BREST AGAIN RAIDED

Evening Star, Issue 23861, 16 April 1941, Page 7

BREST AGAIN RAIDED

BOMBER COMMAND ACTIVE Attack an enemy shipping LONDON, April 15. Brest was again raided last night, this being the seventh time since the ■raiders Scharnhorst and Gneisenau have been sheltering there. One of our planes has not returned from this raid. An Air Ministry communique states that on Sunday aircraft of the Bomber Command attacked enemy shipping off the Dutch and German coasts. A supply jhip of about 1,500 tons was hit by two .bombs and its decks machinegunned. The funnel was seen to fall, and when last seen the ship was well down by the stern. A naval patrol vessel and a supply ship of about 2,000 tons were also bombed and machine-gunned. From these operations one of our aircraft is missing. Last night bombers of the same command continued their attack on the Merignac aerodrome, near Bordeaux* Buildings were hit and hangars seen burning. The docks at Bordeaux were also attacked. None of our aircraft is missing from these night operations. CONVOY ATTACKED ENEMY SUPPLY SHIP HIT ' (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 15. (Received April 16, at 9.40 a.m.) An Air Ministry communique states? A strong force of aircraft of the Bomber Command bombed the naval base at Brest last night. The attack lasted about four hours; It began in cloudy weather, but later the sky was clearer, though darkness made observation of the results difficult. Both tho battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were seen to be still at their berths. Hundreds of heavy bombs were dropped on the dock areas, and bursts were seen which appeared to be either on or near the ships, but it was impossible to confirm direct hits. lu daylight yesterday aircraft of the same command attacked enemy shipping off the Dutch coast and a number of objectives inland. A cobvoy of supply ships, with an escort, of'fighters and naval patrol vessels, was sighted and attacked by a number of aircraft from a low level, both with bombs and machine-gun fire. In some instances , poor visibility prevented observation of the results, but a supply ship of about 4,000 tons was hit and left with clouds of steam escaping. ■ Power stations at Haarlem and Leyden were hit by several bombs. The wireless station near Leyden was bombed and one of its pylons collapsed. Troops guarding the station were ma-chine-gunned. The crew of a gun emplacement hear Zandvoert was also machine-gunned. ' In the course of these daylight operations enemy fighter patrols were encountered, but these failed to prevent our bombers pressing home the attack. From all these operations by day and by night one of our aircraft is'miss* lug.” FOREIGN GCLD INCREASE IK AMERICAN DEPOSITS WASHINGTON, April 15. (Received April 16, at 11.25 a.m.) The Commerce Department reported to-day that foreign gold held under earmark in the Federal Reserve banks had increased by 3,553,007d0l during the week ended April 9. The increase brought the total foreign go]d here to 1,909,978,973d01. The gold imports for the same week were valued at 5,642,313d01. LANDED AT BRAZILIAN PORT SURVIVORS FROM BRITISH SHIPS SANTOS (Brazil), April 15. (Received April 16, at 8 a.m.) The Spanish steamer Cabo Villano arrived with an' undisclosed number of survivors - ,from the Clan Ogilvy and another British ship torpedoed and sunk off the Cape Verde Islands oa March 20. BRILLIANT RECORD WING-COMMANDER ELWORTHY’S CAREER [Per United Press Association.] TIMARU, April 16. Acting Wing-commander Samuel Charles Elworthy, who has been awarded the D. 5.0., is the son of Mr and Mrs P. Elworthy, of Gordon’s Valley, South Canterbury. He was bora at Gordon’s Valley in 1911, and at the age of -11- left New Zealand for England, where he entered Marlborough College. After leaving the college, where he was head of his house, he proceeded to Trinity College, , Cambridge, taking a law degree with honours. He was subsequently called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn, London. Elworthy later joined the Auxiliary Flying Corps in London, and early in 1936 joined the Royal Air Force and was given 18 months’ seniority. He became adjutant at Addington (Oxford), and then personal assistant to Sir Edgar Ludlow Hewitt, Air Chief Marshal. Eighteen months later he was appointed chief instructor at the Bicester aerodrome in bombing aeroplanes. and attained the rank of squad-ron-leader, being later promoted wingcommander. He carried out excellent work in instruction in night bombing, and was awardd the Air Force Cross. He next gained- the Distinguished Flying Cross, and his latest decoration, the D. 5.0.. is another tribute to his brilliant .career in the Royal Air Force. - V • ALEXANDRA AIR SERGEANT MISSING [Per United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, April 13. The following official casualty was announced to-night:— Sergeant Walter Alexander Watts, R.N.Z.A.F., missing on Operation*. His mother is Mrs E. C. Watts, of Alexandra.