RAID ON BRISTOL

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21822, 27 November 1940, Page 5

RAID ON BRISTOL

One Hundred Bombers Employed Casualties Not Heavy By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright LONDON, November 25. Although the raid on a west of England town last night was on a fairly heavy scale the enemy did not use as many planes as he did on the previous attack in the Midlands. It Is estimated that probably 100 bombers took part. It is believed that the casualties were not so heavy, considering the intensity of the raid. Rescuers are still searching in the ruins of buildings in a Home Counties town bombed last night. Five bombs fell on an East Anglian town and demolished houses and shops. The German News Agency stated that strong bomber formations attacked Bristol last night, and dropped several hundred tons of bombs, 45 fires being observed. A gasometer was blown up and warehouses suffered severely. “As a distributing centre and railway junction, Bristol was wiped out,” says the Agency. “Since dawn, several enemy bombers, operating singly or in small formations, crossed the south-east and south coasts,” states an Air Ministry communique, “and one small formation reached the outskirts of the London area. “A town on the coast of Kent was attacked shortly before noon. Several houses were damaged, but the casualties were very small. Bombs were also dropped on a town on the south coast and at two other points in the south-east of England. Slight damage was done and there were no casualties. “A Dornier was shot down in the sea off Dover this morning. A Spitfire pilot, flying at 5000 feet, first saw the raider 7000 feet above him. He climbed to attack and fired two short bursts, and climbing again, dived out of the sun. Pieces fell from the Dornier, which was last seen heading slowly for France and losing height.” polish Airman’s First Success It is now known that three German raiders were shot down yesterday. One fell to a Polish wing commander, who saw a new German Junkers 88, and immediately attacked it, shooting it down in flames to the sea. This was the Polish airman’s first lesson in air fighting. German long-range guns at Cap Gris Nez shelled the Dover area intermittently for about three hours yesterday. A communique Issued by the Air Ministry states that Germany’s main air attack on England last night was against towns in the west. The raids began soon after dark and continued until nearly midnight, the German aeroplanes being met everywhere by fierce anti-aircraft fire. The total night raiders brought down so far this month was, up to dawn today, 28—two more than in the whole of October and three more than in the whole of September. Results so far this month compared with those of September and October are even more favourable than the figures suggest, for the number of raiders sent over during darkness in the last three weeks seldom equalled the strength of the attacks in the two preceding months.