R.A.F. SILENCE RADIO

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 2, 2 July 1940, Page 8

R.A.F. SILENCE RADIO

SUCCESSFUUDOGFIGHT

FIRES IN GERMANY

(U.P.A. and Official Wireless.) (Received July 2, 1.15 p.m.) LONDON, July 1. An Air Ministry communique, issued tonight states: — "Last night in spite of poor visibility, our bomber's continued their attacks on military objectives in Germany. "Oil storage tanks at Hamburg were set on fire. In the Darmstadt area several targets were attacked, causing fires and explosions. Marshalling yards at Osnabruck and Hamm .vere again bombed and large fires resulted. At the railway junction of Dulmen, east of Wesel, an explosion followed the release of a salvo of bombs. An aerodrome on the island of Norderney and those at Huntlosen (west of Bremen) and Dortmund were also attacked. All our aircraft returned safely." It is learned that Hurricanes, of the R.A.F. fighter command shot down five Messerschmitts over France on June 30 and that seven others were probably destroyed, although they were not actually seen to crash. CLASH WITH MESSERSCHMITTS. One of the Hurricane formations encountered a patrol of six Messerschmitt 109's over France. The wing-comman-der of the leading formation of Hurricanes immediately attacked. He shot down three enemy aircraft himself, two of them falling in flames on the French coast. In addition, fighter pilots engaged in the action believe that they destroyed two others. At the same time two pilots of another Hurricane squadron were, as their reports state, "staging a show of their own/ They got separated from the main formation over Le Treport and flew below the clouds towards Abbeville. There they encountered a formation of five Messerschmitt 109's and shot down two in flames and badly damaged a third. Another Hurricane formation encountered a third patrol of six Messerschmitt 109's. One Messerschmitt went into a spin with thick black smoke belching from it. Another is thought to have crashed into a wood north-east of Bethune, and two others dived vertically for the ground* with clouds of smoke streaming from their engines. A total of 17 enemy aircraft was encountered during the afternoon and our Hurricanes allowed only five to escape without serious damage. A German High Command communique states that nine British planes were shot down during an attack in northern France on Merville aerodrome, which was slightly damaged. One German plane is reported missing as a result of R.A.F. raids over France yesterday.