KIEL BATTERED AGAIN

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23301, 10 April 1941, Page 7

KIEL BATTERED AGAIN

Second Night Raid In Succession ATTACKS BY ROYAL AIR FORCE (Received April 9, 11 p.m.) (U.P.A.) LONDON, April 9. Royal Air Force bombers went to Kiel again last night to complete the ruin caused by Monday night s heavy attack. So far, no details of the raid are available, but it is understood m London that it was thoroughly sueC6SSful. The Official German News Agency admits that two of the fires started last night were serious. Several hundred bombers were engaged on each side in Monday nights raids by the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe. The weather over Germany was undoubtedly exceptionally good, but the fact remains that, on this occasion, as the Germans themselves admitted, their effort was widely dispersed by the British defences whereas almost the whole oi the Royal Air Force bomber force engaged in the operations successfully attacked their primary targets. Kiel, one of the most strongly de- , fended points in ■ Germany, suffered ■ the heaviest raid yet made by-the Royal Air Force on Germany. __ Hundreds of tons of the highest explosives used by the Royal Air Force and 30,000 incendiaries were rained on me great naval base for five hours. The raid coincided with the visit to Kiel of a delegation of Japanese naval officials, including admirals In addition to the raid on Kiel, the Royal Air Force also raided Bremerhaven and Emden. From all these operations four of me British machines are missing. In Monday night’s attack on Kiel, aircraft of the Bomber Command carried the heaviest load of bombs ever dropped on Germany in a single night. One pilot said: “The only way to put ; out the fires would have, been to push ■ the whole pliace into the sea." Hundreds of tons of high explosives and more than 30.000 incendiaries by that time had done their work. Smoke was drifting, not only over the whole . town, but out to sea. The, dock*, and shipbuilding yards were completely outlined with red. An area a roue square in the centre of the town was e single sheet of fire, and every momerit explosions were seen. In several of the areas attached, as many of the crews discovered, it was not easy to. find among the fires a vacant black spot on which to drop a bomb. Wind Fans Flames It was a bright moonlight night and with the weather, perfect lon bombing, only the smoke or the fires occasionally obstructed the view from tn* bomb sight, but mis hindered the de- ' fences as well, for several crew* noticed that the searchlights were ineffective when dimmed by the layers of smoke through which they had to pass. A strong wind fanned the flamei, and by the end of the raid it was cop* . sidered that no fire brigade, could hop*. ; to control all the fires, and mafty must - be left to bum themselves out. For five hours the Royal Air Fore* bombers went in over Kiel In wavt after wave. Throughout, the first houp of the raid they had to pierce a cur- r tian of anti-aircraft fire from one of ■ the most heavily defended areas in ?,.■ Germany. But in the end the very weight and resolution of the attack seemed to bear down the defences, and there were significant lulls in the gunfire. The first wave of bombers soon lit, the way for their successors, and Kiel shortly shone like a beacon out to sea as far as Heligoland. As the next waves approached the crews watched the glare spilt up into a multitude - 'of fires and they were able to observe yet , more detailed signs of. destruction. Glowing shells! of warehouses lined the -■ waterfront, and huge buildings, being wholly enveloped In flames, stood, out amidst the general conflagration. ■ The submarine building yards evidently suffered greatly. A huge build- ; ing in the Deutchwerke shipyards was < seen to collapse, and in the town itself the ruin was almost as widespread a* in toe docks. GERMANS RAID COVENTRY • 9 ' ' ' DAMAGE SAID TO BE CONSIDERABLE HEAVY CASUALTIES FEARED (Received April 9, 11 p.m.) : LONDON, April fl. Coventry was the main objective of German raiders over Britain last night - No official reports are available yet but it is stated that the raid lasted for several hours, and considerable damage was done. Full information about the casualties is not available yet, but it is feared they were heavy. Agency reports say that the raiders dropped incendiaries followed by high, explosives. London had an alert but no bomb# were dropped on the city or suburbs. Towns on the south and east coasts were attacked. A small number of persons were killed and some damag* was caused. Six enemy bombers were destroyed during the raids, and others were dam. aged and made for home. Raiders were over Britain early yesterday. They bombed a Thames estuary town and directly hit an auxiliary fire service station,' killing two firemen and seriously injuring two others. A communique issued by the Air Ministry and the Ministry of Horn* Security says: “A few bombs wer* dropped on the coast of East Anglia about midday on Tuesday, but caused little damage. No casualties were reported. An enemy fighter was shot down into the channel. Otherwise there is nothing to report.” Hundreds of German bombers were over Britain on Monday night in clear moonlight and Royal Air Force night fighters had the most successful night which the April moon has yet afforded. They shot down five enemy raiders. A small force of aeroplanes also raided Northern Ireland and damaged industrial and other property, and caused some casualties. Concerning the enemy air attack on an area in Northern Ireland, the following communique has been issued: “An attack was carried out by small forces of bombers and continued intermittently during the small hours of the morning. A heavy barrage of antiaircraft fire was maintained by the ground defences. One enemy bomber was shot down. A number of fires w-ere started, but the majority wer* extinguished by morning. The number of casualties was small but unfortunately a few were killed.” Bombs which fell on an East Anglian town killed five and injured several. A number were trapped under the wreckage of houses. A bomb directly hit a hall in a north-west England tow*n and killed 20. The Minister for Home Security (Mr Herbert Morrison) has announced that during March 4259 civilians were killed and 5557 were injured and detained in hospital as a result of air raids on the United Kingdom. Of those killed, 1956 were men, 1500 women, and 598 children under 16. and of the injured 3067 were men, 2077 women, and 413 children. The remaining 205 persons killed are not classified, . c-k