AMAZING BARRAGE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 245, 13 September 1940, Page 7

AMAZING BARRAGE

WEDNESDAY’S RAIDS

SHOWER OF SHRAPNEL.

LONDON, Sept. 12. • Bombs were rained on a section of London during the second raid yesterday. Apparently when our fighters headed the bombers from the centre of London they unloosed their loads indiscriminately. The battle raged from tlie coast to the Thames Estuary and back again. Darkness enabled fresh forces of invaders to penetrate the London area, which soon reverberated with gunfire and exploding bombs. The Germans opened the attack about 3 p.m., and within a few minutes two formations totalling '2/5 bombers and fighters crossed the coast. The bulk of the raiders immediately headed for London, apparently making for the docks, but only a small portion got through. The rest were scattered and fled back across the Channel after jettisoning their bombs, most of which fell in the Surrey and Sussex woods.

WALL OF STEEL. Seven raiders at one time were ringed by exploding shells. The noise shook London, but it was almost the cheerful noise of a great city lighting back. Millions of tired but greatly cheered Londoners listened for hours to the most amazing anti-aircraft barrage. Sleep was impossible in all but the deep shelters. . , Shrapnel was incessantly raining on the streets iand buildings almost throughout London. Nobody now doubts that the Hun met more than he bargained for in his fifth night of murdering. Never had such a wall of steel been Hung up in history. The Germans appeared to be finding it most uifficult to penetrate the barrage. In the early morning they seemed to be using single fast machines which went over at .10-minute intervals in an effort to reach Central London, but all raced back when they met the withering fire. The raiders became more active as the night wore on and bombs seemed to bo as numerous as the guns. The Polish squadron was again m the forefront of the AVednesday afternoon attack, in which 73 raiders were shot down, of which 43 were bombers, the .Poles destroying seven bombers and seven fighters. (The above message was delayed n hours in transmission.)

LESS EFFECTIVE THRUSTS.

It is officially stated that severe losses were inflicted on the enemy in Wednesday’s air battles. The attacks which followed at night were less effective than any of those since Saturday. The London area has been the object of the majority of these attars and the enemy has customarily cropped many bombs at random over wide-ly-separated districts in the capital. The main force of his offensive on Wednesday was directed against fcoilth London and its suburbs. Formations or enemy bombers approached the London area shortly after dark and waves of further planes followed all night long. Our anti-aircraft batteries constantly put up a heavy barrage, preventing manv enemy bombers reaching their objectives. High-explosive and incendiary bombs started fires and hit manv buildings including two hospitals and some small factories. A marked feature of the raid was the number of incendiaries which 4R P. wardens extinguished before doing harm. The number of persons killed and injured was !ess than on any of the previous four nights. Outside the London area enemy activity, although widespread, was relatively in effective. ,