ATTACK ON KIEL BASE

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 3, 3 July 1940, Page 7

ATTACK ON KIEL BASE

R.A.F. BOMBERS STRIKE

SCHARNHORST HIT AGAIN

ENEMY TAKEN BY SURPRISE

(British Official Wireless.)

(Received July 3,11.20 a.m.)

RUGBY, July 2,

The Air Ministry announced that Royal Air Force bombers last night attacked the enemy naval base at Kiel and scored many hits.

It is revealed that in the course of the raid the German battleship Scharnhorst was heavily bombed when the aircraft penetrated the powerful' defences of the Kiel Canal and attacked the ship as it lay in a floating dock of the naval base.

The Scharnhorst was'undergoing repairs necessitated by her recent encounter with a British submarine and R.A.F. units.

The attack began a few minutes after ifiidnight, and took the defenders completely by surprise. In excellent visibility, the naval base was easily located without the need of parachute flares. The first aircraft approached the target at a considerable height and then, with its engines throttled back, glided down to launch its attack. The first bomb scored a direct hit on the floating dock about a third of the way along its length, and was quickly followed by others which burst among buildings on the quayside.

The following raiders, coming into attack in rapid succession, were met with a continuous barrage of fire from pompom batteries and heavy-calibre guns. One aircraft, pressing home its attack through a screen of bursting shells, was repeatedly hit, but it readied its objective, and the pilot, dropping his bombs on the dockyard, saw a series of heavy explosions, which were followed within a few minutes by a huge outbreak of fire which was still visible when the crew of the crippled raider were 85 miles away on the homeward journey.

FOr nearly an hour the battleship and the dockyard were continuously attacked by successive units, of the strong raiding force,. Four direct hits on the Scharnhorst and on the dock were claimed by one aircraft. Another, gliding down to within 2000 feet of the dock, dropped three of its heaviest bombs, which burst in a row across the battleship on the edge of the dock. "Anti-aircraft fire came uncomfortably close," reported the pilot of this aircraft, "but as we were not hit I made a second run in. At first I was a bit off the target and did. not drop any bombs. I could see the Scharnhorst perfectly—a grey ship in a square frame —as we came over the second time. We definitely scored hits, and were so excited that we circled round for some time before leaving." A few minutes later the floating dock was again hit by a salvo of bombs*,

VISIT ADMITTED

THE GERMAN REPORT

(Received July 3, noon.)

and the pilot of this aircraft, circling the target to observe the result, saw five large fires break out The crew of closely following aircraft which claimed six hits on the deck reported that these fires so lit up the target that they could distinctly see the silver structure and gun turrets of the Scharnhorst. BUILDINGS SET ON FIRE. Other aircraft meanwhile were attacking naval buildings and storehouses on either side of the canal. A large building to the north of the docks was struck and set on fire, and another big shed was so completely gutted that the steel girders of its framework were plainly visible among the mass of flames to the raiders overhead.

Large fires were also started in other parts of the dockyard, and the pilot of the last aircraft to leave Kiel described the largest of these as a solid mass of flame which covered as much space as a big. aerodrome.

DAMAGE TO OTHER OBJECTIVES.

Other bombers attacked the Hornburg. oil. refinery, a viaduct at Hamm, an important target near Duisberg, and a blast furnace at Meiderich, in the same area. The aeroplane factory at Deichshausen, west of Bremen,, was again attacked by bombers and damage was done to works and an adjoining aerodrome. Aerodromes at Wesel, Cologne, and Venlo, and a seaplane base at Texel were also effectively attacked.

From all the operations four British aircraft have failed to return.

LONDON, July 2.

The German High Command states: "During, attacks by British planes on Monday against north-west Germany bombs were dropped at Kiel, where there was little damage. A few civilians were killed. Five enemy planes were shot down. Three of. ours are missing."