ENEMY AIR RAIDS

Grey River Argus, 7 December 1940, Page 5

ENEMY AIR RAIDS

ON THURSDAY NIGHT Preceded by Shelling [Aus & N.Z. Cable Assn.] (Received December 6, 9.40 p.m.) LONDON, December 5. The German heavy guns at Cap Gris Nez in France, on Thursday inaugurated a violent artillery duel across the Straits of Dover. It was continued for an hour. German raiders on Thursday night crossed the south-east coast of England, and dropped bombs inland. THE OFFICIAL REPORT. (Received December 7, 1.10 a.m.) LONDON, December 6. Th e Air Ministry in a communique states: Enemy air attacks began at nightfall on Thursday. They ceased shortly after midnight. They were never on a large scale. The main attack was on the south coast, wher L >. high explosive bombs and incendiary bombs were dropped. All of the fires caused were extinguished, but there was damage done to a. church, and houses and other buildings. A number w,ere killed and injured. The attack last night on London was light. Bombs were dropped at only a few points. Some damage was done to houses and shops. There were a lew casualties, som, 6 being fatal. Bombs were also dropped in the south-east of England, and in East Anglia. (Received December 7,2 a.m.) LONDON, December 6. Rescue squads fought desperately to save the occupants of four houses which were set afire after a bomb brought them down during Thursday night’s raid on London. A.F.’s made a path by leaping the flames, which, it is believed, were fed from a burst gasmain. Ten people were extricated. Three are known to be dead. Others are yet untraced.

Day Fights on Thursday

MENTAL HOME HIT (Received December 6, 9.40 p.m.) LONDON, December 5. German raiders on Thursday had as their ohief target a mental home in the south-east of England, where bombs brought down tall chimneystacks, injuring seven people. Other raiders, which were driven off from England, dropped bombs, though without damage, near trawlers in the Straits of Dover. A small formation of Messerschmitts several times later attempted to cross the coast, where they were driven off.

14 GERMAN PLANES DOWNED ON WEDNESDAY. [Aus. & N.Z. Cable Assn.] IuONDON, December 0. The Air Ministry, in a communique, states: Fourteen enemy aircraft were destroyed to-day. In addition to those- shot down in combats in the south-east, an enemy bomber was snot down off the south-west coast. Two of our aircraft were lost, the phot ot one being sate. . British fighters destroyed 12 enemy aircraft, and anti-aircraft guns destroyed one—for the loss of one fighter, of which the pilot is safe —during raids on Britain, to-day. Eight Enemy Planes SHOT DOWN ON THURSDAY (Received December 6, 9.40 p.m.) LONDON, December 5. The Air Ministry reports: “A squadron of Spitfire planes to-day, without loss, shot down eight Messerschmitts 109 planes off the Kent coast.” A GERMAN AIR LEADER’S DEATH (Received December 6 10.25 p.m.) BERLIN, December 5. Major-General Wolff von. Stutterheim, one of the Luftwaffe’s youngest Generals, has died -of machine-gun wounds received while raiding in England. Enemy Day Raids ON WEDNESDAY. [Aus. & N.Z. Cable Assn.] LONDON, December 5. An official communique states: “This morning, a number of enemy lighters and fighter-bombers, which flew over East Kent, were intercepted by our fighters, and were scattered.” During the afternoon, other eneij.y aircraft crossed the coast of Kent and came inland. They were also attacked and put to flight. Bomb s dropped by these raiders caused some damage to houses 'and other buildings, and injured a number of people. . A.R.P. squads, joined by pioneers, ar e still striving to locate the remainder of the women and children trapped under the bombed ruins of 1 the convent. There is little hope that any of thos e buried are alive.

The lessons learned in the raids on Southampton, Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol, and elsewhere, are being worked out. and will be sent to every region of the country. The Minister of Home Security gave this assurance during a speech at Southampton, in which he also paid a tribute to the splendid fight put up by the civil defence services, and the magnificent spirit of the civil population, under the city’s recent ordeal. “Grievous as the sufferings al South.ampton and other heavily-bombed towns have been.” said Mr Morrrison, “we are trying to extract from them whatever advantage we can. It may be some con olat’on to the people in the bombed cities, to know that every time the ordeal is inflicted, we are taking care to ensur e that enemy task on the next occasion will b e a little more difficult, and our work in countering the attack a little more effective.” He expressed grateful appreciation of the effective help rendered by the Army, in coping with some recent problems arising from bombing. ’ „ Captain Balfour, Under-Secretary for Air. speaking at a luncheon to the Eng’o 2rv.a:lro:i (vol-, n .eer Un’t-

cd States pilots in the R.A.F.) said that it symbolises the absolute determination in common of both the United States of America and rhe. British Empire, to preserve the right to lead national individual lives, free from domination by the crushing heei of Nazidom.

i The squadron personnel had been watching successive phase? of the battle for Britain in the air. Now, the German Air Force had transferred its attention to industrial centres, and was making a frontal attack on industry. “These enemy attacks bring in their train the wanton slaughter of innocent civilians, but we must face the fact that the front line of the war is th e factory here. We must and do accept the challenge of the enemy, to damage, destroy, and kill, but, just as his indiscrim irate bombing raids have failed, so will the effect of this present form of attack be countered. We accept the dark as weD as the right passages of war, and to-day we are more determined and mor e certain of victory than ever in the past.-