HEAVILY RAIDED

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 162, 8 June 1940, Page 7

HEAVILY RAIDED

NAZI ARMOURED UNITS. ABBEVILLE REGION. SOLID BOMBARDMENT. (United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) : (British Official Wireless.) Received June 8, 9.50 a.m. RUGBY, June 7. .Further details are now available of the R.A.F. bombing- yesterday of the enemy forces seeking to penetrate the Allied defences in the Abbeville region. Columns of armoured fighting vehicles with attendant supply lorries, reported by an earlier reconnaissance to be massing near Abbeville, were attacked. During tlie morning over a ton of high-explosive bombs of heavy calibre in addition to a large number of smaller bombs were dropped on this enemy concentration during a tenminute bombardment at low level. Two of our bombers were attacked by three Messerschmitt 109’s from line astern. Fighting back with their rear guns, the bombers spiralled down almost to ground level and in a running fight lasting 20 minutes one of the Messersch'mitts was caught by a burst of fire at close range and when last seen appeared to be badly damaged. In the afternoon roads and bridges were attacked by a strong force of medium bombers. Breaking up into sections, they approached their objective in shallow dives and, as a result of 45 minutes of almost incessant bombardment, direct hits were scored on the main road and railway bridges at the principal exits to Abbeville, while railway lines and crossroads in other parts of the town were either wrecked or temporarily blocked by the debris of demolished buildings. Important bridges over the ' Somme Estuary were the objectives of another sortie later in the day, and on one vital bridge three direct hits in succession were scored with heavy calibre bombs. Again the targets, which were attacked in a series at times, brought the; raiders within 1200 ft of the ground and under intense anti-aircraft fire from mobile gun batteries. SUSTAINED ATTACKS.

The Air Ministry announces: “Throughout yesterday, last rjight, and to-day sustained attacks have been made by R.A.F. medium and heavy bombers on the enemy’s lines of communication leading to the battlefield, and oil a wide variety of targets in the forward area immediately behind the fighting fronts. “Railheads, railway junctions, bridges, crossroads, troops, tank concentrations, and gun positions have been systematically and repeatedly bombed along the whole front. Five of our medium bombers have failed to return. Formations of our heavy bombers attacked last night oil refineries, marshalling yards, lines of communication, and aerodromes in Southern Belgium and North-West Germany. All these aircraft returned safely. “Aircraft of the Coastal Comriiand and army co-operfition wfits have-car-ried out continuous patrols and reconnaissances by sea and land. One of these aircraft were lost. Our fighters have again active and 15 enemy aircraft were destroyed. Four of our fighters are missing.”

DEFIANT GUNNER’S FEAT. A few days ago a British air gunner shot down a complete formation of five enemy aircraft in a few seconds from one of 12 British Defiant fighters which, as' previously announced, shot down 37 enemy machines during the same day. lliis air gunner’s victims were Junkers 87 dive-bombers. Another of the squadron’s air gunners had just before shot down three Junkers when his machine-gun jambed. The Junkers were shot down when the Defiants discovered them dive-bombing off a French port, where they had set three shoal vessels on fire. Defiant squadron pilots, whose average is 25, are'highly-trained and of long experience.