NAZI NAVAL BASES RAIDED

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 299, 15 September 1941, Page 8

NAZI NAVAL BASES RAIDED

Kiel And Rostock (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, September 12. An Air Ministry communique states that aircraft of the Bomber Command last night attacked objectives in northern Germany, including Kiel and the Baltic port of Rostock. The weather was not good, but considerable forces bombed targets at both places, and left large fires burning. The docks at Le Havre and Boulogne'were also bombed. Kiel and Rostock, a port eight miles up the River Warnow from the coast and almost due north of Berlin, are •.wo bases which supply and shelter German naval units operating against the Russian Baltic fleet. A great deal of railway traffic is carried to and from Denmark by the train ferry which goes through Rostock. It is the most important city in the province of Mecklenburg and lias, docks, shipyards and factories. There were clouds over Rostock, but visibility was good beneath them, and there were gaps. After so long a journey the crews were not to be haffljd by the weather, and they teareited carefully for clear intervals, or dived well below the clouds. Tremendous Explosion.

One Hampden pilot dived several thousand feet below the clouds, and from only 1200 feet got his bombs into the shipbuilding yards, causing a tremendous explosion. A seaplane base in the neighbourhood was also bombed and a fire started.

At Kiel there was less cloud and the lesults of the bombing were very evident.

OVER RHINELAND British Bombing Raids Continue (British Official Wireless.) (Received September 14, 9.30 p.m.) RUGBY, September 13. An Air Ministry communique states that though the weather last night was again unfavourable industrial objectives in Frankfurt and elsewhere in the Rhineland were attacked by a considerable force of aircraft of the bomber Command. The docks at Cherbourg were also bombed. Coastal Command aircraft during the night made attacks on the port ot St. Nazaire and on enemy shipping off the Frisian Islands. A supply ship of medium size was hit. From these operations two aircraft of the Bomber Command are missing. Our fighters carried out several offensive patrols over the Channel and enemy-occupied territory today. During one of these an enemy fighter was destroyed. None of our aircraft are missing. A German supply ship was bombed and set on fire off the island of Borkum early today by a Hudson aircraft of the Coastal Command.. The Hudson pilot, a wing commander, spotted ,the ship when he was on patrol. He dived on the vessel and let go a stick of bombs, one of them scoring a hit. Huge clouds of brownish smoke and steam appeared and then tire broke out under the bridge. Two Nazi raiders were destroyed last night over Britain. A small number of enemy aircraft flew over and a few bombs were dropped. At one point in the north-east a small number of casualties were caused and some houses damaged. — ATTACK ON BREST : Battlecruisers Still There LONDON, September 14. Large forces of Royal Air 1* orce bombers were over Brest last night and launched a heavy attack on the docks, in which the German battlecruisers Scharnborst and Gneisenau are lying. Fighter patrols carried out tin afterdark patrol over northern France. Le Havre was also attacked. A few enemy raiders were over the east coast of Britain during the night. Bombs were dropped at. a few points, but caused only slight damage and no casualties have been reported. R.A.F. REPORTED OVER DENMARK (Received September 14, G. 30 p.m.) LONDON, September 13. Berlin quotes a Copenhagen report that British pliines flew over many parts of Denmark last night dropping bombs at several points, damaging some houses. Two bombers crashed into the sea but the crews were rescued.