OVER WIDE AREA

Opotiki News, Volume III, Issue 318, 2 October 1940, Page 1

OVER WIDE AREA

BRITISH BOMBERS RAIDS ON GERMANY -FACTORIES AND RAILWAYS OCCUPIED TERRITORY BASES FOR INVASION (News by C« „ RUGBY, Sept.- 30. Last night’s raids on communications and centres in Germany by the Royal A.r Force were spread over a wide area.

The railways at Ehrang, Mannheim, Soest and Koblenz were bombed. Fires were started.in goods yards at the junctions of Cologne, Osnabruck and Hamm. At Hamm st.cks of heavy-calibre bombs fell along one side of the goods yard causing two separate fires which were quickly merged into one big blaze. The oil plant at Hanover was attacked shortly before 11 o’clock. A large fire in . the target area was still burning 20 minutes after the last aircraft left the outskirts of the city. Explosions which continued for sometime marked the attack on a factory near Hanover. At Mainen, near Nortmund, another factory was bombed and set on fire.

Raiders operating over Holland attacked the great Fokker aircraft factory near Amsterdam. The factory—now commandeered by the German invaders—is situated in the dock area. It was heavily bombed and fires and explosions were seen to break out among the factory buildings and docks lying to the south.

Aerodromes Attacked Aerodromes at Gifhorn, Dessau, Evere, Ascliersleben and Sclnpol were also subjected to night attacks by heavy bombers. At Schipol, the main airport of Amsterdam, sticks of bombs burst across an illuminated flare path and at Aschersleben low-lying clouds were lit up by the glow of a great lire started on the aero.drome. The bombardment by the Royal Air Force of potential invasion bases along the Belgian, Dutch and

French coasts included a third attack on the naval base at Lor.cnt, on the coast of Brittany, where heavy damage was caused in largescale raids last week. Hist night bad visibility hampered the attack, but heavy-calibre bombs were seen to straddle the target. At Calais hits were scored in many parts of the docks and the dock area in the face of intense opposition from the harbour batteries.

Other bomber forces raided the docks at Ostend. Bombs fell across the outer harbour and on the new tidal harbour and docks at Boulogne, where hits s were registered in several of the main shopping basins.

Bombs were also dropped on the docks at Flushing. Early on Sunday morning, attack on long-range gun positions at Cap Gris Nez, salvoes of highexplosive bombs were seen to explode close to the gun emplacements.