MIDLANDS AND LONDON

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 December 1940, Page 9

MIDLANDS AND LONDON

BEAR BRUNT OF RAIDS CASUALTIES NOT HEAVY [by CABLE.—PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] LONDON, December 4. London and the Midlands bore the brunt of the German Air Force’s attack on England last night. Bombers were also over the country between these points and the coast. A communique issued by the Air Ministry says , the attacks were not on a large scale and the number of persons killed and injured is not expected to be great. In the Midlands a number of fires broke out,, but they were quickly brought under' control. The raid on one town in the Midlands began soon after dark. ’• 7- V C": •. The raid on London was the noisiest since November 29. Londoners who have gradually inclined to the belief that the battle over London was ended for the present were startled early by air raid warnings, followed by heavy fire from the ground and the incessant sound of aeroplanes flying fairly low. Bombs were dropped in several areas. Activity during the daylight hours was slight. Bristol was subjected to savage and indiscriminate bombing last week, and when Monday night’s bombing took place the German newspapers were still gloating oyer the damage caused in the earlier attack and declaring that the German Air Force left Bristol a “city of ruins.” In countries which have access to independent opportunities of assessing the damage in recent raids there will be the usual disinclination to accept the German claims at their face value, particularly by those who recall that, in justifying the attack on Buckingham Palace, the Germans declared the palace to be a legitimate military target because of nonexistent oil tanks nearby, and “harbour installations,” of which it is innocent, were said to justify an attack some months ago on Bognor Regis. Bexhill has also been presented with a harbour by the German radio. , . ~ Londoners who have been going about their affairs with little interference have been surprised to learn in the words of German reports .that enemy bombers on Sunday night “proceeded to London to continue the work of annihilating the British public services and supply services.”

CONVENT STRUCK. (Recd. December 5, 10.40 a.m.) LONDON, December 4. Explosive bombs struck a London convent last night, where 100 were sheltering. Several were killed or seriously injured. A.R.P. workers, after working all night, are still extricating people from the debris. Eleven nuns, who went to tne chapel, were not hurt. A 13-years-girl, who left the convent shelter to buy her parents’ supper,, heard the bombs. She rushed back, to see her father dug out, seriously injured. Her mother is still buried. ' Another bomb demolished the rear of a block of flats opposite the convent, killing a woman and injuring 3 number of people. T . A raider, believed to be Italian, last night dropped three bombs on a south-east coast town, damaging shops and an hotel, but causing no casualties.

BIRMINGHAM ATTACKED. (Recd. December 5, 10.40 a.m.) LONDON, December 4. An intensive, but comparatively short, attack was made on Birmingham, last night, by a considerable force of raiders. The casualties were surprisingly low, and the majon y*o the damage was confined to dwellings and shops. BOMBS AT DOVER RUGBY, December 4. Enemy activity over Britain, today* has been very slight, states communique. Shortly after midday*, bombs were dropped at Dover, doing some damage, but causing few casunltios. One enemy bomber was shot down off the Dutch coast, by our fighters, without loss to themselves. RESCUE WORKERS LONDON, December 4. members of the fire services, 41 members of rescue parties have been killed and 510 injured in the London region. COVENTRY RE-BUILDING.

(Recd. December 5, 10.40 a.m.) LONDON, December 4. Twenty-five hundred concrete houses, with air-raid shelters, are already under construction at Coventry.

GERMAN STATISTICS LONDON, December 4. The Official German News Agency stated that the Luftwaffe carried out 23 large-scale attacks on England last month. More than 5,000,000 explosive bombs were dropped. The weight of bombs each night ranged between 100 tons and 600 tons.

3000 TO 850. (Recd. December 5, 10.40 a.m.) LONDON, December 4. According to an official announcement in London, anti-aircraft guns have shot down more than 400 enemy planes to date. The total enemy raiders brought down over Britain has reached 3000. The British losses are 850.

PUBLISHING NAMES OF TOWNS RUGBY, December 4. Both the Minister for Information (Mr. Duff Cooper) and the Undersecretary for Air (Captain Balfour) answered questions in the Commons, regarding the Government policy to publish or withhold the names of British places bombed by the Germans. Captain Balfour said: “The general policy is, to publish the names of. places bombed, if in any particular case this can be done without conveying information of value to the enemy. In accordance with this policy, the name of Coventry was released while the names of other localities were not. I • am fully aware of the desirability of giving early informal tion to the public as to the results of air - raids on this country, and cpun-

teracting the grossly-exaggerated claims ■ made by the enemy communiques. These are; often deliberately framed to tempt us to make contradictory comment on enemy success or the failure-of his operations. I cannot, therefore, give any complete undertaking that immediate and detailed publication will be made in any case where it is considered that this would coiivey information of value' to the enemy, which he is anxious to obtain.” ’ ; ' Mr. Duff-Cooper said that no indication was given to the Press regarding the importance of the Coventry attack.” They are quite capable of forming an estimate of the importance of the event.” R.A.F. ATTACKS

RUGBY, December 4. An Air Ministry communique states: Bombs were dropped on Tuesday on eriemy-occupied aerodromes in Northern France. Bad weather restricted operations last. night, but nevertheless attacks were made on the towns of Ludwigshaven and Mannheim, where explosions and fires were seen. Other targets included a blast furnace plant at Essen, and Dunkirk. One of our planes is missing.

FRUITFUL PRACTICE. RUGBY, December 5. Practising aerial tactics over an aerodrome on Wednesday morning, a Spitfire pilot of the R.A.F. Fighter Command,' sighted a Heinkel 111. bomber in the distance, and at once gave chase, says the Air Ministry News Service. He pursued it in and out of the clouds right across the North Sea to the coast of Holland, then lost it, but his journey was not wasted. As he turned to come home, he saw at the mouth of the Scheldt another Heinkel 111. flying below him. He dived on it, and forced it down almost to sea level, fired two bursts from eight machine-guns, and watched it plunge in the water.

GERMAN VERSION. (Recd. Dec. 5, 11.35 a.m.). LONDON, December 4. A German communique says: Heavy bombers attacked aerodromes, camps, and armament factories in England. Isolated British planes bombed west and south-west Germany, causing slight damage, but no casualties.

SIR C. NEW ALL’S TRIBUTE. (Recd. December 5, 12.10 p.m. LONDON, December 4. Sir Cyril Newall, in a speech, said: There is no doubt that the lads of the R.A.F.-are magnificent. There is no other word for it. I am sure they will do everything that England expects of them.

He added: I have handed over my post to Sir Charles Portal with considerable regret, but there is no other to whom I would have handed it over with greater confidence.

BRITISH NEW CANNON. (Recd. December 5, 9.5 a.m.) LONDON, December 4. ' British fighters are being fitted with cannon, the chief advantages of which are longer range and damaging power. The trajectory of the machineguns used in Hurricanes and Spitfires drops sharply beyond a strictly-lim-ited range, and fighters are finding it increasing difficult to shoot down ' powerful armour-plated raiders. Those equipped with cannon have accounted recently for a number of raiders. It is not permissible to state how many cannon R.A.K machines are carrying. It is believed that the new armament—the Hispano-Suiza gunshould prove more effective than the eight Browning machine-guns. The French found that the Hispano-Suizas were most effective against German tanks.

ITALIAN SUPER-PLANES. (Recd. December 5, 11.40 a.m.) ROME, December 4. The Italian News Agency stated that a new Italian plane, with a speed of 621 miles per hour, and a flying height of 40,000 feet, is undergoing trials. It is described as an all-metal monoplane, weighing four tons, driven by a pusher air-screw. FORCED LANDING IN SPAIN. (Recd. December 5, 11.40 a.m.) BERLIN, December 4. The radio said that a British bomber made a forced landing in the Ebro Valley, in Spain. The crew were taken prisoner.

N.Z. GIFT FUND WELLINGTON, Dec. 5. Mr. Fraser announced, to-day, the total so far received as subscriptions to the Aeroplane Fund for Britain, amounted to £145,607/5/5, contributed as follow (nearest pound): Northland £5,010, Auckland £39,599, Taranaki £4,625, 'Marlborough £l,298, Westland £747, Otago £529, Southland £21,000. Total £102,940 8/5. In addition to district collections, the following sums were forwarded direct to the Government: New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Coy. £7,500, Women’s Division Farmers’ Union £5,008, New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board £30,000, European and Native residents of Niue Island £l5B 17/-. Total £42,666/17/-. At the request of the Mayor of Dunedin, collections in Otago had been deferred, but are now being made. The appeal generally was launched on the basis of £lOO,OOO (New Zealand currency) to be donated for the purchase of fighter planes, any balance over this sum to go towards training pilots, under the Empire Air Scheme in Canada, or the purchase of war machines for the defence of New Zealand. The Government has now decided to donate the whole amount to the purchase of fighter planes, having regard to district collections, and the amount contributed by the Meat Board. A request is being made for the purchase of twenty-three planes, representing £145,000, already collected as follow: . Northland one, Auckland five, Waikato one, Taranaki one, Hawke’s Bay two, Wellington three, Marlborough-Westland-Nelson one, and New Zealand, three.

AIRMEN AT AUCKLAND. AUCKLAND, December 5. To the strains of martial Band music, a long column of airmen swung down Queen Street, to-day, completing a long march through the city. They were greeted along, the whole of the route with cheering and hand clapping, which their smart bearing well justified. Qualified pilots led, followed by observers, airgunners and radio operators.