BOMBING PLANES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20077, 25 October 1939, Page 11

BOMBING PLANES

SIXTEEN SHOT DOWN REPULSED IN RAIDS BRITISH SUCCESSES AUXILIARY AIRMEN (Elec. Tel. Copyright--United Press Assn.) (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 2.10 p.m. RUGBY/' Oct. 23. Interesting'' facts the German air*-losses'in raids on British shipping compared with the damage done by the 1 raiders -were' authoritatively given irt/London to-day. In the raids on the- Birth of Forth, Scapa FlbW; :; and ; on thd convoy in the North Sea, 16 German long-range bombers were definitely accounted for at a total-cost of 30 casualties in the destroyer Mohawk and slight damage to the cruiser Southampton and the “derhilitarised'” battleship Iron puke. ‘All - the ’ ships subjected to attack ■were ready for sea on the same day and the only damage to the Southampton was a hole in the bridge caused by a bomb which went through the outer part and burst in the water. The results'’of the raids so far have been very satisfaetbry to Britain. As regards -the -.U-boat activities, although two British; four French and three neutral ships were sunk last week, the losses were small compared with’the average week in 1917, being 10 per cent in number and 21 per cent in tonnage of the’’comparative figures.

Not Confirmed

It is announced that there is no confirmation of si report that a cruiser has sunk the /German air base vessel SchwabanlEdfid, which is thought to be the raider that sank the Clement. It is officially'denied that the Iron Duke hag been re-armoured or rearmed. ' , , . In the three raids on British shipping, as already stated, 16 German aircraft were brought down. Many of these aeroplanes fell victims to the auxiliary squadrons of the Royal Air Force, which consist of men who in peace devoted their spare time to training in military flying. Squadrons of the Auxiliary Air Force were organised on the lines similar to the territorial arms, each one being identified with some particular locality. They include all branches of the activities of the air force. *■ Some assist the convoy escorts ana one such . squadron recently twice saved ships from damage. Mines Detected

A particular convoy was in a sea area in which the only danger entertained was from submarines. The sea was' rough, but in spite of this the squadron on two occasions detected a floating mine in the path of the convoy. The first time smoke flares were dropped near the mines and gave the ship steersmen the opportunity of avoiding them by a quick alteration of the helm. On the second occasion an escorting destroyer was able to dash in ahead of the convoy and sink the mine by machine-gun fire. Spotting mines in rough seas is difficult enough when mines are expected, b'ut ;to see floating mines in supposedl'y-clear areas speaks very well for the peace training in reconnaissance- of the men who, seven weeks ago, mainly occupied tneir civilised‘callings."