NAZI TERRITORY HAMMERED

Southland Times, Issue 24237, 21 September 1940, Page 5

NAZI TERRITORY HAMMERED

Canal In Germany Bombed FIERCE ATTACKS ON LE HAVRE (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) (Received September 21, 1 a.m.) LONDON, September 20. The Royal Air Force, which on Wednesday night continued the hammering of the enemy’s Channel ports, returned to its attacks on German territory last night. The Dortmund-Ems Canal, which was successfully attacked earlier in the war, was again visited. In the previous attack brilliant bombing seriously damaged an aqueduct, which was later photographed and found to be dry. This must have greatly added to the,strain on railway traffic. Ports and aerodromes in enemy occupied territory were bombed and enemy reports admit that the Rhineland was attacked by the Royal Air Force.

Le Havre was singled out for Wednesday night’s heaviest bombardment. Attacking in relays, a strong force of heavy bombers kept up an almost continuous assault upon the harbours, docks and shipping for close on five hours. Many tons of high-explosive bcmbs and great quantities of incendiary bombs were unloaded on the target in the face of fierce opposition from the ground defences.

One of the earlier raiders attacked from a low level beneath a cloud. As its first stick of heavy bombs fell across the dock there was the white flash of a terrific explosion, followed immediately after by a second smaller explosion which appeared to come either from a ship moored alongside the Basin de Maree or from a large warehouse on the quayside. A great fire which grew out of the second explosion quickly spread and could be seen still blazing strongly by the bomber’s crew when they were 50 miles away on their return journey. SHIPS SET ON FIRE When the following aircraft pressed home the attacks sticks of high-ex-plosive bombs were seen to burst along the quayside of the Basin de Maree and across the docks at the Quai de Saigon and to straddle the Basin Ballot from the north-east to the south-west. Fire soon broke out and spread among the shipping massed in the Maree basin, and in the dry dock near the Quai de Saigon. A stick of bombs was dropped across the dock from such a low level that the violence of the explosion shook the crew of the attacking aircraft. By 11 pan. fires were raging in many parts of the harbour. A large ship alongside the quay was burning strongly and a 7000-ton ship about a mile north of Honfleur was seen to be ablaze. Flames were lighting up a bank of low cloud which hung over the docks and town. Relays of aircraft continued the bombardment until the early hours of the morning. Again and again, docks and ships alongside were’ straddled with sticks of high-explosive bombs. Other invasion bases at Flushing, Boulogne, Ostend, Dunkirk, Calais, Antwerp and Zeebrugge were also heavily attacked during the night, while other sections of the Royal Air Force concentrating on rail communication centres in Germany bombed the goods yards at Mannheim, Krefeld, Hamm, Osnabruck, Ehrang and Brussels. Aircraft of the Coastal Command attacked a convoy .ff Burkum and a direct hit was registered on an enemy destroyer.