SEVERE GIBRALTAR RAID.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 257, 27 September 1940, Page 7

SEVERE GIBRALTAR RAID.

DAMAGE BY FRENCH PLANES. LONDON, Sept. 25. It is reported from Gibraltar that 100 French planes from Morocco yesterday afternoon subjected the Rock to the most severe attack since the outbreak of the war. They dropped about 300 bombs of various sizes, many falling in the sea or on barren areas. Buildings, roads, and old defences were considerably damaged. Little damage was done to military works or personnel. A small ship was 'hit and sunk. There were a number of civilian casualties, some, fatal. Anti-aircraft guns shot down three, possibly five planes. A number of bombs fell in La Linea (the town inside the Spanish border). It is reported from La Linea that the planes circled the rock in waves of ten for 125 minutes. Smoko enveloped the arsenal, says the report, and flames leapt from the .naval base, many fires being observed. The Havas Agency reports that 100 tons of bombs were dropped on Gibraltar yesterday. Officials in Vichy declared that the battleship Renown was hit during the raid and was compelled to leave port. (This was subsequently denied in London.) A French naval dispatch to Vichy claims that one of two British battleships shelling Dakar was torpedoed and was listing badly. A French cruiser scored direct hits on other warships. The German News Agency reports that Gibraltar’s military barracks, other military objectives and antiaircraft defences on piers were destroyed. The Governor is reported to have ordered evacuation to prevent the overcrowding of air-raid shelters. London reports that one* Italian plane was shot down and two were damaged in a raid on Malta. Another was seriously damaged and is unlikely to have reached its base.