HEAVY BOMBARDMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25561, 14 June 1944, Page 5

HEAVY BOMBARDMENT

SHIPS OF BRITISH NAVY SUPPORT FOR GROUND FORCES (Rec. 10.30 p.m.) LONDON, June 13. The Allied navies in the last few days have carried out the most persistent and the heaviest bombardment in naval history, according to Supreme Allied headquarters. Rodney and Ramilles, assisted by the cruisers Frobisher, Sirius, Dragon, and Notable, helped the British Third Division to hold a German counter-attack on Thursday last. The same day the cruiser Belfast supported the advance cf the Third Canadian Division, while two other cruisers supported the British P’iftieth Division.

One of Nelson’s targets was a concentration of 17 German guns which were harassing our forward ground forces. Her 16-inch guns quickly smothered the German batteries. Another target was a German concentration 12 miles inland on the road leading west from Caen. “Target covered from end to end ” was the forward observation officer’s report. The bombarding force sailed with nearly 100,000 rcunds of ammunition from 16-inch to 4-inch. It was expected that about 16,000 tons would be expended, but this weight proved unnecessary.

The American battleships Texas and Nevada continued the bombardment yesterday by shelling German positions on the Cherbourg Peninsula, their targets being mostly mobile enemy batteries on high ground inland.