HAVOC CREATED

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 158, 4 June 1940, Page 7

HAVOC CREATED

POINTS IN GERMANY. HEAVY BOMB ATTACKS. ROYAL AIR FORCE ACTIVE. (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright'. ) (British Official Wireless.) Received June 4, 11.35 artn. RUGBY, June 3. The Air Ministry announces: “In support of the Allied Annies, R.A.F. medium bombdrs made a series of attacks on enemy gun emplacements, roads, railways and troop concentrations in the Dunkirk area throughout yesterday. These operations were continued during the night by heavy bombers. At the same time, other formations of heavy bombers attacked enemy aerodromes and other military objectives ip NorthWest Germany. All our aircraft returned from these operations. “Our fighters continued to maintain offensive' patrols over the Dunkirk area. In the Narvik area on June 1 and 2 six enemy aircraft were shot down/” Marshalling yards were bombed, oil tank waggons set alight and troop convoys machine-gunned, by low-flying bombers in the course of Sunday night’s extensive raids over NorthWest Germany. At Soest, an important railway junction east of Dortmund a line of high explosive bombs fell across the centre of the crowded railway yard.* Moving trains were hit and brought to a standstill, and direct hits were registered on loaded goods waggons. In', another successful attack on a marshalling yard carried out shortly after midnight a ;group of oil tank waggons standing in the middle of the yard was first wrecked and then,, set alight by incendiary bombs. The fire kindled by the bombs spread rapidly, and clouds of smoke were seen rising from the yard some time after the raid. JUNCTIONS WRECKED. Road and rail junctions at 06nabruck were heavily attacked for the second night in succession. A direct hit was scored on the goods yard at Homburg, and at Hamm (south of Munster) one end of the bridge over the canal was reported to have been demolished And nearby railway tracks torn up by three heavy bomb explosions. Enemy air. bases at Rotterdam, Devener, and Wesel were also visited by night raiders. At the Rotterdam aerodrome at AVaal haven a group of buildings which had survived the earlier Allied bombardment was destroyed by a salvo of heavy calibre bombs. At ' AVesel in an aerodrome used by German bomber squadrons bombs seen to burst on a large* hangar resulted ill a violent explosion and a fierce outbreak of fire, as if from a petrol dump'' nearby. CONVOY DAMAGED. . Other sections of heavy bombers on their way hack from successful raids came low over enemy territory to carry-out macliine-gipi attacks against troop, concentrations' which 1 were located by parachute flares. A long convoy of armoured vehicles caught on the road -near Aachen in the early hours of Monday morning was first heavily bombed with high-explosive and incendiary bombs from a height of 2000 ft/ Then, i.n the light of a slowlydescending parachute flare, it was subjected to a machine-gun attack. fc>alvocs of bombs were seen to burst in the midst of the convoy, on the road ahead of it, and in .the adjoining woods. A series of heavy explosions continued to break out for some time after the attack as ammunition or petrol lorries in the wrecked convoy were ignited by the bomb . fires and blew up. ENEMI _ DISPELLED. HUDSON PILOTS’ SUCCESS. (British Official AA’ireless.) RUGBY, June 2. Three American-built Hudson bombers went into,'action on Saturday off Dunkirk against forty enemy aircraft about to attack transports bringing home men of the B.E.F. The Hudsons were on patrol w’>:n the flight leader -spotted what he called ■ a “patch of sky black with Jerries.” The enemy formation was in three banks—Junkers 87’s and 88’s ready to divo on transports ~ packed with troops, a string of Heinkel Ill’s above them, and high overhead a guard • of Messevsclimitt fighters. The Hudsons attacked at once and in a thirteen minutes’ action three Junkers S 7 dive-bombers were shot down, two dived away out of control, and the rest of the formation were driven off. The Hudsons escaped without even a bullet hole. The pilot of one of the Hudsons a South African whose brother .was shot down in France a few days ago, took on eight Junkers. He got two. One crashed into the smoking ruins of the .Dunkirk oil tanks and the other fell in pieces in the sea. The Heinkels tried to bomb the Hudsons, but without success. When the sky was clear again the Hudsons continued their patrols. Soon the flight leader sart two drifting lifeboats full of troops. AVhile one Hudson kept watch the others flew away and signalled two dugs, which were sent to the reseqe, but before they arrived the Hudson pilot left oil guard saw eig*lit Nazi bombers come out of a cloud and get into position to bomb the lifeboats. He climbed and flew straight at the enemy. and succeeded in driving them off. This flight of Hudsons alrefidy had five Dormers and one Messefschmitt to its credit. Tlie British Air Force, it..is now clear, ’ has shot down or seriously damaged fully 170 German ’planes in the last three days in the Dunkirk region alone. The Germans made a tremendous effort yesterday to cripple convoys bringing home men of the 8.E.F.. and huge formations of bombers, escorted by fighters, carried out a series of mass attacks, but >vere driven off by British ’planes, and most of their bombs fell into the water. German ’planes of all „ types were seen following their bombs into the sea. Many deep reconnaissances were made, and in extensive bombing operations .vesterdav in the region north of Abbeville 25 tons of explosives was dropped with marked success,, and two German convoys were destroyed, a railway cut, and an important level crossing and a road nrtde useless. On the way hack from this operation French bombers encountered German fighters and shot down one Mcsserschmitt 109.