MIGHTY BATTLE RAGES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 90, 15 March 1941, Page 7

MIGHTY BATTLE RAGES.

SHOWERS OF FIRE BOMBS

LONDON, March 13. The mightiest air battle in. history is raging to-night, with a brilliant moonlighting up the Straits of Dover. Baiders began to stream over immediately after dusk and were again oyei the Merseyside, also the C'ydeside Another wave has showered hundreds of incendiaries on a town on the soutneast coast. Others are over London, South England, Western England, North-Eastern England and parts ot Scotland. Ground defences are meeting them with murderous fire, and the R.A.F.'s own planes are up in force. A north-eastern town is undergoing a raid which is described as one ot the worst. The West Midlands area is having its third successive night raid, with many planes also passing over and going"north. The Merseyside raiders dropped flares, incendiary bombs and high ex 7 plosives, but arc keeping very high and well out of range of the ground defences. They seemed to concentrate on two towns 'in this area, one of which suffered last night. Bombs have fallen in four areas in Central Scotland, hitting a hospital and a dozen houses at one place. Other raiders are bombing a South-East Scottish town. When an enemv piano crashed in the south of England its load of bombs exploded and the machine was blown to smithereens. The explosion was heard 20 miles away. A second crashed on an emptv cottage in the south ot England and burst into flames, the crew being incinerated. Bombs in the north-west set fire to a school and orphanage.