Largest Scale Yet Carried Out

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 228, 25 September 1940, Page 7

Largest Scale Yet Carried Out

EXTENSIVE DAMAGE String Of Fires Seen And Heavy Explosions Heard

(British Official Wireless.—Rec. noon.) RUGBY, September 24. An Air Ministry communique says: "Throughout last night strong bomber forces of the R.A.F. delivered heavy attacks on military objectives in and around Berlin. This attack was on a much larger scale than any yet carried out, and preliminary reports show that extensive damage was done. Among the targets selected by our aircraft and heavily bombed were Rangsdorf railway station and several railway yards, including that at Grunewald, the west tower of the Wilmersdorf electric power station, gasworks at Danzigstrasse and Neukoln, factories at Charlottenburg and Spandau, including the Brandenburg motor works and other objectives. During the night operations over the Channel ports in enemy occupation were vigorously attacked. Three of our aircraft have not returned." According to the Air Ministry bulletin the Royal Air Force attacks on Berlin were carefully planned' and lasted several hours. How well the general scheme worked out may be judged by the comments of the commanding officer of one large station, who said: "My aircraft went out at regular intervals and came back as regularly, just like well-organised trains." The west power station and the power stations of Wilmersdorf, Charlottenburg, Klingbenberg and Moabit, all within, the Berlin area, each came in for a steady hammering. Many fires were seen to break out. One aircraft alone started five large fires, which were visible 80 miles away. Another reported that the power station was alight at four different points. At Klingenberg and Wilmersdorf it was the same story, bombs bursting on power stations and flames leaping high. One pilot attacking large gasworks saw his bomb burst among the buildings, and other pilots, attacking the same target, later left a string of smallish fires in the target "area. One of them said: "We must have hit this gasworks fair and square. Our bombs started another line of fire and then a fire in the middle of die target caused a gigantic explosion." A rail junction to the east of the west power station was also bombed. In an attack on the B.M.W. aero enginework* many bombs were dropped in the area and shortly afterwards numerous fires broke out. Siemens cable works was also set on fire. An American commentator on the German radio, dealing with last night's R.A.F. raid, states a cable message, said single small formations of Britishers never seemed to stop coming. They dived to below 1000 ft. Another commentator said the raid was a kind of rolling attack. A block of buildings was razed. An official Berlin message says the R.A.F. raid last night resulted in 1 I killed and 14 wounded.