HITTING HARDER

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23996, 20 June 1941, Page 7

HITTING HARDER

BLOWS AT GERMANY

MORE BRITISH BOMBS

HEAVIER LOADS CARRIED (Rord. 6.40 p.m.) LONDON, June 19

The present weight of the Royal Air Force attacks on Germany and German-occupied territories is equal to any of the enemy*- attacks against Britain. This is because the new British-built bombers carry a load many times greater than that carried by German bombers, says the aeronautical correspondent of the Daily Mail. The Bomber Command will be in a position before .August to send as many aeroplanes 1o Germany any night as the Germans send to Britain. The numbers of our bombers will then continue! to increase steadily, and the night operational strength of the Royal Air Force in numbers and weight of attack will be actually greater than that of the German Air Force before October, when the long nights return. The greatest number of German bombers that ever raided Britain on one night is believed to be 500. Gorman Strength Challenged The gratifying feature of the Royal Air Force offensive during this week has been the relatively small losses in proportion to the many additional bombers that were used. The German bomberstrength is now challenged seriously-for the first time. For the eighth night in succession British aeroplanes bombed objectives in north-western Germany on Wednesday night. A British official wireless • message says that on Wednesday evening there were further operations over Northern Franco and the Channel, in which squadrons of Royal Air Force fighters were accompanied by aircraft of the Bora 1)or Com m and. Dogfights Over Channel Nine onemv aeroplanes were destroyed and others were damaged in dogfights over the English Channel and Northern France last evening. The attack was similar to the offensive of the previous evening, which lasted 10 hours. British bombers, heavily escorted by fighters, which kept crossing and recrossing the Straits of Dover for seven hours, made a sweep on targets in Northern France beyond Boulogne. Explosions shook houses on the coast of Kent for a considerable time. Among the targets in France was a military camp, in which a number of huts were destroyed. Opposition was encountered and it was in the ensuing combats that the enemy aeroplanes ■were shot down. All the British bombers returned, but four fighters are missing. German Ports Hammered The attack was switched last night from the Ruhr to ports and naval basses in Northern Germany. The Air Ministry states that the raiders were out in force and that Bremen was subjected to a particularly heavy attack. The docks at Brest, where the three German warships are still lying, were also attacked. Four bombers are missing from these operations. Forces of Blenheim aircraft of the Bomber Command, with strong fighter escort, attacked an important industrial plant near Bethune, in occupied France, on Tuesday. The attack was made in daylight, and there was no cloud cover. Sticks of bombs were dropped right across the plant. Fires were at once started, and in a few seconds quantities of smoke rose high into the air. SUPPLY SHIP BOMBED LONDON, June 19 A German supply ship, of 1500 tons, was bombed and hit by Coastal Command aircraft off Brest yesterday. Making two attacks a pilot flew over the ship and dropped a quick stick of bombs. He saw two bombs hit the ship amidships below the waterline. Immediately afterward a great gush of steam belched from the funnel as though the bombs had exploded in the engineroom. SHIP CAPTURED TIMOR SEA INCIDENT EFFORT TO RUN BLOCKADE BATAVIA, June 19 Co-operation between tho Dutch and Australian authorities and a commercial aeroplane brought about the arrest of the Hungarian steamer Nyugat in the Timor Sea, where the Netherlands East Indies destroyer Kortenaer intercepted her and escorted her to Sourabaya.

It is revealed that the Nyugat disappeared with a cargo of Australian flour shipped at Fremantle for Shanghai and valued at £170,000. Her pro- ' Nazi master, Captain Zollcr, ignored tho course which the naval authorities allocated for him and attempted to sail to Dilli and thence to Formosa, where ho hoped to transfer her cargo to Axis interests.

The captain had tho Hungarian flag painted out from the ship's sides and replaced with extensive camouflaging. All this was done in 24 hours at sea. His attempt to run the blockade, however, was short-lived, for he was captured by tho Dutch destroyer Kortenaer.

Tho prize crow from the destroyer was well received by members of the crew, a mixture of Hungarians and Yugoslavs, four negroes and six Chinese, but Captain Zoller appeared to be furious.

Ho called his crew traitors and accused them of sabotage for not making better speed. It is further revealed that the crew was bordering on mutiny and had nicknamed the captain Hitler and the chief engineer Mussolini. They said that the captain paid them in Australia with cheques drawn on his private account in an American bank and that he used the company's money for his own purposes. Sixteen hundred United States dollars were found in the clothing aud luggage of the captain's wife, who was also board the ship.

The Nyugat will probably fly the Dutch flag in future.

DEFENCE MATERIALS

BRAZIL BANS EXPORT (9.15 p.m.) RIO DE JANEIRO, Juno 19 Brazil has banned the export of certain important defence materials, including rubber and manganese, to all countries except the United States.