bombings
Smashing Japs
Out Of Rabaul
Being Abandoned
As Base
After Repeated
Attacks;
Madang Deserted
Relentless Allied bombing
apparently has brought the Japanese "to their knees" at two bases in
the Southwest. Pacific, it was indicated last night in dispatches, which said
that Madang, main port in North Central New . Guinea had been deserted and
Rabaul had been abandoned as the main naval base in the area.
Reconnaissance planes following
on the heels of U.S. bombers in their Wednesday assault at Rabaul brought back
evidence that only a few ships remain in the harbor, once teeming with merchant
vessels protected by strong units of the Japs' main fleet from Truk.
Australian reports said that it
is believed the Japs, in face of Allied pressure from two sides, had quit Madang
to move to Wewak, 170 miles farther up the coast. U.S bombers of the Fifth Air
Force swooping low over the battered port Wednesday saw no evidence .of life,
and antiaircraft defenses were silent.
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