INCENDIARY BOMBS

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 February 1941, Page 7

INCENDIARY BOMBS

SHOWERED ON LONDON

HIT-AND-RUN RAIDERS

[BY CABLE—PRESS ASSN.—COPYRIGHT ]

LONDON, February 15.

German raiders showered incendiary bombs on London on Friday night, hoping to repeat the fires that were caused on December 30. Organised volunteer fire-watchers, including men, women and children, however ran out into the streets, though planes roared overhead, and prevented the fires from spreading. They extinguished hundreds of incendiaries as soon as they fell.

High-explosive bombs hit a number of buildings. Some people were trapped in these. • The raiders rushed home early, after a heavy barrage. Six were killed when a bomb fell in a London district near a church. They were a soldier in the churchyard, four women in a car, and also a passing girl. There was a tragic scene outside the doctor’s surgery when two anti-air-craft shells, at first thought to be bombs, exploded f on striking the ground. A dispenser rushed out and found a man and }voman lying on the pavement. He said: “I tried to give the man a draught, but he was too far gone. The woman’s leg was almost severed. I applied a tourniquet.” The man died in hospital. A family of five, whose house in a workers’ area was demolished, and who were at first believed to have been killed, were found safe in the basement, which withstood a weight of masonry. Their shouts attracted rescuers.

Explosions during the bombing threw articles into trees 30 yards away.

A bomb fell outside a public house, where there were customers in all the bars. Two were killed, and a number were injured. The premises were wrecked. The landlord and his wife are safe. This is the third time that they have been bombed out. One enemy raider machine-gunned a moving train in the north-east of Scotland. Five were killed when a bomb crashed on a building in a London Square, and also wrecked a Social Club, in which there were 30 guests, none of whom were hurt.

Rescue squads were still searching this morning among the debris for persons trapped in last night’s bombing of the London district, when bombs fell on a crowded workers’ area before the alert sounded.

Three sisters were trapped in a bedroom and killed. A doctor crawled under the wreckage of a house and gave an injection to an injured man. An elderly man in another house, although badly injured, told his rescuers to leave him and look for his wife, who was found dead a few yards away.

Some roads were littered with wreckage and goods from houses and shops. , , The fire brigade quickly dealt with fires among the wreckage. Later reports show that the casualties in London were larger than was at first supposed.

WIDESPREAD ACTIVITY. An Air Ministry and Home Security communique states: “During the night, enemy activity was reported from many parts of the country. Bombs were dropped at a number of points, mainly in North and East England, in the London area, and in one district of north-east Scotland, but no important attack developed anywhere. The total damage done was slight, but it included some houses demolished on the north-east coast, and a fire in the London area, which was soon controlled. The number of casualties everywhere was small.”

MASS RAID FOILED. ft LONDON, February 16. British fighter planes went up when strong formations of German planes crossed the Kent coast near the Straits of Dover on Saturday afternoon. The Germans were, apparently, attempting a mass raid. Planes were later heard flying back across the coast.

FIVE BOMBERS SHOT DOWN. LONDON, February 16. Altogether, five enemy bombers were brought down during the 24 hours up to midnight on Saturday. CRASH IN A FIELD. RUGBY, February 16. According to agency messages, one of the Nazi bombers destroyed last night crashed in a field about two miles from a town in south-west Eng-.j land. The aeroplane burst into flames on hitting the ground. The fierceness of the fire leads to the belief that it was carrying a load of incendiaries. The blaze lasted over four hours, and, as there was no water in the vicinity, the brigade was unable to take effective measures. Machine-gun bullets from exploding cartridges flew a considerable distance, and for some time it was impossible to get near the machine. The crew, believed to consist of two men, perished in the flames.

Another German bomber was shot down at a north-east town, during the early hours of the morning. One member of the crew baled out, but was so badly injured that he died shortly after being taken to hospital. The remainder of the crew were killed.

ANOTHER ENEMY LOSS. RUGBY, February 16. It is learnt in London that a German bomber was shot down into the sea by fighters, off the south Coast, this morning.

DAYLIGHT RAIDS. RUGBY, February 16. An Air Ministry and Home Security communique states: There was some activity in this country to-dav by single enemy aircraft. Our fighters shot down an enemy bomber in the sea off the south coast, this morning. Bombs were dropped at three points in the London area, and at some places in eastern and south-east England, and the Home Counties. In

the London area, a small amount of damage is reported. At a town in East Anglia, and at one point in the London area, there was a small number of casualties.

MR MORRISON’S WARNING

LONDON, February 15

Mr. Herbert Morrison, in a speech, said: “We have not yet mastered the night bomber, but there are signs we are moving in the right' direction. It would be wise for the civil defence ■authorities to assume that the attacks may be more severe shortly.”

AERIAL BATTLES.

LONDON, February 16

While the Royal Air Force was sweeping the invasion ports on the French coast, two air battles were fought over the Straits of Dover.

A small number of aeroplanes swirled to battle among the clouds soon after noon. A squadron of Spitfires intercepted German fighters and one Messerschmitt was shot down.

Later, British fighters drove off a force of raiders after a thrilling battle over a south-east coast town, when a second Messrschmitt was shot down.

GERMAN CLAIMS.

BERLIN, February 15.

A German communique claims that German fighter planes on Friday shot down nine British planes of the Spitfire type on the south-east coast of England.

U.S. BOMBERS EN ROUTE. SAN DIEGO (California), Feb. 16. The first of 26 long-range Consolidated bombers for Britain took off from an east coast port on the first leg of a flight to England. Six more are ready for immediate delivery. The Consolidated Aircraft Company claims that the bombers are capable of carrying from England a load of four tons of explosives to any sector of belligerent Europe, and returning non-stop.