BOMBING RAIDS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24632, 13 June 1941, Page 6

BOMBING RAIDS

NAZI BASES ATTACKED ZEEBRUGGE MOLE A TARGET SUPPLY SHIP TORPEDOED RUGBY, June 11. In daylight to-day aircraft of the Royal Air Force bombed the mole at Zeebrugge and the docks' at Ymuideh. They also sank a small vessel off the Dutch coast, and shot down an enemy plane into the sea. Details of last night’s Royal Air Force activities issued by the Air Ministry News Service disclose that off the Norwegian coast a Beaufort aircraft launched a torpedo and struck a ZOOO-tpn enemy supply ship amidships. The explosion sent up a column of steam, and a spout of water rose as high as the mast. The ship appeared to be oh fire as the aircraft flew away. Enemy-occupied aerodromes at Mandal and Stavanger were also attacked by Coastal Command aircraft. Bombs were dropped on the docks at St. Nazaire, an occupied port in the Bay of Biscay. One) aircraft had just turned away after the attack on St. Nazaire when an anti-aircraft shell burst close by. The force of the explosion' turned the aircraft completely over, and temporarily stunned the pilot and the observer. When the pilot recovered the aircraft was in a “screaming dive/’ between 500 feet and 1000 feet from the ground. The observer recovered consciousness at. the' same time as the pilot. He struggled' to bring the aircraft under control, but went into a series of switch-back movements.' finally became stable again, and climbed cautiously, and. set a course .for the base. The explosion had blown - back the hatch cover, and everything loose' inside the aircraft—navigation instruments, parachute; packs, and so on—disappeared. Ther aircraft flew back to its.base with a pile raging inside the fuselage. It landed safely. > Direct Hits on Tanker An ;Air Ministry bulletin states:— Blenheims of the Coastal Command, escorted by fighters on an offensive, patrol, attacked a 5000-ton German tanker: in the Straits of; Dover late this afternoon. They. dropped 10 heavy bombs, and,‘scored seven direct hits and three near misses. At the end of a minute the tanker was on fire. Her decks were awash, and she was -listing heavily. ‘'V 1 The pilots told how they came across the tanker with- two escort vessels steaming through 'the straits in clear water. All > the bombers went straight inffi the attack, and each of them scored at least one direct hit on the ship. Two of the Blenheims scored two direct hits. According to the Air Ministry bulletin, it is probable that the German anti-aircraft batteries at Zeebrugge brought down one of their own fighter aircraft - during an attack by Royal Air Force bombers this afternoon. As the Royal Air Force bombers turned away for home they saw two enemy fighters come up. : One of them, an; Me. 110, suddenly dived steeply towards the sea, with smoke pouring from It ,V /

The Shipping In the harbour at Zeebrugge bore witness of previous Royal Air Force attacks. In the middle of the harbour itself a ship lay sunk, and another which was. alongside the mole was. listing A further- Ministry communique ■ays enemy activity over this country to-day has been slight. Late this evening a .small number of bombs were dropped in South-west England, but no details have yet been received. A Banning Fight • Further details of a running fight between Messerschmittis;' ill- ffS^affhounced in an Air Ministry communique, one Messerschmitt was destroyed, are contained in. an Air Ministry bulletin. Whan off the Dutch Frisian island of Vlieland the bomber’s rear gunner saw an Me; lOfl'Climbinig to intercept. The Messersdunltt was, soon joined by another. The bomber'dived down almost to the sea level, and a running fight began, which lasted for- 18- minutes, with the bomber and the two fighters, about lOQft above the waves.

The lighters made three attacks, coming ~ Ilia. simultaneously, piie from, Portland the other from starboard. They opened fire at 300yds with cannon ,and machine guns, arid closed to about 190yds before wheeling away. In the last of these attacks one of the fighters met its end.' The rear gunner brought it down “ as the fighter turned away to port after making its attack” The' captain of the bomber said: ** The rear gunner told me to. turn to starboard;' That brought our tail round towards the fighter, and the gunner got a long burst right into him. He just slid off his turn into the sea.’V The other Messerschmitt went on .fight on its own and made seven or eight further attacks, but he; did not come in. too close. Each "time the fighter came the rear gunner told the captain which way to turn to avoid attack-, and; the bomber dodged the Messerschmitt every time. At last the, enemy climbed and came in on the starboard bow, and the front gunner had a shot at himi A sharp burst sent him away for good. i