DOZENS OF FIRES

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

DOZENS OF FIRES

ATTACKS ON OSTEND TERRIFIC UPHEAVAL PILOTS’ EXPERIENCES Official Wlpplew) (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph- Copyright) RUGBY, Sept. 18. R.A.F. pilots who took part in the attack on the invasion ports on Tuesday night describe the flying conditions as perfect. There was bright moonlight with no cloud over the enemy’s coastline. The British pilots could clearly make out docks and railways along the quaysides. One British pilot said’ “We got hardly any opposition at all. There were a few searchlights, but nothing to worry about. It was just like bombing on practice raids I should say there were dozens of fires burning at Ostend When we got there it was as light as day. We ran inland, turned round, and ran up on the railway sidings. Our first stick of bombs started seven or eight fires. It looked as though we had hit an ammunition train, for explosions broke out —all sorts of colours, white, red and yellow—then as we turned to make a second run up there was a terrific upheaval. Stuff came up like a gigantic mushroom, thin at the bottom and spreading right out at the top. We were flying at 5000 ft and the force of the explosion threw us up about 50ft. In some parts of the dock area one could not see anything. It was just a mass of flames, obliterating the ground. Two of my crew live in South London and they had their homes destroyed. You can imagine they were feeling pretty happy about this show of ours.”

Town Practically Untouched After the second attack, when more fires were started, this aircraft circled round for another five or six minutes to have a look. “ One thing struck me particularly,” the pilot remarked. “ The town itself, barring a few houses on the edge of a railway yard, appeared to be untouched. At any rate there were no fires or any other indication that it had been bombed. The fires were all on the dockside.”

Another officer in the same squadron said: “ We had seen explosions from the enemy’s coastline about five minutes after leaving our own coast and they continued intermittently most of the way out. We went straight into Ostend from the sea, and as we were running up I could see fires and explosions still going , on. Having got rid of my first lot of bombs, I went out to sea again, then came back and did precisely the same thing all over again.”

At Ostend the outer and mnei harbours, the main docks, and the south side of the Basin Dechouage were all hit, and a grouo of about 3C barges bombed. Another wave of attackers hit the east end of the main docks, the Basin Dechasse, the timber wharves, the mole north of the lock gates, and the railway station.

A big barge concentration in the harbour of Terneuzen, southeast of Flushing, was spotted, and one of the raiders, haying' lurked in the clouds for nearly an hour while awaiting the right moment, hurtled down on them in dive attacks. His bombs fell right across the barges. There was a series of explosions and then spreading flames, and, as he climbed to 10,000 feet, a last tremendous explosion. Other shallow dive attacks resulted in hits along the sides of the entrance to t’’e channel and among the barges moored to the banks of the Ghent Canal. A crackle of minor explosions followed when barges crowded together at the canal junction near the locks were hit by other sticks of heavy bombs and incendiaries.

The Antwerp docks again took heavy punishment. Incendiaries started great fires on the quays, while shipping lying in the Scheldt and in the riverside dock were' repeatedly hit. Direct Hits on Ships Flying suddenly out of the clouds, bomber after bomber dropped its salvoes on the port and ships, and then disappeared again into the clouds, while guns thundered below. One bomber scored six direct hits on ships moored at the town quay.