BOMBING HITLER’S BASES

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 September 1940, Page 7

BOMBING HITLER’S BASES

R.A.F. AGAIN AGGRESSIVE ■ ... , TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION [BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] LONDON, September 22. Last night the weather was ideal for- an invasion, but instead of the German barges coming to England the Royal Air Force went to them. It seemed that the Royal Air Force was giving the Nazi invasion bases the most terrific pounding of the war, continuing ' the tremendous attack ’ made on Friday night. ■ Miles of the French coast were lit up, and the Channel was also lit by ’ thousands of tracer bullets, search- - lights, flares, explosions, and fires. Calais, Dunkirk, and Boulogne were the principal targets. The glare in some areas was so great that it was difficult for the pilots, to see the effect of their bombs; but there was no doubt about the trail of destruction and fire they left behind them. Twelve ships were at anchor at Antwerp harbour. A strong force of bombers battered the ships and the port for about two and a-half hours. Describing Friday night’s raids an Air Ministry communique says: “Strong forces of Royal Air Force bombers again attacked the enemyoccupied ports of Antwerp, Zeebrugge, Ostend, Flushing, Dunkirk, Calais, and Boulogne. Further damage was done to military stores, barge concentrations, and shipping. Other forces of bombers again visited the distribution centres and goods yards at Manheim, Ehrang, Krefeld, Hamm, j Soest, Osnabrueck, and Brussels. The , Dortmund-Ems Canal, communicai tions near Maastricht, and several • enemy aerodromes were also heavily j bombed. ' Aircraft of the Coastal j Command carried out bombing at- i ' tacks on two enemy supply ships, : .which were hit and severely dam- : i aged. Two of our aicraft have not reported at their base.” i The third raid on Dunkirk took j place in the early hours of Saturday 1 morning and was directed mainly against a concentration of some 50 ships moored in the No. 2 and No. 3 docks. Attacking through gaps in the clouds, the raiders laid bombs across the basins and the adjoining canal in which more ships were lying, and started a number of large fires on the quaysides.

CALAIS AND BOULOGNE. ) At Calais a cloudbank across the j harbour at 3000 feet hampered the ; attack and one pilot spent an hour j and a-half in the vicinity of the target, awaiting an opportunity to bomb. Earlier attackers, taking advantage of occasional gaps in the clouds, scored hits on the docksides and one side of the entrance channel. Shortly before midnight a line of fires was seen burning strongly along the jetty between the tidal harbour and the east basin. Barges and shipping in Boulogne harbour were repeatedly attacked in a series of sorties which began at 11 p.m. on Friday and ended at 4.30 a.m. on Saturday. Bombs burst on the southern arm of the entrance channel along the harbour wall, and among a fleet of barges in a basin. Other aircraft scored hits on quaysides to the east of the Loubet basin and near the main harbour. The explosions of bombs were followed by fires. A number of ships at anchor in the outer harbour at Boulogne were also attacked, but low cloud and rain prevented observation of the results. At Ostend the attack on the harbour was carried out in the face of intense anti-aircraft and machinegun fire and the balloon barrage, which was flying at a great height above the docks. Bombing in shallow dives, which at times brought them to within 1500 feet of the ground, the raiders scored hits on docks, wharves, and lock gates, and straddled the outer harbour, the main west dock, and a large dock north of the Basin de Chasse. Several large fires were started along dockside buildings, and a direct hit is believed to have been scored on a large supply ship, on which a stick of bombs was dropped from a low level.

SUPPLY TRAIN HIT. The railway yards at Hamm, Ehrang, Krefeld, Mannheim, and Soest were also bombed, and a supply train travelling towards Munster was attacked from 800 feet. The train was hit by two heavy calibre bombs, one of which exploded on the front of the train and’ the other to the rear. Fragments of this train shot up as high in the air as the attacking aircraft. Among the many aerodromes attacked was the seaplane base on the island of Texel, which was heavily bombed, and the former civil airport at Jersey. The Royal Air Force also raided a large factory near Maastricht, strongly defended by both light and heavy anti-aircraft batteries, which was- bombed and set ablaze. The fire was visible 50 miles away. The heavy bomber responsible for this successful attack was hit many times in the wings and fuselage, but no vital part was damaged, and the aircraft was brought safely home. MANY MORE FIRES (Recd. Sept. 23, 1 p.m.) LONDON, Sept. 22. Methodically, hour after hour, the bombers continued the work of destruction at Boulogne. A great fire on the quayside tended to dwarf many others in the harbour. Big explosions were observed at intervals, and barges were flaming .throughout the night. There were ’ also numerous barge fires at Dunkirk, after repeated big explosions. A blazing, warehouse illuminated Ostend harbour, but vast columns of smoke from another fire north-west-wards of the main basin hindered the’ bomb-aimers. The R.A.F. dive-bombed Calais harbour, and set fire to the whole target area. Direct hits on four large ships resulted in dense clouds of white vapour. Other salvos extinguished searchlights.

HITS ON SHIPS. RUGBY, September 22. An Air Ministry . communique states: The. R.A.F. continued its attacks on the enemy invasion bases in Channel ports, yesterday and last night. ‘ During the day, 1 aircraft from the Bomber Command attacked the port of Flashing and its defences, and concentrations’of barges and lightdraught vessels at Rotterdam, Ant-

J werp, Ostend, ahd near Terneuzen ip ' Holland, and in the Calais-St. Omer • Canal. • - :, Ti • " Aircraft of the Coastal Command operated successfully against enemy ships at sea. A convoy of 12 merchant vessels was bombed near Boulogne. Patrolling aircraft attacked a supply ship ‘of large tonnage south of Borkum, and incendiary bombs were observed to strike the vessel. When smaller ships were. ' attacked near the Dutch island of Amelaiid, [ a' direct hit on one was followed by an explosion. During the night, from shortly af1 ter dusk until nearly dawn, the ports J of Ostend, Dunkirk, Boulogne, and 2 Calais were heavily bombed by airt craft of the Bomber Command, s Many bombs were seen to burst with j good effect on ships, barges, and , docks, and the attacks were : punctuated by fires and explosions. From these operations, all our air- ; craft returned safely.

BRITISH FORCED LANDINGS. (Recd. September 23, 11 a.m.) STOCKHOLM, September 22. Two British planes made a forced landing in western Sweden. One alighted on the sea. The crews were interned. - TRAINING IN U.S.A. NEW YORK, September 21. The “New York Daily News” states that the chairman of the American section of the United States-Canadian Defence Board (Mr. F. H. La Guardia), is planning to grant to Canada airport facilities to train cadets in Florida when snow prevents the use of aerodromes in Canada. N.Z. CASUALTIES WELLINGTON, September 22. , The following air casualties were announced to-night:— Pilot Officer Clarence Francis Tibbitts, missing on air operations. His j father is Mr. H. T. Tibbitts, of Wairoa. z Pilot Officer Howard Perry Hill, missing on air operations. His father is Mr. J. S. Hill, Spring Creek, Marlborough. i