CLOUDS HAMPER BOMBERS

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23094, 9 August 1940, Page 9

CLOUDS HAMPER BOMBERS

ATTACKS ON GERMAN BASES i LE BOURGET AIRPORT RAIDED BRITISH OFFICIAL WUIELts.-. (Received August 8, 7.30 p.m.) RUGBY, August 7. "Royal Air Force bombers last night, hampered by low cloud and poor visibility, were forced to abandon many of their primary objectives,” states an Air Ministx-y communique. “In spite of this, an oil plant at Homburg, a supply depot at Schwerte Aflak, a battery at Hamborn, and a factory at Moers were attacked, while other aircraft bombed aerodromes in Holland, and northern Germany, causing considerable damage to hangars, and starting many fires. One of our aircraft is missing. “Taking advantage of a cloud formation which concealed his approach, a medium-bomber pilot raided the Paris airport at Le Bourget yesterday afternoon. Several large twin-engined German aircraft were on the tarmac, and a number of others of medium size were standing near the hangars. The raider took the enemy completely by surprise, and was able to drop bombs near the aircraft and hangars, and retreat into the clouds before the anti-aircraft batteries could be brought into action. “At night, a small force of heavy bombers continued to harass the ene'my’s strategic bases in many parts of Holland and north-west Germany. At Gelze Rijen, a military aerodrome in the south of Holland, enemy aircraft were caught on the flare path, along which a stick of bombs was seen to burst, while a further salvo set fire to a hangar. “Another raider interrupted enemy night flying at Eindhoven by causing all aerodrome lights to be extinguished. Three aircraft hastily took off, but the raider, before disappearing in the clouds, dropped its bombs, and several fires broke out. “At Venlo, a military aerodrome near the Dutch frontier, it is thought that the lighting plant was hit, as a vivid flash preceded the extinction of all lights. Other Dutch bases bombed included Ypenburg, Schiphol, Solsterberg, and Texel, where an attack by a Messerschmitt 110 with cannon and machine-gun fire was successfully x-epulsed. Attacks Near Ousseldorf “In Germany, aerodrome buildings at Gladbach and Rheydt, near Dusseidorf, were damaged, and fires were started at the, Krefeld aerodrome. Two aircraft located an oil plant at Homburg, and, flying through an intense and accurate anti-aircraft fire, succeeded in starting five large fires. At Reisholz, near Dusseldorf, bombs were dropped on a refinery, which had been damaged in previous raids. “Another aircraft, unable to find its main objective, attacked and set on fire an arms factory near Moers, west of Essen. Bombs silenced anti-air-craft batteries five miles west of Hamborn, near Duisburg.” The scrupulous • care which British pilots are expected to exercise to bomb only military objectives was emphasised by a flying officer of a Royal Air Force heavy bomber, when he was describing, in a broadcast, a recent raid in which he took part. The objective was a synthetic oil plant in the eastern Ruhr area, which was difficult to locate. The landmarks given for identification were a wood and a motor highway. "Having arrived in the area,” said the pilot, “we were groping, as it were, for the actual target for some time. We knew we were near it, but our instructions were very definite that we must identify the target without doubt before bombing. So we dropped parachute flares, but without success. Then, about a minute or two later, while we were still searching, one of the other fellows from the squadron let off his flares about half a mile away. “This other bomber was then about 2000 ft above us. • His flares went off below us lighting up a wide area. They enabled my navigator first of all to spot the wood which was one of our chief landmarks. This led on to the actual target and then Iwe began the attack.” |