U.S. AIRCRAFT IN AFRICA

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23943, 10 May 1943, Page 6

U.S. AIRCRAFT IN AFRICA

SPECIAL TYPES DEVELOPED SWEEPS BY R.A.P. (Rsc. 8 p.m.) LONDON, May 9. The Minister of Aircraft Production (Sir Stafford Cripps) visited a heavybomber station of the American Air Force in England on Saturday. He said that nearly all the medium bombers of the North African campaign had been American machines. "We concentrated on building heavy night bombers, fighters, and tank busters. We had to build a lot of tank busters for Tunisia. In a sense the tank buster has taken the place of the dive-bomber,” he said. Sir Stafford Cripps added: ‘‘We have dropped 10,000 tons of bombs on the Axis in the last month, and there is no reason why we should not drop 10,000 tons more in the next month, weather permitting.” Broadcasting to America from the station, the Minister emphasised the importance of the bombing attacks on Germany, the object of which, he said was to stop the manufacture and transport of weapons to the front line in North Africa, Russia, or elsewhere. It is officially stated that during slight enemy activity early on Saturday morning, bombs were dropped at a few places in Essex, Hertfordshire, and Kent, causing little damage. A small number of people were injured. The five or six Junkers 88 aircraft which took part were quickly engaged by Spitfires which destroyed two and severely damaged another. Two Norwegian pilots destroyed one, which was heading for London, an Australian pilot set fire to one which disappeared in a cloud, and another pilot attacked two junkers and destroyed one, from which three of the crew were seen to bail out.

The Air Ministry states that Spit-, fires, one of which is missing, attacked and damaged an enemy armed. ship off the coast of Brittany on Friday morning. Many squadrons of fighters made sweeps over the Channel and the north of France in the afternoon. Little opposition was encountered and all the aircraft returned safely.

It is officially stated that a small number of enemy aircraft dropped bombs in one coastal district in East Anglia, causing damage and casualties. One raider was destroyed. At least: 10’.people were killed as the result of a raid by German aeroplanes on a town in East Anglia at dawn on Friday. In an attack lasting only a few seconds four Focke Wulf fighterbombers dropped bombs at random from roof-top height. Six houses, a first-aid post, a large shop, and a hotel were destroyed, and a hospital was damaged It is revealed that bomb damage to the Kennington Oval amounts to at least £IO.OOO. The famous square in the centre of the playing area, where Len Hutton made his record test score, is in good order, but large areas of turf in other parts have been destroyed. Attacks on U-boats Two attacks on U-boats by Flying Fortresses of the Royal Air Force—the second on a submarine which was threatening a disabled British cargo ship—are typical of assaults made by aircraft in the Atlantic U-boat war, in which more than 880 attacks have now been made by Coastal Command aircraft since the war began. Both attacks were made by the same crew, captained by Flying Officer Knowles, a Portuguese-born British subject. With him was an Australian wireless operator and air gunner, a Canadian wireless operator and air gunner, and a South African second pilot. Bad weather almost cost the crew their lives on the first sortie. After flying outward against strong head winds a change in the wind compelled them to fight their way home in similar conditions, and they had only just enough petrol to reach the nearest airfield. The crew were drinking coffee when the captain saw the white spume of the U-boat bow about five miles away. “The weather was pretty dim. It was raining, and a high wind was driving with blinding force against the safety glass,” said Captain Knowles. “We ‘pranged’ the Jerry good and hard. We let him have the benefit of all our fireworks and saw large quantities of oil break the surface as the last eruption from our depth charges subsided. The last we saw was the rough sea smoothed by the ever-grow-ing circle of diesel oil.” The second attack resulted from a descent through cloud. “As we cleared the tip of a cloud into better weather.” said Captain Knowles, “we saw a U-boat with her prospective victim, a crippled ship which was stationary less than six miles ahead. The helpless vessel was a 'at target, and I imagine the U-boat captain must have had a nasty feeling when he discovered he was himself in danger. We let him have it right ahead of the swirl from the conning tower. In a few seconds oil gushed to the surface, followed in less than a quarter of a minute by the U-boat, which had been brought to a full stop. It stayed up a few minutes and then disappeared. We helped it on its way with the rest of our depth charges. There was another gush of oil. and as we left to continue our patrol a patch 200 yards m diameter was still increasing.”