R.A.F's Devastating Raids

Manawatu Times, Volume 65, Issue 122, 24 May 1940, Page 7

R.A.F's Devastating Raids

Large-scale Attacks Behind German Lines WIDESPREAD HAVOC WROUGHT (British Official Wireless.) Received Thursday, 7 p.m. RUGBY, xday 23. Heavy bomoer squadrons of tue R.A.i-. engaged tnrougnout Tuesday nigfit in a series of widespread raids over an area extending from ltuenish Prussia to Southern Belgium. Tno raiding force was one or tno largest ever employed in a singio nignt's operations anu consisted of w'elliugton, Waitley and . Hampden bombers carrying full loads of high explosive bombs. The threefold object of the night’s operations was to attack roads and bridges across the Meuse at Namur and Dinaht, derail trains on railway lines west of the Rhine and destroy or damage railway centres, junctions and tnarsnalling yards west of the Ruhr. Specific targets in the areas were allocated to tho bombers, which, in three main forces, carried out simultaneous attacks over the area to which they had been detailed.

Tho weather conditions favoured the raiders, and most of the objectives were easily located and bombed. The opposition by anti-aircraft batteries was of great intensity. In the course of numerous attacks on the enemy’s railway system, a supply train on the Aachen-Krefeld line was bombed four times within a few minutes by a Hampden, whose first salvo wrecked the track ahead, bringing the train to a standstill. The subsequent bombing raids were interspersed with lowlovel machine-gun attacks carried out by the light of slowly-descending parachute flares. In the same area a direct hit was scored oil a train near Kerkade, the bomb bursting a third of the way down the line of trucks. Another hit was registered from 800 feet on the main railway track south of Giesenkirchcn. Near Bonn a salvo from a Wellington aircraft resulted in a blinding blue flash. At Euskirchen petrol fires were started by bombs dropped in the marshalling yards. Tho fires wero seen still burning 45 minutes later. In another marshalling yard near Aachen, hits were scored with 35 high-explosive bombs. Two long waggons were seen to blow up following an attack by a Hampden on a supply train near Erkclenz.

Road communications in enemy territory were also attacked during the night with evident success. Six direct hits on a road bridge at Dinant were reported by one bomber crew. A pontoon bridge over the Hambrc near Namur was successfully bombed and the southern end of tho railway bridge at Scrainl, near Liege, collapsed after a direct hit. Other bombers’ crews reported that tho railway bridge at Namur was destroyed and that only a quarter of the road bridge nearby was left standing.

One Whitley bomber, observing activity at an enemy aerodrome at Wuiseln, attacked it with one of its heaviest bombs, which burst on the tarmac close to tho main hangars.