TREMORS IN BERLIN UNDER R.A.F. ATTACK.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 206, 30 August 1940, Page 7

TREMORS IN BERLIN UNDER R.A.F. ATTACK.

PROLONGED RAID.

Vivid Stories Of Bombing On Vital Objectives. British Official Wireless. (Reed. 2 p.m.) RUGBY, Aug. 29. A number of British 'planes were over Greater Berlin last night, according to the German official news agency, and Press reports state that for three hours, while the bombers were overhead, people of Berlin flocked to shelters. An Air Ministry communique staics that last night bombers extensively raided military objectives in Germany, Holland and enemy-occupied France. Several important targets in the Berlin area were heavily bombed, while other aircraft attacked an airframe factory at Leipzig. Junkers' works at Dessau, oil plants at Reisholz. Dortmund and Nordenham (north of Bremen), and several enemy aerodrome. A large vessel which was lying in a canal near Kathpiiovv, 2."» miles west of Berlin, sustained a direct hit and exploded. All of the British aircraft returned. Two of them made forced landings, but the crews are safe. A special attack on one objective only four miles from the centre of Berlin was made by one R.A.F. aircraft, which also dropped a large number of bombs on a series of carefully-chosen military objectives in Berlin last night. Pilot Describes Attack. A young pilot officer, describing the attack on a Berlin power station, said: "We bombed it dead ou midnight. Somebody had been there before us, and. when we arrived, we found the target well on fire. We could see it when we were 25 minutes flying time away from the target. •'We came in more or less north to south, and put a stick of bombs down j««t to the left of this big fire. Four more fire* then started. They were burning, with very bright white lights. Altogether, we were cruising round over Berlin for about half an hour. 7. Another pilot who attacked the same target reported seeing a line, about half a mile long, of what appeared to be white hot fire. Attacking another target, the captain and his crj«- reported that a.fter they ' had made thoir attack they saw fires JSO miles away when on their return I journey.

Talc in? bearings from a sneet of water, onp raider dropped a stick of heavy Iwvnihs on works near Texel Sec. one of Berlin's lakes. Owing to naze, he was unable to determine the success of this attack, but 20 minutes later another pilot saw a fire at these works. On their way out, a wing-commander and his crew saw a German 'plane shot down by its own defences. The enemy aircraft was approaching a Germanoccupied aerodrome, with navigation lights on. Two green lights, presumably a signal to land, flashed from the ground and then searchlights caught the aircraft. Apparently the 'plane was hit, as it dived vertically to the ground. A cable message states that thr Bremen and Berlin radios faded out as usual at 10 p.m. The Berlin news agency statee thai an explosion ?et fire to a powder factory sis miles from Bologn. injjuret hundreds and killed many others. Th» cause is unknown.