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PIN-POINT
BOMBING
Allies Drop
6000 Tons
LONDON, Aug. 8 (A.A.P.).
A Press Association cuii coy in
dent at an R.A.F. bomber station
estimated that about 6000 tons of
bombs were dropped in the
Bomber Command's attack last
night on the German line south
of Caen. More than 1000 Lan
caster and'Hallfaxes, between 11
o'clock and midnight, gave ten
minutes of saturation bombing
| to each of several targets east, of
Hnip n cfri Hp (hp mad to Falaise.
It was the first time heavy
bombers operated in support of
ground troops at night.
Some new tactics were used to
I achieve success. Ground artillery
fired red star shells and tracers,
after which pathfinders put down
their target indicators.
Crews were unanimous that
the bombing was particularly ac
curate. A pilot said the scene
was just like a pin table, full of
winking lights and flashes.
None of the targets was over
700 to 800 yards in radius, al
though dotted over an area of 10
to 12 miles. They had to be at
tacked with pin-point accuracy,
and the bombers went down low.
The Air Ministry news service
said: — "The German fortified
positions attacked were . . in the
area of May-sur;-Orne and .Tielly
la Campagne. It had been -.clear
for some time that this is tire
main focus of enemy resistance.
Air Marshal Sir Arthur Harris
discussed breaking the positions
with senior army staff officers
from Normandy, and decided the
first move should be made at
night, an unprecedented step
when the target series of enemy
positions was extremely close to
our own troons. But such confi-
dence was felt in the R.A.F.'s
pathfinder tactics there was no
hesitation in briefing more than
1000 crews to carry out the at
tack.
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