SMASHED BY R.A.F.

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 121, 18 November 1940, Page 6

SMASHED BY R.A.F.

INVASION OF BRITAIN

DEVASTATING ONSLAUGHT

EVE OF CHOSEN DAY

(From "The Post's" Representative.)

LONDON, October 19

An Air Ministry bulletin issued yesterday, giving details' of reports received from reliable neutral sources, goes far 'to show that a German invasion of Britain was planned for September 16, states the Air Correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph." Quoting the reports as "evidence of the value of the R.AJ7s determined attacks on the invasion ports," the bulletin continued: "One report states that on September 16 many German troops were embarked, but were later taken off the ships. "The invasion plans were not adopted because of the sustained offensive of the R.A.F., whose extraordinary accuracy in bvmbing has incidentally been much admired by the Dutch." September 16 was the harvest full moon—the brightest moon of the year. There was also an exceptionally high tide on that day. These two points, combined with other factors, such as the devastating onslaught made by British bombers during the night of September 15 on shipping and barge concentrations assembled at Channel ports, seems to indicate beyond doubt that September 16 was the day chosen by Hitler. At that time Sir Charles Portal, who has since been made, at the age of 47, Air Chief Marshal of the Royal Air Force, was chief of the Bomber Command. It will be recalled, too, that on the preceding day the R.A.F. brought down 185 enemy aircraft when the Germans made their largest daylight mass attack on this country. WIDESPREAD REPORTS. Later information received in this country indicated that reports were in circulation throughout France to the effect that the whole of the German army had heard that an invasion attempt had been made, and that the French public and army believed that the invasion fleet concentrated at the ports had been burned. These reports were extensively circulated throughout America though no confirmation was obtainable in this country. According to rthese reports many bodies of German soldiers in full field equipment were 'washed ashore along the coasts of Northern France and Belgium for days after the bombing of the invasion ports by the R.A.F. Neutral observers placed the number of killed, wounded, and drowned by this and subsequent air attacks at between 40,000 and 50,000. ONE-WAY TRIP. The "New York Sun," describing the carnage as "terrific," stated that the, flat-bottomed barges, each of which | carried 200 troops, sank under a withering fire as soon as they appeared. "Meanwhile detachments of the British Fleet appeared to the rear, cutting off the barges from France." j

The barges, it was stated, were "very light, of wood and metal, and obviously intended solely for a one-way trip."

It was necessary to commandeer all available hospital accommodation in and around the Channel Ports for the German wounded, according to another report.

The "New York Times" commenting on the smashing attack carried out by the R.A.F. stated that the facts were confirmed by impartial witnesses. In London it was stated that the destruction of these vessels was due to the effectiveness of the R.A.F. bombardment, which, by setting fire to the petrol barges, automatically destroyed many of the ships.