LONDON BOMBING

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 243, 11 September 1940, Page 7

LONDON BOMBING

ST. PAUL’S IN DANGER

CASUALTIES AND DAMAGE

LONDON,- Sept. 10.

It is officially stated that following the heavy losses inflicted by our fighters and the repulse of his attacks on Monday evening, the enemy has now thrown off all pretence of confining himself to military targets. Report.-, received to-night show that bombs were scattered at random over London without distinction of objectives. They have fallen in the city and caused fires in the immediate vicinity of St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Guildhall ; on a large maternity hospital which was twice attacked, a number of casualties being caused; also on a poor law .institution for the aged; on a London County Council housing estate and a . large number of workmen’s cottages, especially in the East End of London, which was heavily and repeatedly attacked. Bombs were also Scattered in the residential districts of West and North London. • There was little enemy activity over the rest of Britain at night, and no casualties are reported. The casualties known to have been caused by the attacks on Sunday night are 286 dead and approximately 1400 seriously injured. jit is now confirmed that 52 enemy planes were destroyed, 49 by fighters and three by anti-aircraft fire. Three of our pilots previously reported missing are now known to be safe. Thirty bombers escorted by waves of fighters crossed the South-East coast shortly after 5 p.m. on Monday and headed for London. Anti-aircraft guns put up a fierce barrage, as a result of which the bomber formation broke and turned seawards, rapidly losing height. Several raiders approached over a south-west suburb pursued by Spitfires. Raiders dropped several bombs, one of which completely demolished a store. Anti-aircraft guns hit a big bomber, which spiralled to the ground. A bomb hit a children’s hospital and six nurses were killed. Another hit a mateynity hospital. A high-explosive bomb in a SouthEast London district made a huge crater in the roadway, hurling into the air one of several stationary tramcars. The all-clear signal was given after nine hours and six minutes. In the raid on London between o and 6 p.m. a Polish sergeant-pilot shot down a Heinkel and a Messerschmitt single-handed, while one English Spitfire squadron destroyed six Messerscfimitts and probably a Hemkel. Preliminary reports show that some raiders penetrated north of the river, where only minor dqpiage was caused Scattered bombs were dropped in South London, many of them in the outskirts, but again no serious damage resulted. • An agency report says> that a *ivio Jotov bread-basket,” a large canister containing small incendiary bombs, was dropped in one London district on Sunday. An eye-witness states that there was a “swishing” noise followed by an ear-splittiug explosion as the “basket” exploded several thousand feet up. Then scores of small explosions followed all round. ' A correspondent describing the first raid on London on Sunday said bombs seemed to be raining down all over the place and smoke was rising from tlieir targets. . The Germans adopted dive-bombing tactics. British fighters “waded in” and machine-gunned the raiders. A store in South West London received a direct hit, and air raid precautions workers were on the scene and searching in the debris while the German - planes were still overhead. Nearly every window in the neighbourhood appeared to have been smashed.