42,000 Tons of German Shipping Sunk

Manawatu Times, Volume 66, Issue 102, 1 May 1941, Page 7

42,000 Tons of German Shipping Sunk

Bomber Command’s Devastating Week THEEE TANKEBS WIPED OUT IN ONE ACTION Eeceived Thursday, 12.18 a.m. LONDON, April 30. The Boinbor command is waging an unheralded offensive battle in tbe North Sea and tbe Atlantic. The daylight operations from April 17 to 23 resulted in 42,000 tons of German shipping being sunk or damaged off the German, Dutch, Trench and Norwegian coasts. Bomber Command planes on the morning of March 31 sighted two 3000-ton tankerß westwards of Le Havre, presumably going to refuel submarines and Atlantic “flak” ships. Ahead and astern ignoring the Huns the bombers dived to within 200 feet. They directly hit the flrst oil tanker from which clouds of steam and smoke arose. Then three bombs directly hit the second tanker. The bombers then attacked again and swept the decks with machineguna, leaving the tankers enveloped iu billowing smoke. Planes of the Bomber Command have not hesitated to attack even heavily-armed ships protected by deatroyers and “flak’’ ships escorted by fighters.