SHIPPING RAIDED OFF CHERBOURG

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23745, 17 September 1942, Page 5

SHIPPING RAIDED OFF CHERBOURG

FIRES IN DOCKS AT WILHELMSHAVEN (Rec. 11 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 10. Be :tons, escorted by fighters, attacked enemy shipping off Cherbourg in daylight yesterday. There were no losses. Casualties and damage were caused by a few enemy raiders which were over the east coast of Britain last night. Several 40001b bombs were dropped by the Royal Air Force raiders over Wilhelmshaven on Monday night, and many large fires were left burning, mostly in the dock area. Wilhelmshaven has two important dry docks, capable of taking battleships, as well as engineering and fehipbuilding works, power stations, and storehouses. The port suffered a heavy battering early in July. A terrific explosion far larger than could have been caused by the bursting of any single bomb was reported by many of the crews who were over Wilhelmshaven. The captain of a Stirling said that the explosion could not have been caused by a 40001b bomb. “I saw several of those burst in the target area in the normal way.” he said. “There was an astonishing red flash and then volumes of black smoke. I thought it might have been an oil storage depot.” The Budapest radio went off the air early this evening, and listeners were warned that enemy aircraft might be over Hungary.