HEAVY BOMBERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 129, 27 November 1940, Page 7

HEAVY BOMBERS

GERMAN BASES RAIDED

KIEL & WILHELMSHAVEN

GOOD RESULTS SEEN

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

(British Official Wireless.) (Received November 27, 9 a.m.)

LONDON, November 26.

An Air Ministry communique states: "Last night our bombers attacked the naval base and dockyards at Kiel and Wilhelmshaven. Other aircraft attacked docks at Hamburg and Willemsoord, the Demok seaplane base, and several enemy aerodromes. One of our aircraft is missing."

Intense darkness and persistent cloud hampered the. work of our heavy bcmbers when they raided Kiel and Wilhelmshaven last night. At Kiel, states the Air Ministry news service, the principal objectives were the shipyards, and at Wilhelmshaven the naval works and dockyards.

The raids began before 7 p.m., and all the aircraft of the first force to arrive at Kiel spent an average of half an hour cruising over the locks and floating docks before dropping their bombs.

Through a gap in the clouds the pilot of one aircraft saw and bombed a group of dockside buildings by the water's edge, a short distance from the original target. Pilots of other bombers which came over later were able to report six explosions followed by fires. Another pilot later saw very large fires to the west of Kiel Bay. He dropped his own bombs into the fire and saw a fresh glow light up the clouds. Gasworks at Kiel were also attacked.

Some pilots sought other targets. One described how he saw his bqmbs burst on docks at Hamburg, feand watched the red glow caused by incendiaries.

Heligoland was also raided, and three bursts were seen there. At Willemsoord, near Den Helder, explosions were seen in the dock area. The striking evidence given by official photographs of the Royal Air Force success against the targets attacked recalls the announcement of a German news agency immediately after the attack that two new German battleships are now in service. It is considered that the addition of two battleships to a fleet already lacking in destroyers for escort purposes may be of doubtful advantage.