Germans Over Britain

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 84, 5 October 1940, Page 11

Germans Over Britain

NO LARGE-SCALE ATTACKS

LONDON, October .4.

A communique about today's raids on Britain states that no large-scale enemy activity developed, but. during the morning and early afternoon a. number of single enemy aircraft scattered small bombs haphazardly, mainly in south-east England. Some of the bombs fell in a built-up area and caused a certain number of casualties, including a few fatal injuries.

Two enemy raiders were shot down by fighters. The first was shot down into the sea off the east coast, and the second was brought down early this afternoon. The latter was thought to have been a Heinkel 111. Two Spitfires attacked it, and after bursts had been fired from above and below the plane it was seen to plunge into the sea a few miles from the shore.

In the London area, aftex* a quiet morning, there were three alerts in the afternoon. Heavy gunfire was heard over central London, but as usual it was the suburbs that caught the worst of the attack. In the first raid two bombs fell in an east London district, damaging four houses. Eight people were trapped in the debris.

In the second raid, on north London, a bomb made a large crater in a garden, and some people in a block of flats were injured by the blast. Another high-explosive bomb fell a hundred yards away and damaged several houses, but no one was killed.

A single German plane which failed to reach London dived suddenly over the Thames Estuary and dropped ten bombs, but all fell on marshland.

Guns on the south-east coast were subjected to a dive bombing attack this afternoon. One raid was made by a single Heinkel which damaged some buildings but caused no casualties. Six more dive-bombers swooped low over a south-east town, scoring hits on an old castle and demolishing some houses. Some people were killed and rescue parties started digging for survivors.

There has been a repetition of yesterday's machine-gunning of a train on its way to Wales. The driver heard bullets rattling on the coaches, and incendiary bombs were dropped on each side of the line. He drove at full speed,to the next station, where it was found that the train was undamaged and the passengers safe.

Raiders dropped high-explosive bombs on a farm and river, but caused no casualties.

Another report speaks of enemy planes in the neighbourhood of Liverpool and inland towns in the northwest;

During the night a few German planes came over Britain and dropped bombs at random from above the clouds. The communique describing this effort is the shortest that has been issued in recent weeks. It says that enemy activity over the country was on a smaller scale than of late, and that in the areas affected little damage was done and there were very few casualties.

London had its quietest night since the start of heavy bombing nearly a month ago. Two "raiders passed" signals were sounded. The first followed the precedent of the three previous nights, and was not unexpected,, but the second was a surprise and indicated that the raiders had been cleared at. a record early, hour. Londoners remained in their shelters and were able to sleep undisturbed by the noise of aerial warfare.