HEAVY BOMBS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 260, 1 October 1940, Page 7

HEAVY BOMBS

ON ENEMY TARGETS.

TERRIFIC HAVO6

(United Press Association—Copyright.)

(British Official Wireless.) (Rec. 12 noon) RUGBY, Sept. 30. The R.A.F.’s night bombardment of potential, invasion bases along the Belgian, Dutch, and French coasts included a third attack on the naval base at Lorient, on the coast of Brittany, where heavy damage was caused in the largescale raids last week. Last night bad visibility hampered the attack, but hoavy-calibre bombs were seen to straddle the target. At Calais hits were scored on many parts of the docks and the dock area in the face of intense opposition from the harbour gun batteries. Other bomber forces raided the docks at Ostend, where bombs tell across the outer harbour and on the new tidal harbour, and the docks at Boulogne, where hits were registered in several of the main shipping basins. Bombs were also dropped on the docks at Flushing early on Sunday morning. In the attack on the long-range gun positions at Cape Gris Nez salvoes of high-explosive bombs were seen to explode close to fhe gun emplacements. RAILWAYS SUFFER, Last night’s attacks .on the rail communication centres in Germany were spread over a wide area. Ine railways at Ehrang, Mannheim, Soest, and ivobienz were bombed, and fires were started in the goods junctions at Cologne, Usnabruck, and Hamm, where sticks of heavy-calibre bombs fell along one side of the goodsyard, causing twu separate fires which quickly merged into one big blaze. The oil plant at Hanover was attacked shortly before. 11 p.m, and a large tiro in the target area was still burning twenty minutes after tlie last aircraft left tlie outskirts of the city. Explosions which continued for some time marked the attack on a lactory near Hanover. At Ivainen, near Dortmund, another factory was bombed and set on fire.

Raiders operating in Holland attacked the great Fokker aircraft factory near Amsterdam. The factory—now commandeered by the German invaders—is situated in the dock area. It was heavily bombed, and fires and explosions were seen to break out among the factory buildings and the docks lying to the south. The aerodromes at Gifhorn, Dessau, Evere, Aschersleben, and Schipol were also subjected to night attacks by heavy bombers. At Schipol, the main airport of Amsterdam, sticks of bombs burst across the illuminated flare path, and at Aschersleben low-lying clouds were lit up by the glow of a great fire started on the aerodrome. It is officially announced that two Blenheims of the Coastal Command to-day engaged and shot down two enemy aircraft over the North Sea. CONSTANT HAMMERING. R.A.F.’s TIRELESS ASSAULTS. LONDON, Sept. 29. Official figures issued in London this afternoon show the immense scale of the attacks made by the Royal Air Force on German invasion ports and fleets in the last three months. From July 1 to the night of September 27-28 the R.A.F. made 216 raids on ports in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. German ports have been raided 77 times, French ports 76 times, Belgian ports 37 times, and Dutch ports 26 times. In these raids the targets included ships, naval vessels, docks, and so on.

The figures also show the ports which received the greatest hammering. Wilhelmshaven has been attacked 16 times in the three months, Hamburg 15 times, Bremen 14 times, Linden 12 times, Kiel 11 times, Flushing 14 times, Boulogne 24 times, Ostend 22 times, Calais 20 times, and Dunkirk 14 times.

- In addition, the B.A.F. has' bombed barges in various ports on 56 different occasions.

This list is not absolutely complete. The figures also do not include the latest raids on Germany and on the Channel ports last night.