Word: lorient
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Twelve feet of reinforced concrete protect Admiral Karl Doenitz' U-boats when they put into Lorient and Brest for rest, repairs and refueling. Some Allied sources say that constant air raids, by smashing more poorly protected surface shops and power stations, have lowered the efficiency of Lorient and Brest as much as 75%, but the U-boats in packs still prowl forth into the Atlantic...
...their first swoop over Mussolini's naval base at La Spezia. R.A.F. bombers by night, U.S. Flying Fortresses and Liberators by day, flew over western Europe. They gave Hamburg its 95th plastering. They roared through the valley of the Ruhr. They swarmed over the U-boat base at Lorient, where ten acres of the naval arsenal have now been reported destroyed. Apparently unable to pierce the eleven-foot roofs of the concrete sub pens, the Allied bombers have concentrated on softer targets which are vital to maintenance and repair. Result: 75% of Lorient's headquarters buildings have been...
Britain's air forces were not idle. Twice during the week bombers smashed western Germany's industries, not neglecting the Ruhr. But bomber strength more frequently was swung on the German submarine base at Lorient, which had four raids in ten days. Light bombers and fighters swept day & night over occupied territory, shooting up trains, bombing light-industrial targets...
...bombers also struck more immediately at the U-boats. Twice last week the R.A.F. raided Lorient, plastered the repair shops that U.S. Flying Fortresses and Liberators had left standing, and rained blockbusters on the huge U-boat pens. Whether they succeeded in getting through the 11-ft. concrete roofs and walls of the pens, the R.A.F. did not say. But they had slowed up work that Germany dearly wants to finish. A third pen of like capacity (ten U-boats) is being built nearby. Neither the R.A.F. nor the U.S.'s Eighth Air Force had any intention of letting...
...front-if they are not indeed losing way. According to all signs, the strength of Germany's undersea fleet is increasing. Despite Germany's need of overland transport facilities, submarine building still holds No. 1 priority. Allied bombers, soaring over the great submarine base at Lorient, have been none too effective...