WAR NEWS AIR OPERATIONS

Evening Star, Issue 23862, 17 April 1941, Page 8

WAR NEWS

AIR OPERATIONS

RAF. ACTIVE IN MEDITERRANEAN SHIPS SUNK IN VALONA HARBOUR (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 16. (Received April 17, at noon.) An R.A.F. Middle East communique records widespread successful operations in the Mediterranean theatres of war. It states; In Cyrenaica considerable damage and contusion were caused enemy troops and motor transport concentrations in the El Adem-Tobruk-Bardia area yesterday by constant air action by the R.A.F. and the R.A.A.F. The enemy was given little respite. Our bombers raided throughout the day, while fighters on patrol took every opportunity of carrying out machine-gun attacks. Four Junkers 52’s were intercepted over Capuzzo by Australian fighters. One was shot down immediately, whereupon the remainder attempted hurried landings, and crashed in doing so. They were then destroyed on the ground by machine-gun fire. During Monday night the aerodromes at Derna, Menastir, and El Adem wore raided, and buildings, tents, and hangars destroyed. A large twin-engined enemy aircraft at Menastir was wrecked by machine-gun fire, and another at Derna was destroyed. In the Balkans a highly-successful attadk was made on shipping in Valona Harbour by the aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm on' Monday night. Merchant ships of 6,000 tons and an ammunition ship of 7,000 tons were blown up. On the same night R.A.F. bombers carried out a heavy raid on Veles>, where a bridge over the jiver Vardar received direct hits. The main bridge was blown up and communications and motor transport on the Veles-Prilep road were also successfully attacked, a number of fires being caused, with much .damage and transport destroyed. The enemy attempted dive-bombing attacks on Piraeus Harbour yesterday morning. Slight damage was caused to R.A.F. property. Our fighters intercepted five Junkers 88’s, which were shot down, and others severely damaged, and unlikely to have returned to base. The enemy also raided aerodromes at Jannina, where some damage was caused. The enemy raided Malta on Monday night. The only damage was to a mental home,- where one patient, was killed and nine injured. There js nothing of outstanding importance to report from the other fronts. . ,i From, all the above operations, all our planes returned safely, except two bombers. BRAVE CONDUCT RESCUE OF NAZI AIRMAN (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 15. "An official announcement of commendation for the brave conduct of Fusilier W. R. Jones, of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, is followed by this statement: — “ On August 29, 1940, a German Messerschmitt 109 crashed at Plummers Plain, Horsham, and caught fire. The pilot, who was unable to extricate himself, must inevitably have been burned to death had he not been quickly rescued. Although the plane was burning with increasing fierceness, Jones and three other men immediately went to the scene of the crash and attempted to extricate the pilot. In crashing, one of the wings of tlie plane, together with the fuselage, was wrenched off, and the pilot was tilted at an angle, thus making his removal more difficult. While two men held the wing the other two extricated the pilot, whose outer clothes were on fire. Before the rescuers had carried the pilot five yards a shower of machine-gun bullets compelled them to leave him for a few seconds. In spite of the danger from bullets or a possible explosion, however, they went back and dragged the pilot,to a safer distance from the plane. They then stripped off his. burning clothing. Had the pilot’s rescuers been a minute later in their attempts at rescue, their efforts must have failed in view of the increasing fire.” BRILLIANT AIR RECORD HEW ZEALANDER'S THREE DECORATIONS LONDON, April 16. (Received April 17, at 11 a.m.) The citation in connection with the award of the D.S.O. to Acting Wingcommander S. C. Ehvorthy, A.F.C., D.F.C., states that in March he was detailed to attack enemy shipping at Le Havre. He sighted two enemy tankers, escorted by a flagship, and proceeded to attack one tanker from a low altitude. Despite heavy and accurate fire from the flagship he set fire to the tanker. On another occasion while returning from a successful attack against an enemy dump at Flushing aerodrome he was attacked by two Messcrschmitt 109’s, but although his rear gunner was wounded he brought his machine safely to its base. Ehvorthy’s magnificent leadership and complete disregard for danger have brought his squadron to the highest pitch of war efficiency. BRITISH TROOPS IN MALAYA ALLEGED TO BE ATTACKING THAILAND FRONTIER A JAPANESE REPORT NEW YORK, April 16. (Received April 17, at 9.20 a.m.) The Dome! News Agency to-day broadcast a report from Bangkok alleging attacks by British troops along Thailand’s Malayan frontier, causing the Thai Government to protest to the British authorities.