FUTILE NAZI RAIDS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 115, 13 April 1940, Page 7

FUTILE NAZI RAIDS.

SCAPA FLOW INTACT. DEADLY FIRE OF DEFENCES. LONDON, April 11. I Stating that the Home been resting or operating from Seapa | Flow since about six weeks ago, the I First Lord of the Admiralty (Mr j Churchill) spoke of air raids and anti- • aircraft defences. He revealed that , there had been live raids, in the first of which a cruiser was bit. necessitating several weeks for repair. He continued: “There was an air raid this morning, and up to the time of speaking there lias been no vessel hit or damaged in Scapa Flow and no object of the slightest military importance has been hit on shore. _ j “The enemy has shown himself in- ; creasingly gun-shy in attacks on Scapa Flow. This is hardly to be wondered 1 at, since the batteries, especially when reinforced by the powerful bat- y teries of the fleet, can deliver what . is probably the heaviest concentration ol : anti-aircraft fire in the world. .

“It is tremendous fire, and in the latest raid which took place last evening at dusk 60 aircraft attacked in successive waves without doing the slightest damage, though they themselves suffered Die loss of no fewer than six aircraft. “Credit for this is divided between the batteries and the very excellently combined and skilfully used air squadrons. The practice for the batteries against high-speed aircraft is better than any towed target we can possibly supply.” -Mr Churchill, referring to the strength of the Allied navies, said: “We have enough, ships to maintain control of the Mediterranean at the same time as we carry on all our operations in the North Sea.” _ Speaking after Mr Churchill. Mr A. V. Alexander (Labour) said he thought the Allies were entitled to say to neutrals that they must make up their minds whether to accept Nazi domination or march with the Allies (states the British Official Wireless). If they marched with the Allies they would bo certain of retaining independence and freedom.

The Liberal Leader (Sir Archibald Sinclair) said it was plain that lawabiding people all over the world were ■as one in condemning the brutal aggression of the Nazis. All did well, he continued, to rejoice at the treatment the German cruisers received at the hands of the British Navv and the R.A.E.