LONGEST NIGHT ORDEAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23748, 30 August 1940, Page 9

LONGEST NIGHT ORDEAL

MORE ENEMY "NUISANCE TACTICS" RANDOM BOMBS OVER LONDON DAMAGE AND CASUALTIES ELSEWHERE By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received August 29, 11.30 p.m.) •LONDON, August 29 From nine o'clock last night until just before dawn to-day—-actually for seven hours and seven minutes, the longest night j period so far—German aircraft flew over London at a great j height, singly or in small groups, exploiting their "nuiscince value." Some of them dropped bombs at random, damaging houses, shops and other buildings, including a church. The resultant fires were soon under control. There were some casualties, including a email number killed. In the Central London area occasional thuds could be heard from the outskirts. A sprinkling of high-explosive, incendiary and screaming bombs fell in the outer suburbs. Two heavy explosions >vere heard shortly before the "all clear" was given, j Official reports indicate that elsewhere in England many incendiary and some high-explosive bombs were dropped, the majority of them falling in country districts, where the3r caused no damage; but some fell in urban areas, damaging buildings and causing fires. total of casualties from these bombs was small, although again some were fatal. A German raider dropped six high-explosive bombs in a north-east coast town, destroying two churches, damaging houses and blowing out the fronts of several . shops. A woman was trilled and others were injured, some seriously. ; Bombs dropped in the south-west of England damaged a water-main, interrupting the water supply. A number of houses i and industrial property were damaged in a Midlands town, where there were casualties, some fatal, j Bombs were also dropped in a number of north-east and north-west, towns and in South Wales, where industrial property, houses and other buildings were damaged. Casualties in all these towns were not numerous, but include some deaths. The Air Ministry announces that 28 enemy aircraft were brought down over Britain yesterday. The Royal Air Force lost k ,14 machines, and of the crews of these aeroplanes seven pilots and three air .gunners are reported killed or missing.