WAR IN THE AIR

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 16, 30 October 1940, Page 6

WAR IN THE AIR

ATTACKS IN MIDLANDS. SMALLER NIGHT OPERATIONS. ATTACKS BY BLENHEIMS. (United Press Association—Copyright.) LONDON, October 28. London and the Midlands were the chief targets of German raiders last night, biit the. attacks were on a comparatively small scale. The Air Ministry announces that a large number of incendiary bombs were dropped on a Midlands town. Most of them fell on shops, and the fires which followed were quickly extinguished. There were a few casualties. Other attacks were made in the south-east and the north-east. One German bomber was shot down last night. In daylight attacks yester : day the Germans lost four aeroplanes. There were 310 British losses. Bombs fell on a ehuireh in London and an invalids’ home. There wore some casualties. B aiders yesterday were severely handled by the Royal Air Force, which did its utmost to rout them before they crossed the coast. Most of the raiders hurriedly unloaded their bombs and made off home. A bomb dropped on the south-east coast demolishing four houses. Raiders in East Anglia killed a six-weeks-old baby in its pram and also workmen at a factory. Five German airmen were arrested after they landed on the east coast from a rubber boat in the morning after crashing on Sunday night. A big share ini Sunday’s air operations, states an Air Ministry bulletin, was taken by Coastal Command Blenheims. One force scored repeated direct hits on one of the power stations at the naval base of Rodent. The night was very dark, but the first aircraft dropped a salvo of bombs which caused a great explosion, followed by a fire, the glow of which wins visible 3o miles away and which served as an effective guide. With the added help of flares, one of the following aircraft made a direct hit on. thiei power station. Later ini the attack another Blenheim made more direct hits with a salvo.

Another Blenheim of the Coastal Command 1 oatrolling the French coast bombed the Querqueville aerodrome, near Cherbourg and scored direct hits on the hangars. Another Blenheim patrolling the Dutch coast bombed German supply ships, shot up the crew of a big coastal gun, and fought three Messierschmitts on the way home. When the Blenheim emerged from a cloud over Dean Helder there were a number of daips in the docks below and the pilot dive-bombed them from only a few hundi’ed feet.

A little later he observed a big gun emplacement. The gun crew scattered and ran for cover, but several were hit. When the Blenheim set a course •for its base it was attacked from behind by three' Messerschanitt 109’s. The Blenheim’s rear gunner peppered them, and one of the German fighters broke away damaged. The Blenlhleim continued to fight back • until tin.' Messerschmitts’ fire became ineffective and. they gave up the attack. Thie German allegation that bombs hit the Koch Hospital in Berlin in a Royal Air Force raid is denied by a neutral observer, who states that what was hit was a military barracks near the hospital, which was itself undamaged.