BOMBING HAVOC

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20919, 20 October 1942, Page 5

BOMBING HAVOC

RAID ON^ FRANCE HEDGE-HOPPING DASH PILOT’S VIVID STORY (By Teleftraph—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (British Official Wireless.) (2.30 p.m.) RUGBY, Oct. 18. Further describing Saturday’s daylight raid on Le Creusot, the Air Ministry news service says that a majority of the great force of Lancasters hedge-hopped across France and climbed to attack. The main target was bombed from between 4000 and 6000 ft. A small force was detached to bomb the transformer works, which it did from 500 ft. with great effect. The only one of 94 Lancasters lost was seen to crash here beside the target. Little anti-aircraft fire was encountered. A vivid account of the dash across France to bomb Le Creusot works was given by a sergeant pilot. “As we all took the hedges it was like a Grand National, except that there were no falls. Some of the French waved and all the animals bolted as we roared over their heads,” he said. “We saw no fighters, but a duck came with a wallop through the windscreen. “All the way over there were other Lancasters on each side of us. We got to Le Creusot just after sunset. We could see the factory dead clear. A stick of bombs from another aircraft dropped in front of us, right across the works. Then we dropped our stick parallel to it. “The buildings just flopped apart. There was a red flash in the middle ofone building and it was not there any more. In a little while all we could see was clouds of smoke with red fires and bombs bursting inside.” v The Air Ministry states that in the course of offensive patrols over northern France on Sunday, Spitfires of the Fighter Command attacked railway engines and gun-posts. One enemy bomber was shot down off the French coast this morning. None of our aircraft are missing.