DARING RAIDS ON ENEMY STRONGHOLDS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 87, 14 April 1941, Page 8

DARING RAIDS ON ENEMY STRONGHOLDS

ACTIVE R.A.F. PATROLS

Shipping and Military Targets Attacked.

T'.ri:i-h (lllifi.il Wireless

flJci'd. 1 .-if) 11.111. i Iv'l'OfSY. April 1.1

Dnniip; daylight yesterday the li'.A.l-'. cii riicd uiil extensive operalinn - ; i vr; ii 11 ~ t I lie enemy. Those ranged iiver llie North Sea. enemy occupied i crrilnry ami (lermanv. Aircraft of Ihe Bomber Command attacked sliip]n1luc otv the iMiP-li Coast and a number ot: indusl rial targets.

A power r-1 ;i (i■ •11 and poods yard near Xeiilen were bombed, and a successful :ii lack \\ ii r\ made on docks and petrol -tores al Flushing. Other aircraft flew into normally and bombed targets north

~f (he I!nhr," and at Ziiotel-md a supply -hi p alonpr-ide Ihe jottv was bombed and hit. One aircraft of tile Bomber Command is missing from these opera-

Aim-aft <>f the Coastal Command died mid machine-gunned two enemy ,-liips near Fecamp, northern France, mid destroyed an enemy lighter off l'.crck. One aircraft of the Coastal Command is missing from the patrol.

l-'ishtcr Command aircraft also eartied Out several offensive patrols over northern France and the coast of Hoihind. One patrol attacked the aerodrome at Lc Touquet from a low level. Ifangars, pun emplacements and enemy aircraft on the ground were machinegunned. Two fires were started. Near ficrck "tin positions were ' machinesruniied and silenced by another patrol, whilst at Hazebrouch storage tanks were attacked and one enemy fighter was destroyed. One of our aircraft is

Hissing,

Last night aircraft of the Bomber Command continued the offensive njrainst the naval base at Brest in spite of bad weather. The submarine base at [.orient and the aerodrome at Merignae, which i* the, principal base of the I'ocke-Wulf bombers, were also attacked mid large fires were seen at these places. One of our aircraft is missing from these night operations.

Last night for the second time within three days aircraft of the Bomber Command successfully attacked Merignae aerodrome near Bordeaux, the main base of the Fokker-Wulf long-range Ijombers which attack convoys in the Atlantic. Weather and.visibility were favourable, and heavy bombs burst across the hangars and incendiaries started many large fires.

At Brest an attack had to be made through gaps in the clouds and, though many bombs fell in the neighbourhood of the Scharnlioret and the Gneisenau, results were difficult to observe.

At Lorient the weather was better and large fires were seen in the areas of the docks and the submarine base. Naval ordnance works were set on fire, and were seen to be burning fiercely.

All Air Ministry communique states that enemy activity over Britain during the night was on a very small scale. Some bombs were, dropped near a coastal towm imi there was little damage.