OVER POLAND

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23601, 9 March 1940, Page 11

OVER POLAND

BRITISH AIRCRAFT LONGEST SURVEY FLIGHT OTHER AREAS VISITED By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright LONDON, March 8 Th longest reconnaissance flight which the Royal Air Force has yet made was carried out last night, when British aeroplanes visited Western Poland. The aeroplanes left England in daylight and made a dead straight flight to Posen, which is about 150 miles over the German frontier. They encountered little opposition. Searchlights were more in evidence th«in aircraft or guns. Til reply to German searchlights at one stage, the British machines fired Verey lights. They passed over Stettin and Leipzig in th© course of the flight. The machines dropped thousands of leaflets over Poland as proof of the visit, and to instil fresh hope in the Polish people.

Landing in France They landed in the dark at an aerodrome in France after being 10 hours in the air. 1 One of the most intensive series of night reconnaissance flights over Germany since the war started was carried out on Wednesday night by aircraft of the bomber command, says the British official wireless. Most of the principal cities and seaports in north-west Germany, including Bremen, Hanover, Hamburg, Wilhelmshaven and Cuxhaven were visible. Other aircraft maintained the customary security patrol over the island bases of Germany's mine-laying seaplanes. Beams ol Searchlights

Intensive searohlight activity marked the passage of the reconnaissance aircraft over Germany. Beams of a bluish hue were frequently encountered, and on two occasions the British aircraft were held nearly for half a minute in the beams of a number of converging lights. Near Cuxhaven a battery of 20 or 30 searchlights came into action, but was quickly evaded. Over Bremen antiaircraft guns opened heavy fire, and bursts of orange-coloured flame marked the course of a British aircraft as it flew high above the city. Two aircraft flying with navigation lights on at a height of 10,000 ft.. we£u also seen when this machine was over Heligoland Bight, but no attempt was made to attack. All Return Safely

The weather conditions were generally favourable for the reconnaissance flights, although a temperature of minus 30deg. Centigrade was recorded by one aircraft, and ice-forming conditions were encountered over the North Sea. All the British fliers, returned safely after covering an aggregate of more than 10,000 riiiles. A Berlin day communique reports that single British aeroplanes flew over. Heligoland Bight and touched the north-west coast of Germany on the night of March 5-6. A British machine flew north of Sylt and over Danish territory.