GERMAN LOSSES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24432, 18 October 1940, Page 7

GERMAN LOSSES

71 PLANES LAST WEEK NIGHT BOMBING CONTINUED EFFICIENCY OF DEFENCES (By Wireless.) LONDON, Oct. 17. (Received Oct. 17. at 11.30 p.m.) The German plane losses over England during the week ended Octobei 13 totalled 71 consisting of 41 bombers. 27 fighters, and 3 seaplanes while the British losses for the same period totalled 45 fighters and 8 bombers, but 27 British pilots of the crews of these planes are safe A strong force of enemy raiders crossed the Kent coast last night, but met with strong opposition, and only one plane succeeded in penetrating to the centre of London, where it did not remain long. Three bombers were shot down by antiaircraft fire during the night. Bad weather prevented precision bombing, and the raiders dropped their bombs on targets which had not the slightest military value, these including two churches, a hospital, a cemetery, an asylum, and a home for crippled children Planes were also over various parts of the provinces, where damage and casualties were caused. ATTACKS AT PEAK GERMAN ADMISSION LOSSES BEGINNING TO TELL LONDON, Oct. 12. As the result of a German blunder reliable information has reached London that the German General Staff recently admitted that the attacks on Britain had reached their maximum, and that the German losses were beginning to tell. This is stated by the Daily Telegraph, but the newspaper adds that a

sudden decline is not to be expected. This is because the Germans are hammering away desperately, realising that alternative military schemes must be based on a big dispersal of forces. But, the journal points out, neither the German huma i nor mechanical materia] is quite what it was. It is semi-officially stated in Moscow that the war is demonstrating the effectiveness of the British longrange bombers. Even bad weather is unable to prevent them from penetrating deeply into Germany and German-occupied territory.' Moscow also draws attention to the steadily-growing production of aircraft in Britain and the constant flow of aeroplanes from the Empire. It is stated that the superiority of the Royal Air Force has left its mark on Africa, where the Italians have met everywhere a stubborn resistance from posts exposed to constant and intensive air raids.