MOONLIGHT RAIDS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 226, 23 September 1940, Page 7

MOONLIGHT RAIDS

N.Z. PILOT'S WORK. Two Enemy Ships Hit On Dutch Coast. British Official Wireless. (Reed. 1 p.m.) RUGBY, Sept. 22. Moonlight aided the British raiders in their attack on Flushing during Friday night's raids. The squadron leader who took part in the attack stated that even from a considerable height he could plainly see the docks and everything in them. "We came up by the waterway at a pretty good height, put the nose of the machine down and made a dive attack," he said. "Searchlights picked us up and the guns were kept on at us until we turned off. Our bombs fell right across some warehouses on the dockside and, though I was too busy weaving in and out to see very much, my second pilot, who had a good look round, told me we had started three small fires and a large one, which may r have, been a petrol dump."

The captain of another aircraft, who came along a bit later, said he found the fires still going and had "stoked them up with a few more bombs."

The pilot -officer, who followed the squadron-leader into the attack, said: "We were just getting into position for a run in when we saw him dive down with the flare aJI cominjj up behind him. We saw his bombs burst and four fires start. We then went out to sea a little way, turned and dived in after him.''

One of the pilots who bombed Ostend was a Xew Zeatander, who was recently awarded the D.F.C. This pilot was confident of having damaged a large supply ship in the harbour. Brilliant Bombing by Hudsons. Two Hudsons of the Coastal Command scored direct hits on two enemy ships off the Dutch coast, during Friday night. They had just completed their routine patrols and finding they had plenty of petrol in reserve they searched the Dutch coastal waters for possible targets. One aircraft found a destroyer near Anieland. •but it was hardly visible even in the moonlight, ami the pilot had difficulty in keeping it in sight as he prepared to dive Ikiiiil). One salvo was seen to fall 20 yards on the warship's beam.

The pilot next found a convoy sheltering in the lee of the Dutch island. Selecting a ves-el between IiOOO and 8000 tons for a target, he made a dive attack with explosive and incendiary bombs, l'art of the salvo hit the ship and burst behind the bridge.

'"The explosion blew u~ upwards." said tho pilot. '"Heavy anti-aircraft fire was opened from the shore, but our chief danger was from the flying bite of burning debris from the ship. I went down to the water to avoid the enemy's fire. From a long way off we could see the glow from the ship."

The second Hudson attacked a ship just visible under the low moon as a long narrow outline on the water. There was a huge flash as the bombs hit the solid target, said the pilot. A big explosion followed four seconds later. He was at a height of r>oo feet and going away fast, but inside the aircraft he could hear the thud of the explosion and its force threw the 'plane forward. The last he saw was a shower of burning debris.