MIDDLE EAST FRONT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 155, 3 June 1941, Page 6

MIDDLE EAST FRONT

COMPREHENSIVE OPERATIONS. United Press Association —Copyright.) (Bee. 12.20 p.m.) KUGBV, June 2. A communique issued by British Headquarters in Cairo states that at Tobruk and in the Solium areas of Northern Africa our troops have again been active. In the lake area of Abyssinia flic operations are continuing, in Bagdad the situation is rapidly returning to normal and at Basra all is calm.

A communique issued l>y the headquarters of the It.A.l l ’. in the Middle I'.ast states that in the Mediterranean la rye formations of fighting aircraft of tlie B.A.F. and S.A.A.l'’. continued their protective patrols throughout yesterday over British ships and merchant vessels engaged in the evacuation of our troops from Crete. JOnemy aircraft were repeatedly intercepted' and many attacked. Several others, including four S7 ( J’s and three .Junkers SS s, were compelled to retire liefore they had time to make an attack. On the ■ previous day a Cant IU7 and a Messerschmitt 110 were destroyed l>y onr patrols while on similar duty. These are in addition to the seven enemy aircraft claimed in yesterday’s communique. During the night of May 31-June 1 our heavy horn hers attacked the aerodromes at Malerni and Heraclion, in Crete. Several fires' were started and lour enemy aircraft were destroyed on the ground at Malerni and a number of others are believed to have Ijoen destroyed elsewhere. In addition to these protective and bombing activities which have taken place throughout the u hole period of the evacuation a number of our bombers have been engaged in dropping nieuical supplies and iood to isolated bodies or our troops in Crete.

11l Abyssinia aiul in East Africa aircraft of the S.A.A.K. siLccessl idly bombed and machine-gunned enemy positions and motor transport in the Jim mu area, obtaining direct hits on buildings and vehicles. R.A.F. aircraft bombed enemy troop concentrations at Debarecli and aircraft of one Eree French unit bombed and machine-gun-ned enemy motor transport between Chelga and Aznza.

During the night of May -31 our heavy bom tiers again attacked the harbour at Benghazi and started fires which were visible 40 miles away. All S.A.A.K. fighter shot down a German Heiiscliel aircraft near Tobruk yesterday and machine-gunned military buildings. In Syria our bombers raided the Aleppo aerodrome and destroyed a large twin-engined enemy aircraft by a direct hit. and damaged several others. From all these operations one of our aircraft is missing.—Official Wireless.