LARGEST BOMBERS STRIKE AT BERLIN

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 115, 17 May 1941, Page 9

LARGEST BOMBERS STRIKE AT BERLIN

HANOVER BLASTED

Invasion Ports Heavily

Attacked United Tress Association. —Copyright. Rec. noon. LONDON, May 16. Bomber Command aircraft last night attacked targets in Germany. It is learned that Hanover was the main objective of a strong force of aircraft. Many fires were started in the industrial quarters of the town, says a British Official Wireless message. Some of Britain's largest bombers attacked Berlin, and smaller attacks were made on objectives at Hamburg and Cuxhaven.

An Air Ministry communique states that the other objectives of last night's R.A.F. offensive operations included the docks at Calais, Boulogne and- Dieppe. Four aircraft of the Coastal Command attacked the docks and shipping at St. Nazaire and Lorient. Other aircraft attacked the docks at Ijmuiden. None of these aircraft is missing.

The British attacks on targets on the French coast were continued for several hours early this morning. Seen from the south coast of England, they appeared heavier than those recently concentrated chiefly on Calais and Boulogne.

The Lyons radio nas announced that the Italian Consulate at Hamburg was badly damaged in a recent R.A.F. raid.

The fact that Royal Air Force raids have compelled large-scale evacuation of children from north and west Germany to Czechoslovakia, Poland and Austria is the subject of comment in the "Manchester Guardian."

To judge from reports, parents at first hung back from sending their children away, the paper states. Then there was a rush of evacuation, particularly from Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin and the great towns of the west. This was before the last series of heavy British raids. Considerable strain was put on the transport system.

Some idea of the recent increase can be gathered from figures for one Polish area. At the end of December there were 15,000 Berlin children there. By February 20 there were 100,000.

A Czech report says 150,000 refugees, both child and adult, have arrived in Bohemia and Moravia, and 32 districts have been compulsorily evacuated to make room for them. This figure has probably been doubled by now.

The general inference is that the German evacuation has been a hurried affair, for which no adequate preparation was made. It has now been extended on a huge scale.

TO START IN CANADA

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

Rec. 1 p.m. OTTAWA, May 16. The Labour Minister, Mr. Norman A. McLarty, has announced that unemployment insurance will operate from July 1. Three million Canadian workers will contribute 23,000,000 dollars and the Federal Government 11,000,000 dollars annually. The benefits will range from 4 dollars 8 cents to 14 dollars 40 cents weekly.

AIR TRAINEES

CANADIAN BROADCAST I Rec. noon. OTTAWA, May 16. 1 The Canadian Broadcasting Cor- ; poration announced - to-day the in-'i auguration of an Anzac newsletter < broadcast, which will be given each < Sunday, for the benefit of Austra- « tian and New Zealand air trainees. \