MOUNTING TOTAL

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 253, 23 September 1940, Page 7

MOUNTING TOTAL

ENEMY AIR LOSSES

DOVER AGAIN SHELLED

(Rcc. 11.0 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 22. The Germans, in the week ended midnight, September 20, lost 280 planes and Britain lost 69, including twelve bombers oyer Germany and the occupied areas. Italy lost eleven. The respective losses during the war arc now:—

The German long-range guns twice shelled Dover this morning. A Berlin communique states: “The revenge raids on Britain continued with London again the chief objective. Many military objectives were bombed and big fires started in the vicinity of the Royal Albert Docks and West India Docks. We bombed various aerodromes, military camps, and harbours on the east and south coasts. The enemy again failed to penetrate German territory, except for a few bombs dropped on the French and Belgian coasts. A U-boat sank British merchantmen totalling 61.300 tons and other U-boats, sank eight more totalling 35,000 tons.”

CARE OF HOMELESS.

BRITAIN’S GREAT TASK

GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES,

(British Official Wireless.) (Rec. 11.30 a.m.) RUGBY, Sept. 22. In a broadcast, the Minister of Health (Mr Malcolm MacDonald) described the Government’s plans for sheltering citizens who had lost their homes through the senseless, brutal German air attacks. “The care of those made homeless amidst the bombardment of the air raids is now the major activity of the Government,” the Minister said. “Many agencies are 'helping in the work. Local authorities have an important part to play, and countless citizens are giving assistance in one way or another, but the main responsibility for seeing that those who have been ejected from their homes are quickly provided with another roof, and with food, clothing and other necessities, rests fairly and squarely upon the Government itself. “Generally speaking, our plans had worked reasonably well through all the widely scattered raids on Britain until the violent bombings of London a fortnight ago. Then in the first day or two that experience .revealed some faults in our plans. One important thing in war is to preserve an alert eye and mind, detect mistakes as soon as they become apparent, correct them swiftly, and turn them to advantage. So in the past two weeks we have greatly improved onr arrangements for looking after the homeless.” SHAKING THE WORK.

Mr MacDonald continued: “Some boroughs have received a heavier weight of attack than others, and have at times found their centres temporarily crammed to capacity. Aid has then, come from other boroughs. There arc omnibuses to take people from centres in the more hardly .pressed boroughs to centres in those which have been less severely hit. In' all these movements borough boundaries have been swept aside. The different areas helping each other in the London defence region, which is oven wider than that of the London County Council, are being treated as a whole. For people who cannot find a new dwelling for themselves the official billeting officer must find billets.

GERMAN CLAIMS.

BERLIN, Sept. 21. The High Command states: ‘‘We yesterday continued to bomb Britain and severely damaged several important military installations. A number of hits were scored on the Royal Albert Dock. “A single British plane destroyed several, dwellings in Western Germany, killed 13 civilians and injured a great number. The enemy yesterday lost 14 planes. One of ours is missing. Three U-boats sank 14 steamers, totalling 80,000 tons. Despite difficult weather on September 19, we bombed London, south-eastern aerodromes and ports. At night we continued the reprisals against London and military targets in Western and Central England. A few British planes bombed residential districts and, towns in Western and South-Western Germany. One British plane was shot down. Three German planes are missing.”

LEGLESS AIRMAN

(British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, Sept. 21. Among the names appearing in the list of awards to R.A.F. officers is that of Squadron-Leader Bader, who received the D.S.O. This gallant officer lost both legs in an aeroplane crash before the war started, but such was his enthusiasm to continue flying that on the outbreak of war be persuaded the medical board to allow him to undergo a test at a central flying school. This test lie passed with distinction, and, shortly,, afterward, was flying Spitfires. He has recently been posted to the Canadian Hurricane squadron which lie now leads. . Under Squadron-Leader Bader s. command this squadron recently gave successful battle to a formation of more than 70 German planes, bringing down 14 of them, without eo much as a bullet bole in any of the Hurricanes.

German 4385 British 1313 Italian 197