ITALY BOMBED

Evening Star, Issue 24003, 30 September 1941, Page 7

ITALY BOMBED

SEVERAL TOWNS ATTACKED SUCCESSFUL RAIDS BY R.A.F. WESTERN GERMANY ALSO VISITED (Ufitish Official Wireless.) (Rce. 10 a.in.) RUGBY, Sept. 29. An Air Ministry communique states: “ Objectives in Genoa, Turin, and elsewhere in Northern Italy were attacked by the Bomber Command last night. At Genoa the industrial areas were bombed and large fires started in the docks. Other aircraft attacked targets in Western Germany, including Frankfurt. Five aircraft of the Bomber Command are missing. The Coastal Command attacked an oil depot and refineries at St. Nazaire. Two of our planes arc missing.” A Rome communique states that the .R.A.F. last night raided Milan, Genoa. Spezia, Marsala (Sicily), Rhodes, and Trapani (Sicily). A message from Berne states that an official communique refers to numerous waves of foreign planes Hying over Western Switzerland since midnight, and says that all anti-aircraft posts in the regions traversed have been warned to prepare for action. A LONG JOURNEY STIRLINGS AND WELLINGTONS TAKE PART (British Official Wireless.) (Rec. 10.53 a.m.) RUGBY, September 29. \ Stirlings and 'Wellingtons were in the force which attacked objectives in Italy last night, states the Air Ministry news service A Wellington pilot who made a carefnlly-planned attack from a low level, described the long journey and the bombing of a large factory in Genoa. “ Going out it was moonlight, and we saw the coast, but as wo neared the Alps the clouds began to build up. We skirted a terrific electric storm over Mont Blanc. Wo could see great zigzag flashes of lightning. When we got to Genoa we stayed there an hour and a-half. flying round at between 2,000 and 3,000 feet. The bombers above kept dropping flares round ns and lighting up our Wellington. There was a good deal of heavy flak and a fair amount of light flak. There were two layers of cloud over Genoa, and a high bank of cloud had come up over the moon, but we picked up a good pin point for the first run up. Our bombaimer decided to drop a few incendiaries. • A cautious Scotsman, he was not going to put all his bombs down at once. The incendiaries went off with a rush right in the factory, and soon you could see flames coming out of the roofs and windows. The whole of one end of the factory—it is an enormous place —was lit up. We saw nothing of the Alps on the return journey. We crossed in pitch-black darkness and cloud. Until we got back to the base we had only one glimpse of the ground.” A New Zealand squadron leader described how he flew: “ Just about 400 ft above the summit of Mont Blanc.” There was plenty of light at Genoa, he said; flares were dropping all over the place. Coming back it was pitch dark all the way. “ We could just make out the peaks of the Alps, but after that we did not see a thing until we came out of the cloud over the aerodrome.” Bombers from the Czech as well as New Zealand squadrons went to Italy.

ATTACKED BY FIGHTERS ENEMY CONVOY NEAR DIEPPE (British Official Wireless.) (Rec. 10.30 a.m.) RUGBY, September 29. E.A.F, fighters to-day attacked a convoy of lorries near Dieppe withcannon and machine-gun fire. Five lorries were set on fire. DEFENSIVE PATROLS SEA-GOING BARGE SUNK (British Official Wireless.) (Rec. 11.3 a.m.) RUGBY, Sept. 29. An Air Ministry communique states: R.A.F. fighters on offensive patrols attacked a number of targets to-day. Off the Belgian coast enemy patrol boats and a seagoing barge were attacked with cannon and machine-gun fire. One patrol boat was set on fire and others damaged, and the barge was left sinking. A gun position on the coast was put out of action. One of our fighters is missing, but the pilot is safe. “ NOTHING TO REPORT ” (Rec. 11.3 a.m.) RUGBY. Sept. 29, “ Nothing to report ” is the Air Ministry’s communique on to-day’s air activity over Britain. WESTERN DESERT PATROL ACTIVITY AT TOBRUK STRONG ENEMY POST ATTACKED (British Official Wireleai.) (Rec. 10 a.m.) RUGBY Sept. 29. . A Cairo communique states: “ During the night of September 27-28 our patrols in the southern sector of Tobruk penetrated the wire defences and. attacked a strong post, inflicting a number of casualties. In the same sector our artillery yesterday engaged and dispersed enemy working parties. In the frontier area also our fighting patrols continued to harass the enemy.”