HEAVY BLOWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24408, 20 September 1940, Page 5

HEAVY BLOWS

BRITISH BOMBERS ENEMY BASES POUNDED FRENCH COAST ABLAZE INVASION PLANS UPSET (British Official Wireless' (United Freys Association) (By Electric Telegraph--Copyright) LONDON, Sept. 19. (Received Sept. 19. at 10 p.m.) The R.A.F. last night again terrifically attacked the German invasion ports. The raid began soon after 9 p.m. and developed so furiously that many miles of the French coast seemed ablaze. Big fires broke out at Calais The Germans put up a strong barrage of searchlights all along the coast and swept the sky for many miles over the sea.

Steadily increasing pressure on the German-held Channel ports is being exerted by the Bomber Command of the R.A.F. which on Tuesday night sent one of „ the largest forces of British bombers so far used in the war to continue the relentless “ forestalling of the offensive ” which for nearly a fortnight has now been going on against the German invasion plan. While the potential invasion spearhead —the French, Belgian, and Dutch Channel coasts, barges, docks, harbours and gun emplacements—were receiving vet another terrific onslaught, other forces of R.A.F. bombers flew north-east to pound the right wing of the enemy’s line in Hamburg and to add further to the destruction in those strategic railway yards and junctions on Germany’s western frontier which have already taken so much .punishment. Huge Fire at Calais At Calais a fire about a quarter of a mile long was left raging on the west side of the Basin Carnot, and a medley of lesser fires broke out near the south-west corner of another basin and down the railway lines on the east of the Basin Carnot. Later, a salvo of bombs on the east side of the basin caused an immediate explosion, followed by about 60 others. The tidal lock was straddled and heavily hit, and a line of bombs left the track in flames between the canal and the south-east corner of the Basin Carnot. About 10 o’clock there was a heavy explosion on the dockside, and bombs were seen bursting about the lock gates. The sides of the Basin de Louest were also hit.

Big gun emplacements in the region of Fworingzelles, Harinzelles, and Franzelles, near Gap Gris Nez, were definitely identified by raiders in the brilliant moonlight and heavily attacked. Many of the pilots saw their bombs exploding well within the target,area. Large numbers of fires were also started at Dunkirk, at least six docks being hit.

Boulogne had another tremendous attack, and one sortie just after midnight was particularly successful. Attacking through the broken clouds, our aircraft released a quantity of bombs which fell on barges and other ships in the harbour. Flames blazing up from the burning barges and a warehouse were showing 20 miles out to sea about 3 o’clock this morning. Fierce Attack on Zeebrugge Zeebrugge was fiercely attacked. Sticks of high explosives fell on the dock basin and across the harbour entrance, along the entrance to the channel, over the inner harbour, on the north basin, across the famous mole, and on a group of five cargo boats.

Over Flushing the bomb aimer, who dropped a stick of high explosives, could not see the bursts, but remarked significantly that after the attack the barge concentration was seen to have opened up and altered its shape. Here, too, the pilots waited in the clouds for some time until the right moment arrived; then they made dive attacks, straddling ships and docks with bombs. One pilot bombed a string of four ships off the coast as well as barges in the outer harbour. Fires were seen in the docks at Hamburg after they had been bombed early to-day. Railway Yards As Targets Other objectives in the night’s operations included railway yards at Krefeld, Hamm, Osnabruck, Soest, and Brussels. Yards at Stockum, north-east of Cologne, were also attacked, as were aerodromes at Midlum and Wesermunde. It is thought that one of two large ships was sunk by a Royal Air Force bomber in Cherbourg Harbour last night, when a number of ships were attacked Another ship known to have been sunk is estimated at 5000 tons. Much other damage was caused in the raid. When it ended there was a ring of flames round the harbour from the burning buildings and vessels. R.A.F. bombers had carried out daylight attacks on Ostend, on shipping at Zeebrugge, on a convoy and barges off the Dutch coast, and the aerodrome at Ijmuiden. From all these operations two bombers have not reported at the base.

Medium bombers of the R.A.F. were again over Zeebrugge and Ostend yesterday afternoon, states an Air Ministry bulletin. Direct hits were made on the harbour installations at Ostend and at Zeebrugge, and shies were bombed. One aircraft attacked four barges off the coast, and direct hits on two of them were claimed. Another . raider bombed a convoy which was sighted off The Hague. A new aerodrome at Ijmuiden was also attacked. At Zeebrugge. where a concentration of barges was bombed, two Messerschmitt 109’s engaged our aircraft, but both made off after an exchange of fire.