TRAIL OF FIRES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23718, 26 July 1940, Page 7

TRAIL OF FIRES

BOMBING OF GERMANY BRITISH ACTIVITIES MANY DIRECT HITS SCORED LONDON, July 25 Royal Air Force bombers started raids on Germany and Holland shortly after midnight, and continued until dawn yesterday. The naval dockyards at Wilhelmshaven were also the object of a lightning raid. One British machine is missing. Our squadrons encountered severe weather, dense low cloud and intense cold. They made daring low attacks through a barrage of anti-aircraft, machine-gun and even rifle fire. They scored direct hits on the majority of the targets, leaving a trail of blazing factories and oil depots, wrecked buildings and bases. One bomber pilot who was unable to locate his .target on account of bad visibility bombed searchlight batteries and put six of them out of action. German fighters were repeatedly encountered. One bomber set fire to a Messerschmitt, which turned on its back and disappeared in the clouds while blazing furiously. A burst of fire from a second Messerschmitt killed a. British observer, but a second later tracer bullets from a bomber were seen to hit a German airman. The machine then turned sharply and dived headlong into clouds. Coastal Command aircraft, besides carrying out the usual patrol and escort duties, attacked patrol boats in Dunkirk Harbour on Tuesday afternoon, shot down an enemy flying-boat off the north-east coast of Scotland that evening, and attacked oil tanks at Flushing and docks at Amsterdam during the night. All these aircraft returned. LAUNCH ATTACKED SEARCHING FOR GERMANS RESPONSE TO DISTRESS SIGNAL LONDON, July 24 German aeroplanes twice attacked a Royal Air Force launch when it was searching in the' North Sea for the crew of a Dornier filing-boat which was shot down yesterday. The launch scoured the sea all night and early in the morning, after the Germans in a rubber boat had signalled a British aeroplane, "Help, one wounded." The launch was attacked while nearing the spot where the Germans were last seen. The raider was driven off with machine-gun fire, but returned after half an hour and was again repelled. The launch completed the search, ■without success. FINANCE RESTRICTIONS TRANSACTIONS IN BALTIC (Received July 25, 5.35 p.m.) British Wireless , LONDON, July 24 The Treasury has issued directions to bankers prohibiting, except with Treasury permission, the carrying out of instructions to make payments or transfer of gold, securities, etc., where the instructions emanate from Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania, or from any corporation controlled from any of those States. . . . ; .