STORY OF FIGHTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 145, 20 June 1940, Page 7

STORY OF FIGHTS.

WITH NAZI RAIDERS. Several German Airmen Taken Prisoner. DESCENT IN MOONLIGHT. British Official Wireless. ('Received noon.) RUGBY, June 19. The final figures of enemy aircraft brought down during raids on England last night are not known, but it is considered likely that several more, besides the seven already announced, were destroyed. The majority brought down, most of them Heinkel Ill's, crashed in areas in East Anglia and Kent, some falling on land and some just off the coast. A Fighter Command pilot, who had his first success ehortly before 1 a.m. while patrolling over the Thames Eetuary, eaw a twin-engined enemy bomber caught by a searchlight. Climbing rapidly, he attacked. Riddled by his machine-gun bullets, the bomber crashed in flames in Essex. One of the crew was eee.n to jump by parachute. A few mimitee later the same pilot »aw another German bomber held 'by a searchlight beam over the Thames Estuary, its black crosses clearly lit up. Again he climbed and engaged the enemy and again a bomber crashed in Essex. One Blenheim shot down a Heinkel 111 over Norfolk and further south another Blenheim was having a light with a Heinkel 111 ae they dodged in and out of searchlight- beams over the Suffolk ccaet. The Blenheim gunner hit the enemy with two bursts of bullets and put his port engine out of action. Although the Blenheim's tank wae hit, the pilot managed to bring the aircraft eafely back to his base. At 3 a.m. R.A.F. fighters attacked a Heinkel bomber caught by a searchlight over Kent trying to escape. The Heinkel jettisoned 30 small bombs before it Was shot down off Margate. Three of its crew were taken prisoner. People in Cambridgeshire villages watched three German airmen descend in the moonlight by parachute after their Heinkel was destroyed by a fighter. They and other German airmen whose aircraft had been shot down in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex were made prisoners.