DOCKS ATTACKED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24449, 7 November 1940, Page 9

DOCKS ATTACKED

BRITISH AIRCRAFT RAIDS TARGETS AT LE HAVRE LARGE FIRES STARTED i British Official Wireless) (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph Copyright) RUGBY, Nov. 5. (Received Nov. 6, at 7.30 p.m.) Adverse weather over Germany on Monday night again hampered operations by aircraft of the Bomber Command. Channel coast areas were attacked and early in the night opportunity was taken of the weather improvement to launch harassing attacks against docks and shipping at Le Havre, Boulogne and Ostend. The sky,was clear when the first raider reached Le Havre shortly after 8.30 p.m., and dropping a slick of bombs across the basin of the Demaria from a low level, it started several large fires. By 9.30 great banks of clouds 6000 feet deep covered the sky, reducing visibility to a minimum. In a final attack launched in a shallow dive to below cloud level a salvo of heavy-calibre bombs was seen to strike a large hangarlike building at Gare Maritime. A series of explosions was followed by six outbreaks of fire, one of which was of such intensity that it could be seen from 20 miles out to sea, despite bad visibility. At Boulogne and Ostend Wgh explosives and incendiaries were dropped on dock areas, but n both cases clouds obscured the resultant damage. One raider, prevented by the weather from locating Boulogne harbour, attacked instead an aerodrome at Montievelliera, four miles north-east of Boulogne. Its bombs fell among groups of white lights at one end of illuminated flares and started several small fires.