GUNS AND PLANES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 304, 1 October 1940, Page 5

GUNS AND PLANES.

ATTACK ON CHANNEL PORTS. DOCKS PUT OUT OF ACTION. LONDON, September 30. Added weight to the- Royal Air Force's blows at invasion ports on the French coast has been given by British longrange guns, which for the last two clays Jhalve been furiously battering ports in Northern Francc| Tin’s morning the guns resumed firing and it is believed that a direct hit was scored on the quayside at Calais harbour. The German guns opened fire in reply •last night and sent 'four salvoes of shells into the Dover area at 20-minute intervals. . This morning the Gorman guns again took up the British challenge. Watchers on the English coast saw flashes of bursting bombs along many miles of the French coast. They were especially numerous in the region of Boulogne.- At Calais and other ports warehouses have been destroyed, docks put .out of action, and channels blocked by sunken ships. The Royal Air Force raids on the invasion' bases are stated to be so damaging that the Germans find it difficult to use them. The people of Berlin must be. unnerved by the recent British raids, for they spent 2-* hours in. their shelters last night, although Berlin Avas not on the list of targets for the Royal Air Force.

Neutral observers in Berlin report tliat no aeroplanes were seen or heard over Berlin last night, and the city’s anti-aircraft guns were not in action. The constant occurrence of the names of Continental ports and towns raided by the Royal Air Force indicates that the British bombers are working to a careful plan. Figures for the last three months from July 1 to last Friday, show just how effective and extensive, these raids are proving. In that period there have been 21G raids on ports in Germany, Holland, Belgium and France. German ports have been raided 77 times, French 76, Belgian 37, and Dutch 26. Of the German ports, Wilhelmshavon has been raided 16 times, Hamburg 15, Bremen 14, Emden 12, and Kiel 11. The Dutch port of Flushing has had 14 visits. As for the French ports, Boulogne was 24 times bombed, Ostond 22, Calais 20 and Dunkirk 14. Barge concentrations were attacked on 56 different days.