SHOCK FOR BERLIN

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 210, 3 August 1940, Page 7

SHOCK FOR BERLIN

foreign office alarm. ' PLANES OYER ROOE. (United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) Received August 3, 10.10 a.m. LONDON, Aug. 2. The Berlin correspondent of the Associated Press says the daily Foreign Office Press conference was dramatically interrupted when, anti-aircraft guns, apparently situated on the roof of the Foreign Office, suddenly went into action. . Two ’planes fkvv low over the Wilhelmstrasse at 11.15 a.m. (•Greenwich Mean Time), drawing fire from the Foreign Office. The gunfire lasted SO seconds. Many people rushed to the shelters, lbut the sirens were not sounded. This is the first time sini e the outbreak of the war that the guns of the "Wilhelmstrasse have heeii in action. An Air Ministry communique states that a strong force of Coastal Command. aircraft made a. successful daylight attack on the Ccrnnui-oeeupied aerodrome at Cherbourg yesterday. The attack was pressed home ill the face of very heavy anti-aircraft fire. Three of our bombers are mitring. NEW ZEALANDER’S PART The citation for the D.F.C., which has been awarded to Pilot-Officer J. F. Swift, of " Invercargill (New Zealand) states: “Since January Pilot-Officer Swift has participated in 28 raids against the enemy. On one occasion he successfully attacked the railway n arslialling yards at Osnabruck. A few nights later he damaged a hangar at Rotenburg by a bomb and also machine-gunned two trains south from the target.’’ A NEAR COLLISION. Detailed information of the R.A.F. attacks on Dutch aerodromes announced in another Air Ministry communique reveal that no enemy fighters were encountered. A British attacking machine, emerging from a cloudbanii on the return journey, just missed a head-on collision with a German bomber. In the fraction of time which elapsed' as the aircraft avoided each other tfio British pilot recognised the other machine as a Junkers 88. He was even close enough' to see it was splashed with .mud on its wings, hut so brief was the encounter that neither had time to fire.

Reports of raids on Germany show that in the Reicholz area a, British aircraft saw in the distance an enemy aircraft.diving to the ground in flames, hit apparently by the German antiaircraft' barrage. DESTRUCTIVE RAID.

An Air Ministry bulletin contains details amplitying this afternoon's communique announcing the R.A.F. raid on Cfierbourg yesterday (states the British Official Wireless). Direct hits, it states, wrecked haDgars, and heavy explosions followed the Blenheims’ salvoes. There were a large number of enemy aircraft on the aerodrome and bombs burst among them and others pitted the landing-ground. Barrack blocks in another corner ot the alrfielu were damaged. , ‘One pilot, having dropped all his bombs, machine-gunned a German aircraft on the ground. Just before the R.A.F. bombers re-formed for the return journey ’one dived to’ 50ft and put bursts into the German ground defences. Only one German fighter appeared. It followed the Blenheims for a mile or two as they flew home, but only a few shots were exchanged. Anti-aircraft gunfire was intense throughout the action, and some of it from coastal batteries followed the formation several miles out to sea on the return journey. . , Once again the German High Command communique, referring to this raid, has had to resort to a quite fictitious account. They claim that, “through our fighters going up in time and heavy anti-aircraft gunfire, they succeeded in bringing down all eight enemv ’planes —three by Messerschmitts and five by anti-aircraft gunfire.” As already announced, only three of our bombers are missing. GENERAL DE GAULLE’S REPORT. The following communique was issued to-day from the headquarters of General do Gaulle, commanding the army of all free Frenchmen: “Our airmen took part in the operations carried out last night by the Ii.A.F. over NorthWest Germany, their chief objective being the important oil production plant at Kamen (north-east of Dortmund). The ground defences put up a heavy barrage, but in spite or this our men pressed home the attacks with highly satisfactory, results. All our airmen returned safely.” This is General de Gaulle s third official communique OIL PLANTS BOMBED.' An Air Ministry communique states: <<r WF bombers yesterday made daylight attacks on the aerodromes ot Leeuwarden and Haainstede, in Hoiland. A hangar was hit and enemy aircraft machine-gunned on .the ground. One of our aircraft is bussing. Bombers during the night attacked the synthetic oil plants at Gelsenkirchen, Karaen. Homburg, and Reisholz near Dusseldorf, the Krupp works at Essen supply depots at Hamm, Krefekland Mannheim, and several:aerodromes n North-West Germany. The damage inflicted on oil targets is believed to b~ considerablc. All our aircraft returned Sa “Tt' is now known that another enemy seaplane was destroyed in a combat with a British bomber on Wednesday.”