There Is No Haven

From their sunny cabins in the sky, U.S. Eighth Air Force bombardiers last week pinpointed targets in East Prussia, Pomerania, Occupied Poland. It meant: 1) there is no haven in any part of Germany for bomb-sick Nazis, either by day (U.S.) or by night (R.A.F.) and 2) the German fighter force has been pushed farther & farther inland, its elasticity about gone. Some American bombs fell on Danzig, already bombed by the Red Air Force. The cost: 29 U.S. bombers, 91 German fighters.

Day before, when the Eighth went to Bremen, Fortresses, Liberators and long-range Thunderbolt fighters shot down 142 Nazis, lost 30 bombers, three fighters. This week Fortresses set fire to Minister. The bombers shot down 81 Nazi fighters, escorting Thunderbolts 21 more. U.S. losses: 30 bombers, two fighters.

Had the Eighth's Lieut. General Ira C. Eaker not been certain the Luftwaffe was being pushed inland, he never would have tried an eight- to ten-hour daylight raid over Germany.

Helping him for the past two and a half months has been little-known, hard-working Colonel Samuel Anderson of Greensboro, N.C., whose American (B26) Marauder force has been lambasting Germany's major air bases in France and the Low Countries. Anderson told newsmen that the Nazis have already been forced to evacuate a large number of key fighter bases.

Assignment for Winter. The big-bomber forces in Britain, plugging ahead with their "strategic" offensive against Germany, did not forget their "tactical" role in Western Europe.

Last week General Eaker said that the tactical role will soon be paramount: "It is the task," said he, "of the Eighth Air Force and the R.A.F. to destroy the factories and transport and weapons of the Germans so that our invasion casualties will be cut down. That is our stern assignment this winter. . . ."

Second-guessers on the timing of the western invasion noted with interest that General Eaker allowed himself "this winter" for the preparatory job.

Other air-front news: > Against the Fortress and Liberator formations, the Germans are trying new defensive tactics. Three planes abreast, coming head on, swing from left to right to avoid the frontal guns of the U.S. formations. It has not worked. > The Germans revealed hitherto unpublished information on U.S. tactics: the bomber formations are protected by other Fortresses that carry no bombs (presumably fill their bays with extra tons of ammunition to fire at German fighters. A Nazi newscast drew an eloquent picture of battle over Germany: "Thus more than 1,000 U.S. airmen, covered by armored planes, are defending themselves with more than 3,000 machine guns and cannon."

> Bern heard the August bombing of Hamburg left 20,000 dead. Raging fires formed an "air chimney," sucked up the oxygen, suffocating and cremating those in shelters below.

> Reported Missing in Action over Muenster: Lieut. John G. Winant, Jr., 21, son of the U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James's.

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