BACK TO MAINZ

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20862, 14 August 1942, Page 3

BACK TO MAINZ

BRITISH BOMBERS RAIDS OIsTeNGLAND SCATTERED ATTACKS (By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (11 a.m.) LONDON, Aug. 13. ’ The Air Ministry states that the Rhineland town of Mainz was again attacked by a strong bomber force last night. Airfields in the Low Countries were also bombed. Five of our machines are missing. United States Army headquarters in the European theatre of operations states that in the 48 hours to 9 a.m. to-day, United States fighter squadrons, flying in conjunction with Royal Air Force fighters, made three operational flights over the coast of France. United States fighters also took part in 20 sea sorties and eight interception sorties off the coast of England. The fires started at Mainz in Tuesday night’s raids were too much for the town’s fire-fighters, according to the Air Ministry news service. When the attack was renewed last night, the planes which arrived first had flown through thick cloud, and clouds lay over Mainz itself. Crew after crew had to descend below the cloud base to pick out landmarks and pin-point their objectives.

Again the attack was concentrated and was all over in about an hour. One pilot reported that the results were better even than those of Tuesday. Outer London Bombed

An agency message reports that a few night raiders over East Anglia bombed scattered points, including the greater London area, where seven persons were killed and three injured. A single night raider bombed two points on the south-eastern coast Of Scotland. A German fighterbomber raided a south coastal town in daylight, injuring three persons. Two planes bombed a place on the south-west coast and killed five persons. A number of houses were damaged. A farmer and his four sons foiled a German attempt this morning to set a wheat crop on fire. They cut trenches through the wheat and flung soil on the incendiary bombs. the crop was mostly saved. A single aircraft dropped bombs in the south-east of Scotland, causing little damage. It is now known that an enemy aircraft was destroyed over Britain early on Monday night. Big guns on both sides of the Channel were in action last night, contributing to one of the noisiest nights the Straits of Dover has experienced. The Germans apparently were using more guns than usual and fired some six-gun salvoes.

The Berlin radio announced that the Royal Air Force last night attacked western Germany, including Mainz, where fires were started. The Luttwaffe heavily bombarded port installations at a town in the Firth of Forth and also an aerodrome south of the Forth and aircraft factories in a town in the west Midlands.