RAIDERS OVER PARIS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24915, 14 May 1942, Page 6

RAIDERS OVER PARIS

BOMBING OF FACTORY NEW ZEALANDER’S ACCOUNT (0.C.) LONDON. Mar. 17. “It was probably one of the most effective raids made by the R.A.F. during the entire war," said Sergeant Observer P. H. Stewart (Auckland), who was one of the New Zealanders to take part in the heavy raid against the Renault works at Paris recently. “ There was no opposition," he said, “ and every plane came in low. It was impossible to miss the target. ‘‘lt was just getting dark as we set off over the English Channel for France, and by the time we reached France the moon was up. We flew at 2000 feet all the time and bombed from 1500 feet. We arrived during the middle of the raid, and all the way to Paris we could see lights flicking on in houses, pointing the way to the city. “ We could see Paris 40 miles away, lit up like a big Christmas tree. There were flares hanging low over the target and giant fires burning. I stood beside the pilot practically all the way, and it was a great ride. We flew round the target three times, just to make sure of it—and we had a lot of trouble, incidentally, to dodge other planes. “ Our first bomb hit a gasometer, and it burst into flames. The remaining bombs went right across the middle of the factories, and we saw one entire roof fly into the air. We could feel the bombs bursting at that height. It was like heavy shells bursting beneath us. With the flares and the fires it was as bright as day. “ I’d always wanted to see Paris, so after we’d dropped the bombs we flew around and had a look at the Eiffel Tower. There was a good black-out in the city. We dropped our load of leaflets and then made off for home. We came down to 500 feet looking for Germans and trouble; the gunners were keen to have a crack, but we saw nothing. ' “The raid was so very successful because of the low heights at which our aircraft could fly and without opposition. It's unlikely that any aircraft flew higher than 6000 feet over the target, and some of the Stirlings went down to 1000 feet. It will be a long time before the Germans get any more tanks from that factory.” Sergeant Stewart also took part m one of the big raids on Essen, and he went twice to Kiel to bomb the Scharnhorst, which is docked there for repairs. “ I wish we could bomb targets in Germany- fronj 1500 feet, he said. “It would knock a long time off the war. The flak keeps us busy, and we, stay up higher."