NIGHT BOMBINGS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 3, 15 October 1940, Page 8

NIGHT BOMBINGS

R.A.F. ATTACKS GERMANY. HEAVIEST BOMBS YET. (United Press Association-—Copyright.) LONDON, October 14. British bombers were again over Germany last night. In spite of extremely bad weather a number of targets were attacked and the Channel ports were bombed again. The heaviest bombs ever used by the Royal Air Force were taken over Germany on the Royal Air Force’s nightly visit on Saturday. Among the many places battered were Berlin and the Krupps armament works at Essen, which had its twentieth visit Altogether the Royal Air Force bombed 40 targets. Berlin was raided for an hour from 10 p.m., the bombers finding their way through cloud : in spite of heavy gunfire and searchlight activity. A bulletin, issued by the Air Ministry, describing the bombing of Berlin on Saturday night, states: “For more than an hour the Royal Air Force attacked military objectives in the heart of tile German capital. The vanguard of the raiding party reached the city shortly before 10. p.m. and met heavy opposition from many powerful gun batteries, supported by an outer ring of Searchlights which encircled the capital. “Making good use of the prevailing cloud layers, the raiders converged on the city’s centre from different directions, located their target through breaks in the cloud, and attacked in succession at short intervals and from varying heights. Several tons of high- . explosive bombs and hundreds of fire bombs were dropped within the target area, and although intervening clouds obscured the full results of the bombing, a' number of large fires were started, one of which was visible from far beyond the city boundaries. “The central electric power-station in the Moabit district received special attention, and here, too, fires were started by incendiaries.” ;, I.: . .. • > • ; J Fires at Krupps Works. . The Krupps works at Essen were raided for nearly two hours from 8.30 p.,m. and as the factory covers several acres, parachute .flares were dropped, and the bombers carefully selected their targets. One machine struck at the machine shops, and another, which cruised round for 15 minutes, started fires in the power station. This machine saw another bomber’s hits land on the machine shop. “The factory seemed to be working at full pressure when we arrived,” said the navigator of one aircraft, “and by the light of our flares we got an impression of miles of sheds of all sizes . and a huge factory" chimney belching columns oi : smoke. We did a couple of runs over the works to pick up our particular target—'the machine shop—• and then came in again and let go our bombs. As near as we could tell, we were either right on top or quite close to the shop.” Besides the railway yards at Hamm, two large factories on the edge of the town were straddlecj. with high-explos-ive bombs, and one bomb fell in the middle of a nest of searchlights. The yards- were bombed twice by heavy and medium bombers.

The Cologne yards AA'ere also raided, and other targets included a bridge at Bremen, a bridge carrying a motor road over the river near Hanover, and the aqueduct near Muenster, Avhich serves the Dortmund-E(ms canal.

Channel ports raided by British bombers on Saturday nijght included Calais, Boulogne, Dunkirk, Ostend, and Le Havre. At each of these, warehouses Avere damaged and huge pieces knocked out of the quays. The long-range gun emplacements near Calais Avere not forgotten. A few hours before these raids began, a single British machine set a German supply ship on fire off Trondheim, in .Norway. The fact that the large number of machines engaged in these raids all returned safely, reflects great credit on the skill of the British airmen.

The Official (German News Agency says that four British bombs struck the Institute of Hygiene at the University Hospital at Muenster, and tAvo othei bombs fell on a building occupied by the university staff. ; ' Berliners are Disgruntled.

Information, reaching London from reliable neutral sources suggests that the effect of the Royal Air Force raids on military objectives in Berlin has severely shaken the confidence of the population of Berlin, aalio bad been assured many times and by Reichs Marshal Goering himself that no British aircraft would be permited to reach Berlin.

Berliners noAv realise that they must accept the presence of British aircraft overhead on any night as inevitable as long as the war continues, and they are no longer being encouraged by the Nazi authorities to hope for a short Avar.

v Many Berliners are feeling highly disgruntled at the cynical manner in Avhich they have been misled by the Nazi leaders and, according to neutral reports, they are not any better disposed as a result of noticing how high, party officials have found the moment convenient to depart for what is described as “autumnal holidays” in upper Bavaria.