HEAVY BOMBING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 24009, 5 July 1941, Page 11

HEAVY BOMBING

NORTH-WEST GERMANY BRITISH NIGHT ATTACKS BREMEN AND COLOGNE LONDON, July 4 British bombers attacked objectives in north-western Germany and the western area of the Rhineland on Thursday night. The simultaneous attacks made by powerful forces of the Bomber Command on Bremen, Duisburg and Cologne on Wednesday night are now described in further detail. At Bremen the shipbuilding yards were one objective.

Bremen is a great manufacturing centre, ns well as a port, and the British bombers spread destruction in the industrial districts of the town, as well as in the shipyards along the river. After the explosion of one huge bomb all searchlights went out and anti-air-craft guns stopped for several minutes. Fires Along the Rhine At Cologne there were impressive fires on' both sides of the Rhine. A small section of the force which attacked Cologne concentrated on the same target. They first dropped flares and found the Rhine and other landmarks, then one aircraft set a long industrial building well alight with incendiary bombs and dropped a stick of high explosives into it. The crews of the second and third aircraft bombed the same target, increasing the havoc. The crew of another aircraft saw the building collapse. This was less than ten minutes after the first bomb had been dropped on the building. The moon gave light for enemy iightars above the clouds, but our gunners were on the watch throughout the whole flight. Supply Ship Attacked

After repeated attacks, a heavilyladen German supply ship of between S<XH) and 6000 tons was hit on Wednesday by a torpedo from a Coastal Command aircraft. A-< Blenheim aircraft made the first attack, which was followed up by a torpedo from a Beaufort.

Blenheims found the ship early in the evening a short distance from the French coast near Le Touquet. It was being escorted by two well-armed trawlers acting as anti-aircraft ships. The Blenheims attacked at close range, and, although none of their bombs actually hit the ship, they all fell 'so close that it is thought she must have been damaged. Reconnaissance aircraft confirmed that, while no actual damage could be seen, she had slowed down' considerably and was making little progress. Struck by Torpedo A torpedo-carrying Beaufort found her again as the last of the daylight was fading. "By now the German gunners were on their toes after the first attack," said the sergeant-pilot of the Beaufort when he returned, "and they were quite ready for us. One anti-air-craft vessel lay ahead of the ship and one astern. "They opened fire at once with some accuracy. We had to make several runs to get into correct position for dropping the torpedo, but when we released it the rear gunner saw its track running true for the ship. A few seconds later a column of water was flung high into the air as the torpedo struck her." All aircraft returned safely. The industrial centre of Essen, where the great Krupps works are situated, was one of the principal objectives. Here and elsewhere in the Ruhr large fires were started. In the north-west the main attack was on the port of Bremen and the industrial quarter of Bremerhaven. Seven British bombers BOMBER CREW SAVED PILOT BADLY WOUNDED TENDED BY OBSERVER LONDON, July 3 How presence of mind saved a bomber crew is told by the Air Ministry news service. During an attack on the Merville aerodrome, in Northern France, 011 Wednesday afternoon, the captain of a Blenheim bomber was severely wounded in the neck by a bullet from a Messerschmitt, which severed an important vein. When the observer saw the blood on the pilot's clothing he moved across to help by pressing his thumb to the artery. The observer stopped the flow of blood and the pilot was able to keep his aircraft on an even keel. When another Messerschmitt attacked, the bomber's rear-gunner got in a burst, and the enemy, with one wing torn off, went to pieces in the air. The Blenheim was flying in formation with other bombers on the homeward journey when nine more Messerschmitts attacked them. One Messerschmitt turned over and was not seen to pull out of a long vertical dive." The pilot was believed to have been killed outright. Throughout this time the observer tending the wounded pilot, who, having loSt much blood in spite of the pressure on his neck, collapsed in a momentary faint. The aircraft shot forward among the formation of bombers and collided with one, which was turned upside down by the impact, but its pilot was able to right it.

When the formation arrived over Britain the wounded pilot, who was not feeling able to carry on, told the crew to hale out. They, howerer, persuaded him to let thorn stay while he attempted a landing at the nearest aerodrome. This he achieved in spite of the fact that one flap had b?eu shot away. The pilot is now in hospital and is expected to recover. LULL OVER BRITAIN LONDON, July 4 Britain has been free from enemy air activity for 48 hours. A single German aeroplane which flew over in daylight yesterday crashed on the Cornish coast. REPLACING TONNAGE SHIPS TO FRENCH AFRICA AGREEMENT WITH AMERICA (Reed. 6.40 p.m.) LONDON, July 4 A Vichy communique, referring for the first time to the resumption of American exports to French North Africa, says the agreement lays down that the tonnage of French shipping in American ports shall remain constant, and therefore French vessels leaving American waters for North Africa must be replaced by vessels of corresponding tonnage.