DAY AND NIGHT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 217, 12 August 1940, Page 8

DAY AND NIGHT

AIR RAIDS ON ENEMY. WIDE AREA COVERED. (United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) (British Official Wireless.) Received August 12, 12.35 p.m. RUGBY. Aug. 11. An Air Ministry communique states: “R.A.F. bombers yesterday made a daylight attack on a number of enemy-occupied aerodromes in Holland anil France. Hits were observed among the hangars at Schipol (Amsterdam), Querqueville, and Waalhaven. The aerodromes at Flushing, Dinard and Caen were attacked. “The airport at Guernsey was also bombed. Two of our aircraft are missing. “Heavy attacks on military objectives in Germany continued last night. These included the docks at Hamburg, the naval base at Wilhelmshaven, oil supplies at Frankfurt and Homburg, the power station and explosive factories at Cologne, chemical works at Frankfurt and blast furnaces north of the city, the wharves at Duisberg, supply depots at Soest, and several aerodromes in Holland and Belgium. One of our aircraft is missing.” NAZIS SHOOT OWN PLANE. Amongst the reports of the successful bombing attacks carried out by the R.A.F. on Saturday is one from the crew of an aircraft which raided Flushing. They had the extraordinary experience of seeing a German aircraft brought down by its own ground batteries. The British aircraft had just dropped a number of bombs across the Flushing aerodrome when suddenly the pilot saw an enemy machine, believed to be a Henaehel 126, about 1000 yards away. As he watched, the aircraft received a direct hit from a shell. In the words of the British pilot, “It was blown to pieces.” The Henschel 126 notoriously resembles the design of the British Army co-operation Westland-Ly Sander, of which it is an imitation. It is thought the German gunner, flustered by the bombing attack, may have fired at his own aircraft, believing it to be British. GERMAN INFERIORITY. MEN AND MACHINES. Received August 12, 1.55 p.m. LONDON, Aug. 11. The Minister of Information (Mr A. Duff Cooper), in a speech, said to-day that just as we retain command of the sea, so we are rapidly assuming command in the air.

“Every engagement diminishes the enemy’s’ superiority and increases hope,” the "Minister declared. “Today we have torn over fifty Germans from the skies. It is a remarkable fact that the Germans, who have so long prepared for war, should at this critical stage have demonstrated the inferiority of their machines and pilots.

“Our pilots go out day and night seeking battle, and invariably find that the enemy flees on sight. Each battle brings the day nearer when we shall establish unquestionable air supenorlty' HAVOC BY R.A.F.

The R.A.F. attacks against the Guernsey airports on Friday resulted in the Germans moving their planes to safer quarters, for when the R.A.F. again raided Guernsey on Saturday there was no sign of the 40 or 50 planes seen the previous day. ' The Air Ministry communique shows that the R.A.F. has struck more heavy blows against German war industry and communications. A largo building forming part of an explosive factory at Cologne was left in flames, and a big fire resulted from the attack on the electric power station at Cologne. EFFECTS ..IN ENGLAND.

DESTRUCTION FROM AIR

WORKMEN MACHINE-GUNNED

LONDON, Aug. 10. A German raider machine-gunned workmen who were engaged on a buildjob in a village in South-Eastern England and dropped 12 bombs before being driven off. There were several casualties and some material damage was done. , Four persons were killed and a number injured as a result of a raid on a town on the North-V est Coast. Many persons narrowly escaped when five bombs fell on another south-east-ern town. One bomb made a hit on a house in which the owner’s wife was buried beneath the debris; firemen, however, extricated the woman, who was suffering only from shock. Bombs fell on a pathway in the garden ol another home, blowing a woman through an open door. Between lo and 20 houses were damaged. Bombs which were dropped m \\ ales killed ducks, turkeys and chickens. HOUSES WRECKED.'

Several houses were partly wrecked and two streets were littered with shattered woodwork and broken glass when a bomb fell in a town on the northeast coast. No casualties resulted, but there were a number of remarkable escapes. The bomb made a 20ft crater in a garden where a family were taking refuge five yards away in an air-raid sheltei. They emerged unscathed. Bombs were also dropped in a residential district of a town on the coast, severely damaging a number of houses. Raiders in the south-east were driven to sea by British fighters, most of their bombs dropping in open country. The Germans, are nightly bombing and laying with mines , dropped from the. air the Ulster, English, and Scottish west coasts, but Britain’s western gates remain open for ships all parts of the world. A typical West Coast port regards an air raid as a normal feature of the night. Some residents sleep in their shelters all night long and others have transferred their bedrooms from the upper floors and leave their beds only “when things begin to drop.” Children are accustomed to the air raids. The bombs hitherto have not caused great damagfe.

NEW ZEALAND AIRMEN.

INCREASE in personnel,

(British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY, Aug. 10. Since the war began, New Zealand I has sent over to the R.A.F. more than 300 trained pilots and N.C.O.’s, and j there are now between 600 and 700 | airmen from this Dominion in the j R.A.F. This number will increase rapidly, for it is estimated that by the end of the year Ne\y Zealand will be contributing annually 900 fully-trained and 500 partly-trained pilots, as well as 1500 partly-trained. observers and <r U nners to the lEmpire flying service.