ENEMY RAIDERS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 May 1941, Page 5

ENEMY RAIDERS

SEVEN DESTROYED OVER BRITAIN ANOTHER IN CHANNEL POWERFUL BRITISH ATTACK ON BREST. DIRECT HITS ON GERMAN BATTLE-CRUISERS. (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright I LONDON. May 5. Seven German bombers were desl roved over Britain during the night. .An enemy fighter was shot down into Ihe Channel this afternoon and a British warship shot down a German two-engined bomber into tin* sea. At Brest, a great load of armourpiercing bombs was dropped on the two German battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Direct hits were scored on both ships. Sticks of the heaviest bombs also fell repeatedly across the dry dock in which one is berthed and near the jetty where the other is tied up. Docks and buildings were badly damaged. Enemy shipping and harbours from Norway to the Bay of Biscay were also attacked. From all these operations not one British plane is missing. A communique from Northern Ireland states that considerable damage was caused to Belfast industrial and residential property last night by enemy raiders. The casualties are not expected to be as heavy as was at first feared. In enemy attacks on north-west England fires were started and damage done at several points in the Merseyside area. There were a number of casualties. For the fourth night running, Liverpool was the main objective. The attack was not sn heavy as that on Saturday night. MERSEYSIDE RAID FOURTH IN SUCCESSION. LONDON, May 5. , While rescuers were still working in the ruins caused by Saturday night’s severe raids, German raiders last night again swooped on the Merseyside in a large scale attack. The tactics changed, the raiders coming in singly and in quick succession. A number of fires were started and some damage was done at several points. There was a number of casualties. Raiders also came over a town in south-west England where a bomb killed four recent evacuees from London and seriously injured two. Bombs were dropped in many other districts, but no concerted attack developed. Damage was nowhere extensive.