LATEST BAR NEWS

Serial Waves, Volume 1, Issue 7, 10 September 1940, Page 3

LATEST BAR NEWS

Enemy ports, shipping and barge concentrations were heavily attacked by the R A F yesterday and last night, according to an Air Ministry communique vzhich states "Yesterday, in the course of routine reconnaissances, R A F bombers attacked shipping in ports of Dunkirk end Boulogne and convoys in the North Sea . Five of our aircraft are missing • Last night in spite of severe weather conditions over the Continental coast line strong forces of our bombers carried out operations against the enemy and enemy occupied ports, barge concentrations and shipping • Bremen, Endon, Ostend, Calais and Boulogne were visited . Widespread' damage was done to oil tanks and ammunition stores • Eight of our aircraft failed to return. " * • Recent 1 successful activities of British submarines in the Mediterranean are disclosed in an Admiralty Communique which states : 2 -British submarines operating * in Mediterranean waters are adding considerably to the Italian High Command’s difficulties in keeping its array in Libya supplied « H M Submarine " Osiris " has sunk an Italian supply ship of about 3000 tons . H M Submarine "Rorqual" has attacked a convoy of two ships loaded vzith supplies escorted by one destroyer □ "Rorqual’s" torpedoes sank both Italian supply ships 0 The ’ British War Communique issued today from G- H Q Cedro states : " Egypt - Yesterday Matruh was again raided by enemy aircraft causing some damage and' casualties. Kenya - One of our patrols entered. Abysinnia anti advanced to Coral where -it engaged a strong force of Banda and inflicted casualties • Bura was bombed by enemy aircraft causing little damage ..and no casualties « Sudan and Palestine - nothing to report e

The present month is regarded in informed quarters as probably the most critical period of war • Having suffered considerable losses in daylight air attacks the Nazis now appear to be concentrating on night bombing attacks on London, carried out \/ith a smaller number of planes but with a higher degree of success o The attacks of the last two nights we re probably assisted by the only successful day attack - that of Saturday afternoon - when some of the German air force succeeded in reaching London, . but only at a very great loss « London, however as well as other centres of highly concentrated population, must face the certainty of night bombings • It is pointed out that the interception problem of night bombings is not yet solved although British experts arc hopeful of finding a satisfactory answer before the Germans arc able to do so , Taking last night’s raids as an example authoritave circles explain that' the task encountered by the defence - both the interceptor and ground squads - in finding their opponent, flying in darkness at a great height at three hundred miles an hour, is obviously very difficult » Meanwhile it is asserted that an efficient blackout is the best defence ,

This afternoon His Majesty The King visited the areas in London which have been most heavily bombed . He watched firemen playing hoses on still burning buildings . Later the King drove to a road where a huge bomb had struck and completely destroyed eight houses , The King clambered up a pile of debris , Dirt begrimed ARP ’Yorkers »were still searching here for bodies and one man showed the King a big piece of bomb, » The King saw many other buildings, including a large bomb-proof shelter,which, he was 4told, had moved one yard as a result of a bomb explosion but which had not fallen ’down ,

'The first air raid warning in the London area today sounded at 1710 and all clear was given an hour and a quarter later , Some bombs were dropped and enemy raiders, which appeared to be few in number were heavily engaged by A A fire and by fighters. So far no official information is available regarding damage done or the numbers of enemy aircraft destroyed , A second warning was sounded at 2045 0

'The Air Ministry and Ministry of Home Security Communique says ” It is now known that during last night three enemy aircraft were shot down by our A A guns, making a total of eleven aircraft in all destroyed yesterday, Fuller reports show that in Saturday* actions 28 enemy aircraft in all -were destroyed by A A fire and 75 by our fighters, making a total of 103 destroyed that day • Preliminary reports on this evening’s raid show that 26 enemy aircraft have been destroyed, 24 by our fighters and 2 by A A fire , 15 of our fighters are missing but 3 pilots are safe' ,