R.A.F. ATTACKS ON LARGE SCALE

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23129, 19 September 1940, Page 7

R.A.F. ATTACKS ON LARGE SCALE

Enemy Ships Again Bombed CHANNEL AREA COMBED (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT.) (Received September 18, 1 p.m.) LONDON, September 18. The Air Ministry announced at noon to-day that large-scale attacks were successfully undertaken last night on enemy concentrations of shipping and barges which had previously scattered to obtain shelter from yesterday’s gale. More details will be released later. “No British bombing raids were made on Monday night because the weather was so bad that accux-ate bombing of military objects was impossible,” said an Air Ministry bulletin issued yesterday. “From dawn to-day, however, reconnaissance aircraft of the Coastal Command were combing the enemy coastline over the entire Channel area. "Searches on a large scale had been organised overnight to ascertain sudden changes in the disposition of the German sea forces. These changes were imposed on the enemy after a day of harassing bombing action and as a result of the strong westerly wind which swept the Channel throughout the night. It blew with gale force in exposed places where German surface craft had been last sighted. Most of the Channel was very rough, and, as expected, enemy ships and small craft had scattered and scurried to seek shelter. “Their new positions were quickly located to-day by the Coastal Command. These operations were supplementary to the routine anti-submarine and convoy escort patrols, on which 15,000 miles was flown in a few hours, notwithstanding the general bad weather. To-day Coastal Command aircraft gave escort to many large convoys of merchant vessels, and there was not a single enemy attempt at molestation by air or sea.” Daylight raids on Calais, Ostend, and Dunkirk were, carried. out yesterday afternoon by medium bombers of the Royal Air Force. At Veere, 'on the Dutch island of Walcheren, a concentration of barges in a canal lock was bombed from a low level, harbour installations at Dunkirk and Ostend were attacked under cover of low clouds, and at Calais a salvo of bombs was seen to burst on the quayside of the outer harbour, A convoy of 12 barges and three escort vessels was intercepted and bombed off Zeebrugge. An attack was also made on three self-propelled barges patrolling off Ostend harbour, which hove tq and’opened fire on sighting the Royal Air Force aircraft. Haamstede. on the Dutch island of Schouwen, was raided early in the afternoon, and bombs were dropped on the aerodrome in high-level atGerman barge concentrations outside, as well as inside the invasion ports, wore also harassed during a series of daylight raids yesterday. A considerable convoy of enemy shipping on Calais was attacked, and a stick of bombs was dropped across the convoy from starboard to port. Another raider bombed barges tied up in twos and threes inside Zeebrugge harbour, and Zeebrugge itself was attacked, and it is believed that a bomb struck a light railway running along a mole. NAZIS TURN TO WEST END DAMAGE ON MONDAY NIGHT FAMOUS SHOPPING A*REA HIT BY BOMBS (BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS.) RUGBY, September 17. The West End. which contains London’s best-known shopping streets, hotels and- large private houses suffered most in last night’s raid on London. Among the streets which were damaged were Bond street, Oxford street, Mayfair, Bruton street, Park lane, Savile row, Regent street and Piccadilly. Royal Arcade, Burlington Arcade, Burlington House, the headquarters of the Royal Academy, Burlington Gardens and two famous squares, Berkeley square and Sloane square, also suffered damage. In Bond street windows were shattered, and the buildings littered with broken glass. A world-famous jeweller, in Bond street, said this morning: “Business as usual until the building goes. We still have our tails well up.’’ His stock was in the cellar, and he was ready to serve customers. ' The manageress of a shop selling women’s shoes also said: “We will carry on as usual.” Members of the staff were tidying up the shop ready for customers, although the shop was in part of the street closed to traffic. In the part of the street still open, cars were pulling up to the kerbs, and buses were running. In Berkeley square most of the big blocks of flats and offices were damaged. Only one side of the famous square is now occupied by private homes, and these suffered similarly. Bombs fell on Park lane, but guests in the two'famous hotels there went on dancing. A high-explosive bomb, hitting the huge Strand building in which the New Zealand Fruit Sales Division is housed, did not damage ihe office or interrupt work. The London manager (Mr H. Tinner) said: “All the staff are safe and well. We were obliged to evacuate temporarily when New Zealand House, which is opposite, was temporarily unoccupied,” In Savile row, the world-famous street of tailors, a direct hit fell on a four-storey building which crashed in a heap of rubble on the street. The caretaker and his son, who were the only people in ffie building, escaped from the cellar unhurt. St. Dunstan’s headquarters at Radnor House t Twickenham, were damaged. The Peruvian Legation in Cadogan square, which was recently hit by eight incendiary bombs, was. seriously damaged by fire and has become unusable. It was necessary to demolish the upper part of the building. A bomb fell on a big house and killed four men who were working on the ground floor. The men were buried under the ruins. .Five rescue workers speeding to their aid were injured when a bomb landed in a nearby street. It is feared that some people who i were taking shelter were buried when

a high-explosive bomb completely wrecked two shops. Mrs Amy Noel, Commandant of the Women’s Legion, Miss Aileen Cooper, a senior company commander, and Miss Phyllis Phillips, a senior company leader were killed by a bomb on Sunday night when operating a mobile canteen in the area. Lord Caldecote stated in the House of Lords that for the week ended September 10 rescue services in five London boroughs were called out on 169 occasions and saved 216 lives.