OWN MEDICINE FOR ENEMY

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 52, 25 November 1941, Page 7

OWN MEDICINE FOR ENEMY

Deliberate Aerial Strafing

AXIS RUSHING UP MORE PLANES

(By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Received November 24, 9.40 p.m.) LONDON, November 24.

The Royal Air Force yesterday maintained its mastery of the air and is continuing its unceasing day and night attacks, bombing, shelling and machinegunning enemy troops, tanks and transport, and contantly interrupting supply lines. Air Vice-Marshal Coningham commander of the air operations, confirmed that the Axis was rushing up air. reinforcements. He pointed out that the Axis had an advantage in the proximity of Italy, Crete and Tripoli, and he added that the Junkers with trailer gliders were not a factor to be ignored. He paid a tribute to the Tomahawks, which he said were the reason for the absence of the Stukas. Royal Air Force circles in Cairo report that not a single R.A.F. supply vehicle so far has been lost. The size of the supply problem can be judged from the fact that a squadron making several sorties daily uses from 3000 to 4000 gallons of petrol a day. Cairo reports yesterday estimated that 75 enemy planes had been, destroyed, with a further 19 _ probably destroyed. The Imperial air losses were given as 19, with some of the pilots safe and the possibility of some machines being. made serviceable again. Particularly Successful. An R.A.F. communique issued in Cairo last night stated: “Particularly successful bombing and low-flying attacks were carried out yesterday on enemy tanks, armoured fighting trucks and motor transport moving along the El Adem-Acroma road. More than 100 lorries and a number of petrol tankers were destroyed, and the accumulated wreckage of vehicles blocked the road at many points. “Effective raids were made by our bombers on road communications in the Derna and Gazala areas, as wen as on concentrations of motor transport at Bir-Hacheim. “In the Gambut zone one Cr 42 and one Heinkel 126 were destroyed on the ground, and two Junkers 88’s were shot down by our fighters. In further aerial combat, a number of Messerschmitt 109’s were damaged.” Pilot’s Vivid Description,

The attack on the supply column on the El Adem-Acroma road began with a Tomahawk raid at noon. The Tomahawks blocked the road by destroying 20 vehicles, killing and wounding about 100 men. Two more squadrons strafed the column three hours later, setting fire to petrol tankers and other lorries. A squadron of “Hurry” bombers carried out a most damaging raid at dusk and scored direct hits on four lorries with four bombs. Other members of the squadron destroyed an average of three vehicles each. “One pilot described a particularly devastating. raid on an east-bound Italian supply column near Tobruk. “There were hundreds of vehicles,” he said. “We took them by complete surprise. We swept down to 40 feet or less and gave it 'to them right down the line, then back, and then 'back again, shooting them up for nearly an hour and completely wrecking the convoys. “You have seen men in the talkies when they are shot throw up their hands and pitch forward. I saw at least 100 go down that way. We were so close we could have picked our victims. It was a pleasure to be giving these fellows a taste of their own medicine.”