THE BERLIN RAIDS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24431, 17 October 1940, Page 7

THE BERLIN RAIDS

DEFENCES PENETRATED GASWORKS ATTACKED SEVERAL FIRES STARTED (British Official Wireless) (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) RUGBY, Oct. 15. For nearly an hour and a-quarter last night British raiders flew over Berlin, seeking out and attacking a number of military objectives, both in the suburbs and in the heart of the capital. An Air Ministry bulletin states that a slight haze lay over the city when shortly after 2 a.m. the first raiders penetrated the outer ring of Berlin’s powerful defences and circled high over the capital. The Hunters’ moon, which helped the raiders on their 600-mile flight from England, lit up the sprawling city. The large gasworks in Danziger Strasse, two miles and threequarters from the city’s centre, were quickly located, and a well-aimed stick of heavy-calibre bombs started several fires, which soon gained in intensity A few minutes later the Templehof railway yards close to Berlin’s main airport had been identified and bombed by a second raider The crew of this aircraft reported that after their own attack they saw a great fire raging four or five miles to the north in the approximate positions of the Danziger Strasse gasworks. Other raiders concentrated their attack on military objectives in the centre of the city. Several tons of heavy-calibre high explosives and quantities of small fire bombs were unloaded on the targets, and at one stage of the raid other explosions and fires could be seen simultaneously in several parts of the target area. A direct hit with a heavy bomb was scored on a railway siding near the Lehrte Station, about a mile from Brandenburger Tor

Oil Plant Heavily Attacked

The R.A.F. so heavily attacked a synthetic oil nlant at Politz, whose annual production is over 1,000,000 metric tons of motor fuel, that the flames must have been visible in Berlin, 80 miles away. The ground defences put up a constant barrage, but several raiders came down to 4000 feet to ensure a good aim. Visibility was excellent, and flares were not necessary in the bright moonlight. One pilot said: “At 4000 feet we felt the heat coming up as if somebody was using a blow-lamp. The fire must have been nearly a mile square.” For nearly an hour planes from two squadrons, one of which was composed of New Zealanders, constantly bombarded an oil plant at Bohlen, southward of Leipsig. The first plane started four large fires in bright moonlight, and the leaping flames clearlv outlined a great refinery for a second raider, who caused a violent explosion, after which a column of white smoke rose 6000 feet. Other bombers attacked in quick succession oil plants at Magdeburg and Hanover, and these were heavily damaged. A German news agency says a , few of the British planes which flew over Northern Germany reached Berlin and bombed houses a hospital. Twelve people were injured. The remaining planes were driven off. Three were shot down. Clumsy Propaganda The Volkischer Beobachter on September 14 published a photograph of German airmen examining a wrecked aeroplane bearing a death’s head device. The picture was captioned “ The End of a British Pirate Aeroplane.”. The machine, however, was a Junkers 88. Therefore the Ministry of Information asks why Goebbels used a wrecked Nazi plane for propaganda when he claims to have shot down so many British machines over Germany. It must be some form of pure Aryan subtlety that Britons find difficult to appreciate. The Ministry has issued a reproduction of the photograph and a picture of a Junkers shot down in England, from which there is no doubt as to the character of the Beobachter’s machine.

Raids on Italian Bases

The Air Ministry’s new service made public the details of a series of raids carried out on October 13 and 14 on Benghazi by bombing aircraft of the R.A.F During the first raid the main railway sidings were attacked with great success. One ship moored at the mole at Ditalia received a direct hit.

During another raid the jetty and wharves were the main objectives. Bombs fell among buildings on the quay and started fires. Direct hits were also registered on the main mole, and a number of bombs fell on the barracks. The largest ship in the harbour was bombed and hit. A very large fire was started near the seaplane hangar, and direct hits were registered on buildings along the waterfront, and a direct hit was scored on a medium-sized ship. All the R.A.F. aircraft returned from this highlv-successful operation without loss.

Bardia and the encampments at Sofafi and Buqbuq were raided on the evening of October 13. all the bombs falling on the target area, but it*was not possible to ascertain the full extent of the damage. In Eritrea military objectives at Gura were again subjected to an intense air attack. A direct hit on a large building started a series of explosions. Three hangars were bombed with success. Subsequently a low-level dive attack resulted in six small and two large buildings being completely burnt out. Fires were also started on the south side of the main road.