AIR SUCCESSES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 253, 7 August 1941, Page 6

AIR SUCCESSES

; DESTROYED Off GROUND a t ' * GERMAN PLANES AT CHERBOURG OTHER AIRCRAFT SHOT DOWN. KY K (United Press Association—Copyright.) (Rec. 12.15 p.m.) LONDON, Aug. ft. * Details of the Royal Air F*.rce dayf light operations on Wednesday are < given, in an Air Ministry cdriiiutmique, which stated: “During the' day our v. lighters carried out a number of offensive patrols. In the course of these ’ two enemy tankers m the Channel Z wore attacked with cannon and ma-chine-gun fire arid one was set on fire, i, “Attacks were also made on enemy * aircraft on the ground at the aeroZ drome at Cherbourg as well as on anti- *• aircraft gun positions. linemy fighters ti were encountered and four of them *; were destroyed. One of our fighters is •f missing. * “The fighter squadron which carried out the attack on enemy aircraft at “ the Cherbourg aerodrome was the, same squadron which shot lip German hombers and fighters at the same aerodrome ; on Tuesday. The first R.A.F. pilot over saw the burnt-out shell of a Junkers 17 J; which he had set on fire on Tuesday and several other bombers also wrecked. Ten or 12 Messerschmitt 109’s i lined up on the boundary of the aero- * drome were machine-gunned and shot *i at with cannon. Many were hit. The % squadron-leader then fired a hurst into 4 one of the Junkers 87’s that was < wrecked in the raid yesterday in order, f as he afterwards said, to make assur--7 ance doubly sure. As he left the aero- | drome ho looked back and saw a colv unm of smoke rising from it. Another 7 fighter of the squadron arrived as the gun-post was firing, at the same Squad--1; ron-Leader and he silenced it and then * saw one of the undamaged .MesserZ sehmitt 109's taking off. He gave it a i burst and it went up in flames. '» “On. the way back the squadron attacked two oil tankers with cannon ■*< and' machine-gun fire and left one with t smoke rising from it. *j; “Later a further attack was made

« on a. tanker and two escorting .ME $ 109’s were destroyed. Other attacks

■; during the day by Fighter Command pilots included the hitting of an E-boat a and the machine-gunning of a coastal y radio station. —British Official Wire'S;- less.