SHIPPING RAIDED

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 60, 8 September 1941, Page 8

SHIPPING RAIDED

OFF THE DUTCH COAST

TWO VICTIMS OF R.A.F.

WEEK'S AIR LOSSES

(Rec. 2 pjm.) RUGBY, .Sept. 7. An Air Ministry communique states: "Blenheim aircraft of the Bomber C6mmand, escorted fry fighters, attacked an enemy supply ship and an escort vessel off the coast early this afternoon. "The escort vessel was hit and blew up. "The supply ship was set on fire, j An enemy fighter was destroyed by our escorting fighters. .a "Our fighters also carried out several offensive sweeps over northern France in the course, of which they 'destroyed a second enemy fighter. In these operations we' lost two Blenheims and one fighter." .. • r "Nothing to report" is the official summary -of daylight air activity over Britain on Sunday. , TWO MESSERSCHMITTS DOWNED. Two Messerschmitt 109's were destroyed by Fighter Command pilots on offensive operations on Sunday,-states the Air Ministry news service. One was shot down by a fighter pilot while! he was .escorting bombers on a successful raid on enemy shipping off The I Hague; It was seen to crash into the sea by a gunner in one of the bombers. [ The second Messerschmitt 109 was destroyed by a pilot of the Eagle I Squadron during an offensive sweep [by a fighter wing. . v . j The pilot said on his'return: "Over ! Boulogne, on the way back, there was| a big-scrap with a lot of Messerschmitt j 109's. One - got above me, but I man- j i aged to: climb right up under, him and : give him everything I'd got from 75 i yards range. / r i DOWN INTO A SPIN. j "First, his wheels dropped, then he i went down . into a slow spin, with glycol pouring out. He crashed near the outskirts of Boulogne." The. pilot) who .comes from Texas, had .been, in; the Eagle Squadron only 10 days, and on his first operational flight, he.brought his aircraft back to England .by. a .fine .piece, of flying after he had been attacked by a Messerschmitt over the Channel. The enemy aircraft shot a large hole in the Eagle Squadron* 'pilot's ' wing,' damaging his guns. " , , Glycol 'began to stream from the fighter and the engine failed while the pilot, was still over the ■ Channel. Despite the oil which covered his, windscreen, he glided back and landed in a field. Other fighters shot up a radio station on the French coast, silencing enemy machine-guns. A coastguard station was also attacked. LOSSES DURING WEEK. Seen in relation to the intense and unremitting offensive against German and German-controlled military and industrial objectives during the continuing period1 of German inactivity over Britain, B.A.F. losses of aircraft during the week ending September 6 bear a very favourable comparison with the Axis losses in the same period. Oyer, Britain,. Germany lost four planes and the R.A.F. none.* Over Europe, the Germans ]pst 14 fighters and the. R.A.F. 11 fighters and 28 bombers.

In the Middle East, the Axis losses were 20 and the! R.A.F. seven. The total Axis losses were 38 and those of the R.A.F. 46.—8.0. W.

LONG BATTERING

BOMBS ON BOULOGNE

LONDON, September 8,

British bombers are believed to have given the invasion port of Boulogne a 90-minute . battering tonight. Thousands of people on the Kent coast had a grandstand view, and those who had field-glasses could see flames leaping into the air.