R.A.F. OFFENSIVE

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 June 1942, Page 5

R.A.F. OFFENSIVE

BREMEN CHIEF TARGET TWELVE BRITISH LOSSES LONDON, June 4. The Royal Air Force continued its blitz against Germany last night, when Bremen, the great German naval base and shipbuilding centre, was given a taste of what Cologne and Essen have experienced.. The Air Ministry say? that the weather was favourable for the attack, and the targets were heavily bombed. The docks at Dieppe were attacked d’uring the night, and mines were laid in enemy waters. Enemy aerodromes in France and the Low Countries were also attacked. Ten British bombers and two fighters are missing from these operations. _ x , Four enemy aircraft were destroyed by our fighters during these attacks. One enemy aircraft was shot down by an R.A.F. bomber over the Ruhr, on Tuesday night. DAYLIGHT~OFFENSIVES RUGBY, June 4. After a night spent in attacking enemy aerodromes and aircraft, and providing air support for the Commando operation, the Fighter Command to-day kept up its round of the clock offensive against enemy targets in Northern France. In the morning, Spitfires took n force of bomb-carrying Hurricanes to the Maupertus aerodrome, in the Cherbourg area, where the pilots sawbombs explode on the target. German fighters tried to bar the formation’s way home, and dogfights followed all the way back across the Channel. One enemy aircraft was destroyed, and several others were severely damaged. All attacks on the bombers were warded off. In the afternoon, Spitfires swept the area from Mardyck in the north to Le Touquet in the south, and as far inland as St. Omer, but this time there were no engagements. Towards evening, Boston bombers were taken to attack the docks at Boulogne. Bombs were seen to lull in the harbour area, and escorting Spitfire pilots saw columns of black smoke shoot up. Not a single, enemv aircraft was seen on this sweep, and all the bombers were brought safely back.

RAID ON ENGLAND LONDON, June 4. The Air Ministry reports that enemy ’planes were over the south coast of England last night. Bombs dropped at one point caused some damage and a small number of casualties. One enemy plane was destroyed over England and four over France. SIX ENEMY LOSSES. RUGBY, June 4. It is now known that a fifth enemy raider was destroyed over Britain on Tuesday night, which, with one over an aerodrome in Holland, makes six for the night.

VICHY PROTEST.

“STRIKING COWARDLY BLOWS.”

VICHY, June 3.

An official French statement here on R.A.F. raids, says: “After the constant destruction for the last 18 months, of our beautiful Channel and Atlantic coast towns, the Royal Air Force has now raided the Paris region three times. The pretext for these acts of aggression is that there is need to paralyse factories working for Germany. If this is true, why does Britain reserve her blows for France, alone, among the neutrals that are absorbed in the European order?” The official announcement says: “These attacks have become more murderous to civilians than raids to weaken defences. Britain is anxious to divert attention from her repeated defeats, and to give her Bolshevist partner the impression that she . is creating a second front, for which reason she is striking these cowardly blows at her former ally, who is deprived of any means for an immediate reply to such acts. These acts are not in accordance with the laws of warfare. They are murder. London and Moscow vainly try to foment civil war in France. The French Government will not forget these crimes.,.

BRITISH REJOINDER

RUGBY, Jtine 4

The official Vichy statement on the recent R.A.F. raids on the Paris region is authoritatively described here as one of the most-f’antastic reports the Vichy Government has ever put out. No doubt is felt in London that it is the Vichy Government that is afraid, and the fear is that the R.A.F. might start bombing factories in unoccupied France.