FIRES VISIBLE 80 MILES AWAY.

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

FIRES VISIBLE 80 MILES AWAY.

SMASHING ATTACK. Bombs Dropped Every 4| Minutes For Hours. British Official Wireless. (Reed. 12.30 p.m.) RUGBY, Sept. 24. Some idea of the wearing tactics employed over Berlin last night by the Royal Air Force may be gauged from the fact that after the first bombs were dropped, shortly before 11 p.m., bombing continued on an average of about 4i-minute intervals for several hours. Throughout those hours British aircraft were constantly over the city in relays.

Some of them remained above the targets for anything up to 50 minutes, despite the unfavourable weather conditions, so as to aim their bombs with precision. The heaviest attacks fell upon numerous pre-determined targets —railway yards near the Potsdamer and Lehrte railway stations, the west electric power station. Moabit and Klingenberg power stations. A ground miet interfered with accurate observation of the results, but severe fires were started at all four points. One aircraft reported eight or nine explosions in railway sidings after the bombs were dropped, followed by a very large fire in railway buildings which were still seen 23 minutes after the aircraft left the area. Three power stations took the brunt of this series of attacks. One aircraft started a large fire at the west power station which was but one of many. At Klingenberg a considerable fire was already burning when one aircraft arrived. By the glow of this fire sticks of bombs were dropped right across the target. Five big fires* were started by one aircraft at the Moabit power station, enabling the target to be clearly identified by the following aircraft. Three bombs from one aircraft caused more firee and touched off explosive material ■which blew up in a seriee of vivid ' flashes. These firee at Moabit were visible 80 miles away.

Special Attention to Gasworks. Other Berlin targets, mostly power stations and gasworks, received special attention. At Charlotfenburg power station four big fires were observed from one aircraft ae it came away. Friedrichsfeld power station was left a'blaze. At Danzigerstrasse gasworks bombing caused a violent explosion and the target was left burning furiously. This was one of the night's most satisfying spectacles. Explosions—seen 23 miles away— wrecked parts of the Neukoln gasworks. At another gasworks in Charlottenburg a large building was quickly gutted by fire and.many other fires caused 1# aircraft were observed. Railway yards were seen to be hit and the Tempelhoff aerodrome was bombed. Siemens works, where a large proportion of electrical equipment for hydrogenation plant is produced, received a direct hit. Here a red, oblong-shaped fire was started which spread rapidly.