|
Re: Rocket anti-aircraft fire
The US Office of War Information had told the American media to be cautious about publishing certain things. But for things that were actually seen and reported, that was a different matter.
New York Times, December 5, 1944
ROCKETS IN REICH DEFENSE
U.S. Bomber Crews See 'Lots' of Them, Also Nazi Jet Planes
LONDON, Dec. 4 (AP) -- The Nazis shot "baby V-2s" or anti-aircraft rockets at formations of American Flying Fortresses that attacked Mainz, one of the German rail cities pounded by the Allied air fleets today.
"We got a lot more rockets than we usually do," said Lieut. Robert Dams of Milwaukee, a bombardier.
"The flak was light, but the Nazis mingled it with rockets which left heavy trails of bluish white smoke," related Lieut. David Barnett of Bromley, Ky, a navigator.
Several Nazi jet-propelled planes were spotted in the Bebra area, east of Cologne.
"We saw a Messerschmitt 262 jet job, but as soon as three Mustangs and Thunderbolts appeared it disappeared straight into the sun," said Sgt. Joseph Grunen of Detroit, a Liberator nose gunner.
|