R.A.F. BOMBER ATTACKS

Evening Post, Volume C, Issue 40, 17 February 1942, Page 5

R.A.F. BOMBER ATTACKS

A WIDE FIELD

(Rec. 11 a.m.) RUGBY, Feb. 16. A Royal Air Force (Middle East) comriiuriique states: "Fighters maintained activities over the forward areas in Cyrenaica throughout Sunday. Bombers, operating in close su^oort of our ground forces, bombed an column in the Gadd El Ahmar sone, scoring a number of direbt hits. On Friday a Jurikers 88 and a Macehi fighter were shot dbwn in the Bir Hacheim regibn by ahti-aircraft fire. "During Saturday night bombers again attacked the harbour installations at Benghazi arid the aerodrome at Berka. Heavy clOud obscured the results of the raids on Benghazi, but fires were seeri tb break but at Berka. . "On the same night objectives in Sicily were bbmbed. Explosions and fires were caused in the harbour areas at both Augusta and Syracuse. Aerodrbmes at Catania, ComisO, and Gherbini were also raided, the attack On Gherbini being particularly effective. "Our aircraft engaged a number of S7l torpedo-bombers which attempted tb attack shipping in the central Mediterranean on Sunday. Two enemy aircraft were shot down. "During enemy raids on Malta on the same day our fighters shot down two Messerschmitt 109's, arid ariti-air-craft batteries accounted fbr twb Junkers B&'s. Some damage was caused in the course of these attacks. "Five of bur aircraft are missing."— b.o.w. *. . ; ' ,