DORTMUND-ENS CANAL RAIDED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 169, 18 July 1940, Page 8

DORTMUND-ENS CANAL RAIDED

R.A.F. BOMBERS.

Carefully Planned Attack Carried Out.

MODEL AQUEDUCT BUILT. United Press AssncinHon. —Copyright. (Received 2 LONDON. July 17. It is now possible to reveal how R.A.F. bombers raided and severely damaged the Dortmund-Ems Canal, one of tile most important links in Germany's internal transport system.

Following damage that has been caused to German trains and railway junctions by raids, enemy communications were becoming considerably disorganised, and in order to relieve rail congestion Germany's transport authorities began making increasing use of the elaborate canal system, which has already heavily been occupied carrying iron ore and other essential supplies to the Ruhr factories.

Large barges, big enough to carry two train-loads of goods, were being used for conveying munitions.

Reconnaissance aircraft flew over the canal, photographed its various stretcher, bnd, in particular, a double aqueduct where the canal crosses the River Ems. Models of the aqueduct were constructed, and picked crews received special instructions on the method of attack to be adopted. Importance of Model. After the operation, the captain of one aircraft said: "If we had not seen the model and the photographs beforehand, we could easily have made a mistake, for there were several places which more or less resembled the real target." The crews were also shown photographs taken by the R.A.F. a few days earlier, which depicted 20 large barges in one short stretch of canal.

The presence of these barges is a striking testimony of the iui]>ortance of tlie task and indicated how great would be the increased strain on the railways if the canal went out of action. There was bright moonlight when the crews set out on the task. Bombs were dropped 011 aqueducts near the safety gates and against the embankment. All aircraft returned undamaged. A subsequent photographic reconnaissance shows the success of the attack, and barges can be seen high and dry in the mud. The aqueducts are unusable and the canal is empty. Other reconnaissances showed the barges unloading cargoes in a field alongside the canal, further evidence that the task has been successfully completed.