BERLIN’S DEFENCES SURPRISED

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 85, Issue 187, 11 August 1941, Page 5

BERLIN’S DEFENCES SURPRISED

RUSSIAN AIR RAID PLANES SWEEP IN FROM THE NORTH LUDICROUS GERMAN EFFORTS TO HIDE TRUTH (Recd. 6.30 p.m.) London. Aug. 8. Sur. ising German defences, lhe Soviet. Air Force struck its first blow against Berlin on Thursday night, when it swept in like lightning from the north and plastered factories, electrical installations and power stafio::.. with high explosives and inc -ays The Times Stockholm correspondent.

. squadrons of heavy T.B. fourengined bombers, of a type which lieu from Moscow to California before the outbreak of war, carried out the raid. They took off from bases in Osel and Dago, and completed the 1200-mile trip without interception.

The Germans are trying to conceal the identity of the raiders. Admission of the fact that the Russians had repaid some of the Luftwaffe's bombing of Moscow would hardly be compatible with Goebbels’ annihi'ation of the entire Red Air Force. Goebbels dare not reveal this truth. The latest officially-inspired messages from Berlin even decline that the raid was merely a Luftwaffe manoeuvre to test the new night defences. The messages are ludicrous read in conjunction with the earlier official announcement that bombs were dropped damaging lives and property. Antiaircraft defences never went into action and night fighters went up too late to deal with the raiders. The Moscow radio says that Soviet planes, on Thursday night, carried out reconnaissance flights over Germany as far as Berlin and attacked military targets in several districts. In Beilin explosions and fires were observed. All’ the planes returned. The Stockholm correspondent of the Daily Mail says lhe Russian planes carried copies of R.A.F. photographs of Berlin's chief objectives. Damage to most of the important objectives is believed to have been done. —U.P.A.