GLORIOUS EXPLOIT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24254, 23 March 1940, Page 11

GLORIOUS EXPLOIT

BRITISH RAID ON SYLT GALLANT AND DEADLY FIRES SWEEP ISLAND SMOKE STILL RISING » (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) LONDON, Mar. 20. (Received Mar. 22, at 7 p.m.) The gallant and deadly Royal Air Force raid on Sylt has already taken its place alongside the Admiral Graf Spee battle and the Altmark rescue, making a triangle of glorious exploits to the credit of Britain's fighting forces. The Sylt exploit served to inject new stimulus into civilians, who were growing weary of long inaction and beginning to adopt a most critical attitude towards the conduct of the war.

During the second raid last night the British planes dropped large parachute flares from a great height, lighting uo the whole scene, revealing burning hangars and the location of other objects that could be bombed.

Smoke was still rising this afternoon from smouldering hangars and aerodromes. The destroyed railway across the dam was also out of action and there was no traffic along it from the mainland to-day. Neutral observers en the DanishGerman and German-Dutch frontiers say that news of the extent of the British raid is rapidly spreading throughout Germany, despite very brief and belittling references in the Nazi press, which is confining the entire story to allegations that British planes violated Danish and Dutch territory. Holland made a prompt reply with a semi-official statement denying that foreign planes violated its territory. The German official agency claims that three raiders were shot down and says 15 to 20 planes participated. Bomb fragments slightly injured three people. The agency denied that the munitions dump and the air base were destroyed.

Extensive Damage First hand accounts of the raid on Sylt fully substantiate earlier reports of extensive damage inflicted upon Hornum seaplane base. They also confirm that the British attack met with determined and almost incessant opposition from the island's strong ground defence system. " Not once during the 15 minutes we were cruising over Svlt were we given even a few seconds rest from antiaircraft fire or searchlights," said the captain of one aircraft which arrived over the island shorty after midnight. We were being closely followed by a trail of pompom shells. Our first bomb hit the ground near the slipway, and three others, according to the pilot of an aircraft which was close behind, registered direct hits on a hangar." The captain of another aircraft, after dropping bombs on the barrack blook and seeing portion of the building go up in flames, flew on a further 100 miles to complete another task. On the way back to his base he decided to take another look at Sylt and he was gratified to see his particular fire still blazing away, though now accompanied by others of varying intensity. His second pilot, when questioned, dismissed the flight as " really quite uneventful."

The crew of another raiding aircraft reported seeing the walls of a hangar reflecting the fire from their bombs. After unloading one heavy bomb, which hit the seaplane slipway, they narrowly escaped a barrage of about 50 " flaming onions."

" Bedlam Let Loose " "Just like Bedlam let loose," was the description given by a 22-year-old New Zealander of the scene over Sylt. "A dozen searchlights caught a Lancastrial Sergeant - pilot's machine. Searchlights got us as I released bombs, and it was a big disappointment not to see the explosions because we had to get into the clouds quickly." The crew of one bomber comprised a Canadian pilot, a New Zealand second pilot, an Irish wireless operator, and an English gunner. Thirty-five per cent of the pilots and crew engaged in the raid were New Zealanders and Australians, and a further 15 per cent, were from other dominions. Thus far it is the dominions' biggest reDresentation in R.A.F. operations. A New Zealander engaged in the raid was Pilot-officer Tonv Luxmore, of Feilding. The New Zealanders and Australians concentrated on Hor•ium. They averaged six hours' flying during the raid. First they flew over north-west Germany to make doubly certain of the location of their military obiectivb whereupon they gave the German basw " all they had" before returning home according to schedule.