SUBMARINE YARDS BOMBED IN DAYLIGHT

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 168, 18 July 1942, Page 5

SUBMARINE YARDS BOMBED IN DAYLIGHT

ATTACK ON LUBECK

R.A.F. Planes Dive Through Clouds Over Targets

British Official Wireless. Rec. 1.30 p.m. RUGBY, July 17. Describing yesterday s davlight attack by Stirling bombers on the submarine building yards near Lubeck on the Baltic, the Air Ministry news sei v ice says these were not ahiong shipyards bombed when so much of Lubeck was destroyed on the night of March 2S. They are well beyond the suburbs of Lubeck and a good deal nearer the mouth of the winding river Trave. They had been recently enlarged and new buildings erected. There was unbroken cloud over the_ target. but the cloud base was at 5000 ft and all the bombing was done from below that height, sometimes from as low as 600 ft. The Stirling crews were confident that their aim was accurate and they reported fires in the shipyards and by the slipways. The shipyards at Flensburg were also attacked. Two planes are missing.

Over Denmark the cloud base was much higher and on the return there were many encounters with enemy fighters. One Stirling was attacked by five fighters within a quarter of an hour, one being destroyed and the others breaking off the engagement.

It is learned that the shipyards attacked at Lubeek and also at Lenderwerke yesterday are mediumsized, engaged on submarine building, as many as 15 U-boats being on the slips at a time. The Flensburg yards are about the same size. Lubeck was attacked at 10.30 p.m., some of the bombs being dropped from 30ft.

Shortly after noon to-day enemy fighters dropped bombs on a place on the south-west coast of England. Later in the afternoon another enemy aircraft dropped bombs at a place in the Greater London area. There were no casualties, but slight damage was caused. An enemy bomber was destroyed off the south coast this morning by fighters.