THE BIG ATTACK

Hokitika Guardian, 21 March 1940, Page 5

THE BIG ATTACK

THE R.A.F. RAID

EXTENSIVE DAMAGE DONE. i (United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph—Copyright). \ LONDON/March 20. The Air Ministry has announced that R.A.F. bombers attacked. ’Sjdto Island ; in relays. They attacked atiridst tinuously. A vast' .quantity;' M was dropped.-’’ The 1 bombs’bxterikivjely . damaged hangars//-workshops; atfd 1 s|ipwaysi By, 3.30 a.m; all of the aiieraft that then were due back had landed safely. ... . ... The enemy’s Horn urn base, was at first .-identified by moonlight. Thereafter fires were started by the first bombs. These. fires -provided an unmistakable guide. The pilot of one machine reported that one bomb burst between two hangars and two hear slipways. A communique was issued by the Air Ministry at 4.15 a.m. It stated: “The attack on Hornum base, which was started at 8 p.m<> was still progressing at. 3 a.m. . first of the participating already returned* safely. Pilots reported the accurate -bombing of their objectives. Some .searchlight and anti-aircraft gun Opposition ~was encountered.

EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNT. LONDON, March 20. . An innkeeper on a Danish Island, Homo, who. was an eye.-witiiess of the Sylfct-thid, said“At .B*ls p.m. two aeroplanes dived from the blonds, flying low acroskthe island tp the northward. They. dropped' eight bonibs, ' and then disappeared. At 8.20 p.m., another ’plane, from the west’, dropped .two bombs. Soon' afterwards;! heard heavy firing from the direction of Heligoland Bight. I sa\t-many'bombs explode on th'e'Hihdchburg Dam. At 8.40, after a terrific explosion, a brilliant flash lit up Hie'whole island. Thereafter there was a series of explosions,"indicating that a munitions depot had been hit. Later, I saw a ’plane headed eastwards. It* apparently was prippled, but it was not pursued. At 10 R.ni. I heard four explosions in the middle of , Sylt Island, - Altogether I counted 82 bomb explosions.”

REMARKABLE PRECISION. . • LONDON, March 20. Wave after wave of R.A.F. bombers battered the seaplane base of Hornum, on Svlt Island, almost without -any pause from 8 o’clock on Tuesday night ; until 3. o’clock ion' Wednesday morning (British Standard Time). While it appeared in the first instance to be a crushing reply to the much-exaggerated Scapa iFlow raid of the enemy, it continued to . develop long after Mr , Chamberlain had electrified the House of ! Commons with the first announcement of the attack. When the dawn broke it. was, evident that the R.A.F; had successfully pushed home the greatest'arid most, important aerial action so far during the war, The Air Ministry lias not revealed the number of-the machinfes that were employed, but. it is reliably reported that, they exceeded the number that was employed ih;any previous R.A.F. engagement against enemy objectives. Tbe Air Ministry makes no exaggerated, claims regarding the results of the action,- but people on the Danish coast; for whom sleep was impossible while the shattering raids continued,

’ counted.,'loß bombs before two o’clock on Wednesday morning, arid saw ' flasbes .shooting high into the air. These, with terrific "explosions, indicated that munition dumps had been hit. The sound of the explosions was heard 35 miles : away. Many of the observers thought that the whole avest coast of Germany Avas being raided. Air-raid sirens, on Sylt Island Availed Avith clockwork-like regularity every 30 minutes as . fresh relays of bombers dived to attack. The precision Avith which the action Avas carried out was . nothing short of devastating.

ONE MACHINE LOST

Vi / LONDON, March 20. A message - from Copenhagen says: Further attacks on SyltMsland occur-j red at'midnight, Avheri-one ’plane, after dropping bombs-on List, crashed, j It came down in flames near the northern, tip of Sylt Island. Shortly before I a.m. another ’plane, j coming .from the south, bombed Hornum. At 1.15 a.m. another ’plane, from the north, bombed List. At 2 a.m. another plane, also from the north, twiqe. bombec| Rantum. The .Air Ministry states: “The R.A.F. attacks on Hprpuifi base last night were spread. over a .period of about seven hours. All of' our aircrafjb] have returned safely, excepting ' for, one ’plane, which is overdue, 1 and must, be presumed to be lost. “ ' “Information, noAv available,' shows that the damage, reported earlier, has been most extensive. It includes direct hits on -slipways and hangars.”

MORE EXPLOSIONS HEARD. ; LONDON. March 20. A message from Tonder states: “Muffled flashes and detonations Avere heard, which indicated that the Royal Air Force attack on Sylt Island Avas resumed at 9 a.m.” REASON FOR REVISITING. * LONDON. March 20. . Regarding, the report from Tender of a second British raid on Sylt Island,

well-informed persons in London state that two R.A.F. ’planes made a reconriaissance flight over Sylt about nine o’clock on Wednesday morning (British Standard Time) for. trie purpose of photographing and ascertaining the precise damage inflicted by the R.A.F. during the night.

PARTING SHOTS AFTER DA* LIGHT. (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright).

LONDON, March 20

A further report from Tonder states the two British ’planes dropped three or four bombs in the centre of Sylt before disappearing westward. They were pursued by a swarm of Germau fighter ’planes.

WHY HORNUM WAS ATTACKED

(Per British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY, March 19

Regarding the object of the Sylt attack, Hornum is one of the shore bases from which the German aircraft operate against the British Naval forces and merchant shipping.

WIDESPREAD DAMAGE

FURTHER REPORTS

(United Press Association—By Electric

Telegraph—Copyright).

(Received this day at 9.21 a.m.). LONDON, March 20

Further reports of the widespread damage inflicted at Hornum. by day and night was revealed, as one after another of the British ’planes returned to their bases; The crews of several aircraft claimed direct hits on hangars, railways, barracks and slipways. They saw many fires. They encountered little opposition from enemy fighters, although anti-airaraft guns were continually alive. Visibility over Sylt generally was good. The British ’planes attacked in small groups, diving suddenly from low clouds and quickly returning to the clouds. According to Danish reports, the R.A.F. firstly bombed Hindenburg dam, a vital railway connection of Svlt with the mainland. * About ,ten p.m. another (machine whipping in suddenly from the northwest dropped several more bombs on the dam, and registered hits, as a result of which, huge tongues of flame and smoke shot up.

Another machine dropped tAvo bombs on the. big naval station at Hornum and then travelled the full length of Sylt and dropped tAvo bombs on Rantum, before disappearing, apparently unscathed, across the North Sea. .

RESULT OF RAID

SUCCESS OF OPERATIONS

iUnited Press Association—By ElectriTelegraph—Copyright).

(Received this day at 11.20 a.m.), LONDON, March 20,

Sir Kingsley Wood, in the Commons, said the Royal Air Force Sylt raid last night registered direct hits on hangais which Avere set on fire. Oil storage tanks Avere also set on fire, and mapy hits were made on a jetty, a light ■railway, and other parts of the base. flf; Reconnaissance flights to-day confirmed the success of the operation. All the reconnaissance ’planes returned safely.

The Sylt raiders Avere over double the number of German ’planes in the Sea,pa Floav raid. The Royal Air Force mot with intense anti-aircraft fire Avhich did not prevent them from reaching their targets and dropping a large number of bombs. German fighters sheered off, when they encountered our fire. •*;» i i-.i■ ‘ ! S

„ PLANE OVER .SHETLiANDS, j

(Received this day at 11.20 ff.m.)

LONDON, -March 20

A plane was driven off from the Shetlands. An air-raid warning was enforced for half an hour, No bombs were dropped. Reports from Tonder state that numerous observation planes Avere seen flying over Sylt at 3 p.m. Ma-chine-guns harked, but there was no heavy gu" fi re.