OIL STORES HIT

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 90, 12 October 1940, Page 12

OIL STORES HIT

yiTAL TO GERMANY

DABIAGE BY R.A.F.

DESTROYERS BOMBED

(British Official Wireless.)

[(Received October 12, 2.30 p.m.)

RUGBY, October 11.

Widespread damage is believed to (iave been caused by British raiders last night to oil stores of vital importance to the German, war machine. Seven German oil plants which were heavily attacked by separate raiding forces have a combined annual output of nearly 1,500,000 metric tons. "One of the heaviest blows was struck at a mineral oil plant at Grasbrook, near Hamburg, which produces highgrade lubricant and has an annual output capacity of 400,000 metric tons. Eight large fires were counted in the factory area. Numerous direct hits, with highexplosive bombs are reported to have been scored on the great Hanover refinery of Gewerschaft Deutsche Erdol. Parachute flares were used at Merseburg, near Leuna, to locate an important hydrogenation plant which produces nearly half a million metric tons of benzine yearly. The mineral oil works at Reisholz which were repeatedly bombed by relays for nearly 2\ hours has an annual output capacity of 65,000 metric tons of fuel and lubricating products. Great fires, several of which were visible over 60 miles away, blazed in the works area. In the Cherbourg operations over a thousand high-explosive and incendiary bombs were dropped in 3J hours, The attack on German destroyers at Brest was repeated for the second night in succession in the course of • last night's raids by aircraft of , the Coaster Command. Although the weather conditions were difficult and anti-aircraft fire was intense, the pilots straddled. the destroyers with heavy bombs and scored several hits. Other salvos severely damaged workshops and storehouses on shore. There were three heavy explosions in the dockyard at Den Helder after a Blenheim let go a salvo of bombs. Other bombs fell on quays and set buildings ablaze. At Boulogne pilots saw bombs burst amid a concentration of 30 or 40 small ships surrounding larger vessels. The Blenheims, which found the dock shrouded in mist, selected one basin and . bombed it accurately and systematically.