German refinery goes up in smoke during U.S. "grand slam" attack.

German refinery goes up in smoke during U.S. "grand slam" attack. The Deurag-Nerag refinery at Hannover going up in smoke after the attackers scored direct hits. A U.S. Liberator is flying over the flaming refinery. The plant, which produced as estimated 220,000 tons of oil annually, was among the 12 refineries bombed during the operation. A German tank ordnance depot and a combined army vehicle-aircraft factory were the other objectives damaged or destroyed. On July 13, 1944, U.S. Representative Thomas E. Martin, of the House Committee on Military Affairs, said Allied raids had reduced German and German-controlled refining capacity from 27,000,000 tons a year to about 6,000,000 tons, and that of this only 3,000,000 tons were available for combat use. He said: "The increasing number of stranded German tanks and trucks, the grounded Luftwaffe, tells its own story of the dwindling German reserves. Germany has been beaten. The only question is how much longer will German blood be poured out in a hopeless effort to make up for the lack of oil and oil products?"