R.A.F. Fighters in Several Engagements

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 12915, 9 December 1939, Page 5

R.A.F. Fighters in Several Engagements

patrol ’Plane Sinks a U Boat. Enemy Bombers Intercepted and Driven Off During Attempted Night Raids RUSSIANS REPORTED TO HAVE USED POISON GAS

London, Dec. 8. i ii A F machine on patrol sightAn vrman U-boat on the surface SCoast. It immediately m i* fand dropped a bomb which " : ' ! il midships. As the boat sub!.al the R.A.F. pilot dropped an- ■ 2 1 bomb which landed right over ■ Bubbles and oil came on ’J fjrface for some time after, but : Survivors were seen. HAIDERS INTERCEPTED during the night R.A.F. fighters ioted German raiders who were approaching the East Coast i J drove them off. u another coastal town an alarm ' riven, but thirty searchlights ,■ l eot the sky and no machine was ; ; :’ ‘ rV p f l Anti-aircraft fire drove an ' imy ’Plane off in the Thames Estuary area. YESTERDAY’S ENGAGEMENT Farther news of the R.A.F. en--1 .aeement with ten enemy ’planes, ‘bows that.five enemy machines were bit and would no doubt experience ireat difficulty in-reaching home. Seven of the machines were Heinjjel bombers and the R.A.F. fighters S attacked them at varying heights. One pilot flew only about fifteen feet above the water at times. He attacked two of the bombers registering hits. Another of the pilots had an extremely narrow escape when he got in cross fire from another machine. One bullet pierced his ear, another his thigh, and a third struck the petrol tank of the machine. The pilot, who was the Australian who recently led the .squadron which brought clown seven out of twelve lighters >in the North Sea, reached home safely despite his injuries. German reports say that one of their machines crashed and failed to reach home. The R.A.F. make no claims as they did not actually see the enemy machine go down. ENEMY ’PLANES APPROACH PARIS Enemy ’planes flew over France yesterday and approached Paris at a height of 20,000 feet. They were driven off by French fighters. THREE SHIPS LOST London, Dec, 8. Britain has suffered the loss of three ships to-day. . The first is the Manchester Regiment of 6000 tons ; which was sunk in a collision in the Atlantic. * The accident happened during a convoy in extremely rough weather. The crew from another ship which A had sunk after a “collision, had been transferred “to the Manchester Regiment the day before without any loss of life, but when the Manchester Regiment sank in the same circumstances, nine lives were lost. The second was that of the Thomas Walton of 4,300 tons, i and the third the Merel of 1000 tons, which struck , a.mine in the North Sea. .The Merel sank in four minutes arid only two of her crew, badly injured, were picked up.

London, Dec. 8 It is officially stated in Helsinki that Russian artillery north from Lake Ladoga fired poison gas shells against Finnish batteries, causing several casualties. Two hundred and thirty Finnish Americans, some of whom have never seen Finland, have arrived to enlist. The Moscow radio last night warnItaly to keep out of the Russo-Fin-nish struggle, the announcer, saying: “Italy wants to turn Finland into a second Spain. She is Europe’s re-actionary-in-chief, and wants to strangle the newly-created Finnish People’s Government just as ft she suppressed the People’s Government in Spain. We will not tolerate such interference.” The broadcast added; “We also warn Sweden that she has no business to send detachments of so-call-ed volunteers to Finland’s aid. Such, support’ cannot prevent Finland’s liberation, but will gravely endanger relations between Russia, and Sweden.” FIGHTING IN FINLAND There is no detailed news of the fighting in Finland. Official sources state that there is considerable conamong the Russians and the publication of any authentic news might be of use to them. A further number of civilians am endeavouring to leave Helsingfors since the report that gas shells were used by the Russians yesterday. It is known that there are not enough gas masks to go round in the capital. Offers of, help from Sweden continue to take practical form. £ 40,000 has been given and the Nobel prize winner Sigrid Unset, has given a number of her royalties. Forty recruiting stations have been opened at different points in Sweden. LEAGUE COUNCIL MEETING Britain will be represented at the League Council , meeting on Monday by Mr R. A. Butler, Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs, who has left for Geneva.

BLOCKADE OF FINLAND

RUSSIA’S THREAT . ( London, Dec. 8 , Russia’s second major move has i, ? to anQ ounce a blockade of Finand all foreign ships are asked o leave Finnish ports by noon tomorrow. Finns say that the blockade uLm and ’ s ■ miles of coast w f present a most difficult prob- ■ Russia. A great deal of the tmn I s * ce bound and the fortificatbe ’ together with land fortificas mined seaways, mean that J? between Finland and Sweden th!T ® ontin ue unrestricted, until tn Uss4ans force their way through t 0 gulf of 'Bothnia. GERMAN BOAT ATTACKED German S v ian subma rine attacked a tenit n *u° at . leaving a Finnish port oorrow th Th tim^ being fixed £or to ‘ tow n ’j sbl P was struck in the Hum’ i nd a Party of Soviet sailors saeot u ded the German ship to inu us papers. SHIPS CONTINUE LOADING to'i o !5 m i? r ships are continuing firihin llln * sb exports, of which, one i la if 1S at P resen t taking about * VE " Z FALAND AIR SQUADRON

Befnr* tv. London, Dec. 7. '“ODrislne n e «* War a mobi le flight Xevr I® officers and airmen of the ! °nnprt .‘ and ■ A ’“' Force was being l»rs v 6le to Wellington homier Govp,. eW ea * an d. When the lat--01 war if . nment made its declaration Chines ? acecl the personnel and Thp disposal of Britain. Zea lanrt qUßStlon of forming a New 8o » bPit, Squadron of the.. R.A.F. is Dei hg considered. When tv. -Auckland, Dee. S. to the ATin- e < cal)1 ® graai was referred ?. Jon P‘s ? , ? t f r of Defence, the. Hon sa id tv, f on S-distance telephone, %t thp n, fl 161,0 was a possibility 0n 11 °t a New Zealand Ca aadian « c been discussed at the to axoi-pea ° nfere nce. He was unable tilQe - opinion at the present det aii s of tjT°^ lci bave to await' full a aa <ieci«j^ e Cana dian conversations l^es e .iim» n ?r. and 116 wou id not have s entati VPc „ * e New Zealand repre°a their way t^rn^.' d - Tlle y were now