MALTA HITS BACK

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20876, 31 August 1942, Page 3

MALTA HITS BACK

14 PLANES SHOT DOWN SPITFIRES POUND SICILY DROMES & SHIPS RAIDED (British Official Wireless.) (11 a.m.) RUGBY. Aug. 30. After months of heroic defence in face of constant pounding by enemy aircraft, Malta has turned the tables on the Axis and is proving more of a troublesome thorn in its side than ever. In 24 hours .the island has destroyed 14 enemy aircraft for certain and done much material damage to the Axis. , ■ A . On Wednesday night, says the Air Ministry news service, .the enemy sent over a small number of bombers. They did no military damage and two of them were shot down and another probably destroyed. That night Royal Air Force fighters attacked a seaplane base in Sicily. A seaplane was shot down and a motor vessel shot up. The enemy attempted a high-flying fighter sweep near Malta on Thursday night, but Spitfires met and dispersed them and damaged two. That afternoon Spitfires swarmed across the Sicilian coast almost at ground level, raking with cannon and machine-guns hangars, huts, barracks, stores, buildings and railway water-tanks. Fitters working in an Italian aircraft were killed and soldiers shot up. Hostile aircraft were attacked in the air and in the act of taking off. The aerodromes were enveloped in dense smoke when the aircraft left, after having destroyed four bombers and two fighters in the air, three bombers and one fighter on the ground any many others probably .destroyed or damaged. On the way home, three schooners were shot up. At dusk an Axis convoy was attacked with torpedoes and bombs. A medium-sized merchant vessel was hit squarely amidships and sunk and the escorting destroyer was shot up and left smoking. An Italian bomber, which attempted to interfere, was shot down and a fighter damaged. . , , The bombers made a second attack on Sicily on Thursday and scored hits on two aerodromes and hangars, cars and a large building with all its lights on were shot up. During the whole of these activities, Malta lost only three fighters.