ALL RECORDS GO

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 157, 3 June 1940, Page 7

ALL RECORDS GO

AIR FORCE SUCCESSES. NAZI AIR LOSSES. NEARLY 100 IN DAY. (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) Received June 3, 9.40 a.m. LONDON, June 2. An Air Ministry announcement states: “So far to-day tlie R.A.E. lias destroyed 35 enemy ’planes, and probably a fuTther six over the Dunkirk area. Eight of our fighters are missing.” An. ■ earlier Air Ministry announcement stated: “The R.A.F., between dawn and 7 p.m. yesterday, destroyed or seriously damaged 78 German ’planes over Dunkirk This is an R.A.F. record. One British squadron shot down eight ’planes during the day. Sixteen of our ’planes have not returned.” The Paris radio said the R.A.F. lfad broken all records in the past twenty-four hours# bringing down nearly a hundred ’planes. The French Air Force had continued its attacks, dropping very heavy bombs around Nieuport and Os tend, and bombing enemy communications, railway lines, and troop concentrations in the Dunkirk sector. The Air Ministry announced this ecvening: “Yesterday medium bombers of the K.A.F. continued their operations in support of the rearguard action of the Allied Armies' in Flanders. Kepeated attacks were made on the enemy’s lines off communications, roads and bridges, also ammunition dumps and troops. During the night those operations were continued by heavy bombers of the R.A.F. “Other formations of heavy bombers attacked military objectives in Germany ; the marshalling yards at Hamm and Osnabruck were hit. At Rheine a column of motor transport was blown up. A bridge in the same town was severely damaged. All these operations were carried out wirnout loss. BOMBERS SHOT DOWN.

“Three Hudson aircraft of the Coastal Command, while engaged in operations over Dunkirk yesterday afternoon, attacked a formation of 40 enemy bombers. Three were shot down, two dived away out of control, and two others were damaged. The Hudsons were unharmed and continued their patrol. “At dusk other Hudson aircraft carried out a successful attack on Bergen. The wireless station was attacked and an oil tank set on fire. Supply vessels in the harbour were bombed and machine-gunned. “Another aircraft of the Coastal Command attacked a formation of four Heinkel bombers and shot down one. Two Coastal Command aircraft have failed to return from their “Qur fighters attacked three enemy dive-bombers on the ground at Ostend and set them on fire. French fighters operating with the R-A.F. have shot down nine enemy aircraft and probably destroyed two others. “To-day (Sunday) over the Dunkirk area “aircraft of the Fighter Command evening: “Yesterday medium bombers rols.” INDEFATIGABLE PILOTS. The R.A.F. fighter pilots set a new day’s record in shooting down or damaging 80 German bombers and fighters between dawn and 7 p.m. on urday. Sixteen British aircraft are missing as a result of these operations over the Dunkirk beaches. Squadron after squadron of Hurricanes and Spitfires flew high above the French fens all day guarding the, convoy which ‘were bringing the B.E.F. rearguard home. Huge formations of German bombers, escorted by fighters, came out and attempted to sink the ships.-They did not lack targets for the sea was thick with craft of' ah kinds, but when they attempted to bomb, the British fighters attacked and drove them off. Most of the bombs fell into the sea. Many Junkers, Heinkels, Dormers and Messerschmitts soon crashed into the sea Thirty-two fighters were actually destroyed. One Hurricane pilot, disabled in a combat with a Messerschmitt, had to land on a beach. Carrying his parachute, he walked 15 miles to Dunkirk, got a-lift homo to Folkestone in a paddle steamer, rejoined his squadron and was out on patrol again to-day. The best bag on Saturday went to a Spitfire squadron which destroyed 12 German bombers and fighters in one short action. Later in the day this squadron went up again and shot down another six. It was a bad day for Messersclimitts. Two British fighter squadrons alone accounted for 23 of them. FRENCH . TOWN'S RAIDED. CIVILIANS KILLED AND HURT. \ PARIS, June 2. Three waves of German ’planes bombed several towns in South-West-ern France. There were thirty victims at Lyons. An earlier message stated that several were killed and injured and buildings were set on fire in a German air raid in the Lyons region. Czech airmen have brought down 41 German ’planes .in the last few days. German ’planes, flying from the sea, dropped four bombs on Marseilles harbour before being chased away by French fighters. Fifteen civilians are reported to have been injured . and several are reported killed or injured aboard a British vessel loading cotton, which caught fire in the harbour. A Berne message says that a Swiss ’plane shot down a German bomber flying over 26 miles from Berne. Four members of the crew were killed. Later a Swiss patrol shot down a second German ’plane, which fell in flames on' French territory. BRITISH ENVOY. MISSING IN BELGIUM. LONDON, June 2. The British Ambassador to Belgium, Sir Lancelot Olipliant, is missing. He left Bruges with the British military attache a few days before Leopold’s capitulation. It was then stated that lie would remain with the Belgian Government.

Sir Lancelot Oliphant, until bis appointment to Brussels, had been Deputy. Undersecretary for Fdreign Affairs. Born in 1881, he entered the Foreign Office in 1903 and has eeen service, in a diplomatic capacity at Constantinople (now Istanbul) and Teheran (Iran). In 1923 he'was appointed Counsellor at the Foreign Office.