BOMBS DROPPED

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21199, 23 August 1940, Page 5

BOMBS DROPPED

RAIDS ON CONTINENT DAMAGE TO AERODROMES OIL REFINERIES HIT (Official Wireless) (Received August 23, 11 a.m.) RUGBY, August 22 Although the weather conditions were unfavourable further attacks on enemy oil refineries were carried out last night, states an Air Ministry communique. The chief targets were important oil refineries at Magdeburg and Duerag and installations at Hanover. At Caen and Abbeville aircraft were bombed at the aerodrome, causing explosions on runways and landing grounds and setting hangars on fire. Searchlight batteries were extinguished by gunfire. Attacks were also made on aerodromes at Quakenbruck, near Hanover, and the Island of Texel. Railway centres were bombed in the Ruhr and the Rhineland. Bombs were dropped on a tunnel between Nienburg and Verden, north-west of Hanover, as a supply train entered. One of our aircraft has not returned. Allegation by Nazis The Berlin radio alleges that the Royal Air Force attempted to bomb the Bismarck mausoleum at Friedrichshaven, which is “far from any military objective.” ROYAL AIR FORCE ACTIVITY--3,000,000 MILES FLOWN 158,000 BOMBS DROPPED (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) LONDON, August 22

The aeronautical correspondent of the Daily Mail says semi-official figures indicate that since May 10, when bombs took the place of leaflets, the Royal Air Force has made 598 raids on 178 places in Germany and 206 places in Germanoccupied territory. In all these operations, in which they have flown over 3,000,000 miles, our airmen have dropped approximately 158,000 bombs on military objectives, mostly inside Germany. It is known that certain German industrial areas have been devastated, while the damage to oil depots, railways, docks, canals and shipping, and especially to aerodromes and aeroplanes, has been enormous. Some objectives have been bombed as many as 50 times. important Canal Bombed One of the targets receiving constant attention from Royal Air Force bombers is the Dortmund-Ems Canal. This magnificent piece of engineering is a most important link in the German waterway system, serving her industrial area. Stretching many miles across the plains, the aqueduct joins one mountain ridge to another, and. thus enables barges to cross without the delay which would ensue if differenl levels had to be reached by a system of locks. Linking the industrial valleys of i the Ruhr and Rhine with the Mittelland Canal, it completes the chain of waterways connecting the new industrial areas in east and central Germany with the old areas in the west and north-west. In view of the unsatisfactory state of her railways, this canal system is of special importance to Germany. The aqueduct is well defended, and, because the target area is small and only susceptible to attack from a very limited number of directions, it is comparatively easy to concentrate the defence. The pilot who was awarded the Victoria Cross for a succesful attack on this important target described the defences as making a lane along the length of the canal. The fact that two of five bombers employed in a recent attack were shot down indicates the strength of the defences.