“Mowing Them Down” Australian Pilot Sums Up R.A.F. Work

Northern Advocate, 13 May 1940, Page 6

“Mowing Them Down” Australian Pilot Sums Up R.A.F. Work

Germans Bombing Civilians

(Received 1.30 p.m.) LONDON, May 12. VIOLENT AIR ACTIVITY IN THE WEEKEND OVER BELGIUM, FRANCE AND HOLLAND PROVIDED THE OCCASION FOR THRILLING ALLIED ACTION AND HEROIC EXPLOITS. A young Australian pilot .summed up the R.A.F. fighters’ work by the remark: “We are mowing them down.” One pilot alone accounted for four German planes. Another said : ‘‘We dived in among 50 planes and shot them up as rapidly as possible.” Blenheim bombers played great havoc among the troop concentrations behind the German lines in Belgium. Immediately after the British released their bombs, over 30 LVlessersehmitts swooped down from the clouds, but the Blenheims, despite heavy odds, pressed home their attack.

> Air Terrorism. The Germans are using the air weapon to terrorise civilian populations. The worst example of frightfulness is the reported bombing of two trains full of women and children cn route to Brussels from Liege. German aircraft also flew over a Belgian town machine-gunning the streets. Elsewhere three private cars, containing refugees, were riddled with bullets. Nine bombs fell on working class homes in a Belgian town. Many bombs fell far from military objectives. 100 Killed in Brussels. It was estimated yesterday that over 100 persons had been killed in the Brussels area. Many women and children were included. Bombs rendered a whole quarter of one town uninhabitable. Bombers reduced blocks of houses in another busy centre to dust blown ruins. Civilian casualties already total several hundreds. The German news agency denies the machine-gunning of refugee trains. Frequent Alarms Last night and today, air-raid alarms were sounded with depressing frequency in various parts of Belgium, France and Holland. Twelve German planes appeared over Brussels in the evening and antiaircraft guns opened fire. Amsterdam had a day of alarms, but no bombings are reported. German planes circled repeatedly over Doom and other parts of Holland. The International Red Cross at Geneva appealed to the belligerents not to attack persons whose inoffensive character should save them from the effects of warfare. German Concentrations Raided The Air Ministry announced that the R A.F. during the night bombed enemv troop concentrations and military traffic in Germany, near the Dutch frontier. The French day communique says: “Our sir for' ?, in mass, effectively intervened in support of the Belgian troops in the region of the Albert Canal, and the River Meuse, where German attacks are continuing with extreme violence. “Our bombers, towards the end of the day, attacked enemy columns and bridges and brought down eight planes. Official Paris estimates of civilian casualties in France in the last two days from German air raids puts the number of dead at 148 and wounded 337, says a British Official Wireless message. Berlin Warning. The Berlin radio' said that allied .aeroplanes had bombed Essen and two other German towns. The announcement added: “Britain beware. German bombs always hit the mark. Germany’s patience is exhausted.”