The force of 164 bombers roared at tree-top level through a curtain of ground fire and, in some cases, concentrated attacks by enemy fighters. Explos… - Lewis Hyde Brereton

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The force of 164 bombers roared at tree-top level through a curtain of ground fire and, in some cases, concentrated attacks by enemy fighters. Explosions of boilers and gas-storage tanks spread flame and smoke. ... Liberators flew so low that they dipped their wings through tree tops. One plane actually brought back pieces of corn stalks in its bomb bay. ... One boiler house exploded so violently that it destroyed a Liberator flying over the target. Many of the men said that it became almost unbearably hot in their planes as they flew through the wall of flames, licking 300 feet and higher.