COASTAL COMMAND’S WORK

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 13 October 1941, Page 5

COASTAL COMMAND’S WORK

e SHIPPING AND TARGETS IN NORWAY [, ATTACKS FROM A LOW LEVEL I ' Rec. 11.10 a.m ) Rugby, Oct. 12. 3 ! Beauforts, Hudsons and Blenheim fighters of tfie Coastal Command t ; last night continued the offensive i against enemy shipping and land targets on the Norwegian coast. From before midnight until near dawn aircraft crossed the North Sea and bombed and machinegunned targets from Aalesund to Lister. Tlieir successes included a medium sized supply ship left in flames, and two hits on a smaller vessel. A herring oil factory was also bombed and aircraft and buildt ings on an aerodrome riddled with , machine-gun bullets. A large ship which was heavily ■ escorted was found in Signe Fiord by II a low-flying Hudson. Swinging round :! to bring the vessel into the moonlight L j the Hudson dived through the curtain L| of lire to 20 feet. The pilot had to • pull up sharply to clear the masts, but so low was the aircraft when the bombs . were unloaded that the second pilot heard them thudding on to the deck. ’ Two bombs certainly scored hits and it • : is believed that two others also found :jt,he : r mark. A few seconds after the I Hudson Hew over there was a series of i • 1 violent explosions amidships on the i ‘ vessel and a column of white smoke j 1 drifted up followed by sheets of flame j and when the Hudson was thirty miles . 1 i away the ship could still be seen blazing j’ fiercely. Later a Beaufort patrolling the coast j near Aalesund located a smaller ship j at anchor in the bay. A low-level ; bombing attack was made and two hits ; scored. Sparks and smoke rose up and 1 as the Beaufort left, the ship appeared |to be sinking rapidly. Another Hudson {! ! attacked an important herring oil fac- | < i tory on the Norwegian coast. High ex- j ' plosive and incendiary bombs were . i dropped and a shower of sparks first ji I shot into the air. The pilot said. "I saw | . next an enormous column of greyish I. matter go up. I think it must have ■ i been some kind of oil. It rose a hun- I | dred feet above the Hudson and spread j 1 out like a gigantic Icelandic geyser.” ! Blenheim fighters made a roof-top j i machine gun attack on Lister aero- \ | drome, taking the place completely by | { I surprise. The first Blenheim over saw | f a twin-engined aircraft about to take i

off It was taxiing across the tarmac and the Blenheim swept low, sweeping the Nazi machine with bullets. The aircraft stopped suddenly as the bullets poured into it Another Blenheim fired hundreds of rounds into hangars and othei buildings on the aerodrome. An Admiralty communique states that an enemy bomber which attacked j one of our convoys in the North Sea j on Friday night was shot down in flames by His Majesty's Ship Seawater. | one of the escort. No casualties or | damage were suffered by the convoy or its escorts—B.O.W.