OVER BERLIN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23615, 27 March 1940, Page 12

OVER BERLIN

BRITISH AIRCRAFT "HOUSE TO HOUSE CANVASS" LEAFLETS IN MAIN STREETS [I'KOM OUR OWN COItUKSI'ONDKNT] LONDON, March 1 "Almost a house-to-house canvass" was how an air pilot described a leaflet raid over Berlin this week. Tho German capital was visited on two successive nights. On the first night not a single searchlight sought the lone bomber, nor was it attacked. On the second night Berlin was alive with beams, but no shots were fired. On both occasions the bombers dropped Hares over the blacked-out city. They plastered chosen streets with leaflets and pamphlets, scattering them over the Williclinstrasse and the famous Cuter den. Linden, scene of many Hitler "victory" parades. On the first (light the British raider reached Berlin via JJorkum, one of the German North Sea islands. Tho crew had studied the layout of the city on maps beforehand, and were able to pick up the landmarks easily. Within 300 Yards One Nazi aeroplane was seen west of Berlin, with its navigation lights off, but although it was only .'sooo feet below it made no attempt to interfere with the British machine. During the whole Might no aircraft attacked, although several were sighted. Four Messerschniitt Kill's were seen singly at different spots, hut they made no contact. Once a Nazi aeroplane actually approached within ;)()() yards of the British, but then Hew o ( ff. The llight took place over more than (300 miles of enemy territory and at no point was the bomber fired on. When the flight was repeated on the second night, . the Hares again lit up Hitler's Chancellery and other branches of the Nazis' head oflice. No fighters attacked the machine —not even when it paid a Hooting visit to Hanover and the Siegfried Line on the way back to its base in France, and only one burst of gunfire was noticed. When the bomber landed the crew went to bed and slept for nine hours. Why Nazis Are Silent

British experts on strategy give three reasons why the Nazis til ay not be attacking British aircraft on reconnaissance flights over German cities. In certain areas there are strategicallyarranged zones of anti-aircraft defences. To reveal these defences to machines merely on reconnaissance would cause them to lose most of their value when they would most need their surprise element—in heavy bombing raids. in certain of the industrial areas, the firing of guns and the falling of shell splinters would interfere with labour. This is not considered worth while when bombs are not being dropped. Morale would be severely lowered if every reconnaissance formation was fired on. It would reveal to civilians in every large city of Germany the Royal Air Force's ability to bomb them if it wished. As it is, the Nazis explain searchlight activity as "practice."