ON LAND AND SEA

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 8, 4 October 1941, Page 9

ON LAND AND SEA

British Air Offensive Continues STUTTGART BOMBED Six Kills To Dominion Squadron Last Month (British Official Wireless.) (Received October 3, 6.30 p.m.) RUGBY, October 2. An Air Ministry communique states that operations by aircraft of the Bomber Command was restricted-last night by unfavourable weather but a small force bombed objectives at Stuttgart and elsewhere in south western and western Germany. Bombs were also dropped on the docks at Calais, Boulogne and Ostend. One enemy night fighter was destroyed and another damaged during these operations. Aircraft of the Coastal Command attacked enemy shipping off the Friesian Islands during the night. A merchant vessel was hit and set on fire. From these operations one aircraft of the Bomber Command is missing. A single squadron of the Coastal Command which bombed two German supply ships on Tuesday night, either sinking or severely damaging them, attacked another two ships last night, states the Air Ministry news service. The latest attacks were made by the pilots of two Hudsons, each finding the enemy convoy steaming close inshore to the Dutch coast well protected by A-A ships. The first pilot bombed his ship with delayed action bombs from a height of 30 feet. He scored a direct hit and left the ship with a large column of smoke rising from her. Attack on Tanker.

The second pilot picked out a tanker which was flying protective balloons. His gunner saw a flash on the tanker’s bows and splashes a few yards to either side of her.

Both aircraft flew through intense A-A fire to reach their targets and their gunners returned the fire. This squadron, which has become a menace to all German shipping along the Dutch coast, was recently formed and is manned largely by Canadian air crews.

For the second successive month, the Australian Fighter Squadron tops the list for the largest number of enemy planes brought down. Last month the squadron brought down 18 planes, 12 of which were accounted for in two days.

The New Zealand Squadron, in the same wing, brought down six planes in September. Profitable Afternoon.

A Beaufort aircraft of the Coastal Command set out this afternoon on a tour of the Norwegian coast. . When it returned with very little petrol left it had ‘bombed two merchant ships, machine-gunned a third tied up to a quay and blown up a factory, says the Air Ministry. Off the Norwegian coast the weather was so bad that the pilot had half a mind to return to his base. In places the clouds were almost down to sea level. He decided, however, first to explore the coast which was barely visible in the haze and cloud.

■Almost immediately he came upon two ships. He attacked each in turn, allowing a bomb for each from below mast height. The bombs had delayed action but the rear gunner just had time to see one ship lurch and a great wave being thrown over it by the explosion. The pilot flew on and in a few minutes found a factory near a town on the coast. He let it have his remaining 'bombs. The rear gunner and one of his side gunners who was hanging out of an open window in the aircraft saw the factory blow up in a fountain of bricks, smoke and dust. Antiaircraft fire opened up promptly and •to avoid it the pilot hid in the cloud. He camo down again a little later and continued to fly at some 30 feet. The next part of his trip took him over a harbour where a ship was moored to the quayside. Having no more bombs the Beaufort pilot raked the ship with machine-gun fire. Harbour defence guns opened up but went silent when the Beaufort gunner repaid, them vigorously. Then the pilot, anxiously watching his petrol gauge, set off for home. Bag By American Eagles. In a sweep over enemy occupied territory today the American Eagle squadron destroyed four Me 109’s without loss to itself. One pilot destroyed two. Another shot a wing off one and his cannon shells made great holes in the cockpit as the machine dived to earth. The fourth victim was shared by two pilots. The rest of the Messerschmitts fled. One of the Eagle pilots came out of a dog fight very low and saw a group of French workmen standing on a platform. He said: “They had a grandstand view of the whole scrap. They waved so excitedly that I thought they would fall off the platform. I would not have risked it.” Earlier in the day a four-cannon and one-machinegun Hurricane attacked a camouflaged barge at Knock. In the first attacks its front cannon was silenced and the, second barge left on fire and well down in the water. Plucky Welsh Skipper. While a small British coastal steamer was recently plodding along about her business a twin-engined plane approached, circled the ship at 1000 feet and then swooped to attack with its machine-guns blazing. The Welsh skipper, Captain Roberts, held his fire till the German was almost on top of him. Then he opened up at point-blank range. The German machine burst into flames, skimmed clear of the funnel by a bare 15 feet and crashed into the sea, where it immediately blew to bits. The naval Commander-in-Chief sent a personal message of congratulations to Captain Roberts and bis crew. An enemy bomber was destroyed to night while attempting to cross the north-east coast of Scotland. Another was destroyed in the Firth of Forth, and a third over the north-east of England.