PALACE AGAIN ATTACKED

Southland Times, Issue 24233, 17 September 1940, Page 5

PALACE AGAIN ATTACKED

QUEEN’S APARTMENT • DAMAGED (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright) LONDON, September 15. Buckingham Palace was again attacked with bombs during the noon raid. There were no casualties. It is officially stated that the Queen’s apartments were damaged by a bomb which failed to explode. The King and Queen were not present when the palace was attacked. The raider which bombed the palace was shot to pieces by Vickers Spitfires a few seconds later. At least 50 planes were engaged in a dog-fight over the Channel and London area during the second warning this afternoon. Watchers on the roofs saw the opposing planes curveting thousands of feet up and fragments of two raiders, evidently blown to pieces by anti-aircraft fire, falling from a great height. Screaming bombs fell in a south-west London area, where the raiders encountered violent anti-air-craft fire. Terrific bursts of anti-aircraft fire heralded the German noon raid. Fortyeight bombers and 24 Messerschmitts roared out of thick clouds, flying over the Thames Estuary towards London. British fighters came from all directions. Thrilling dog-fights followed. Two bombers were seen hurtling to their doom. The battle progressed in a south-westerly direction and then the raiders made for home. The bombing, which lasted for some minutes, appeared to be frenzied. Whistling bombs and. high explosive bombs seemed to fall in one of the most exclusive residential areas.

MACHINE-GUNS AUDIBLE London’s third warning followed the appearance of strong formations of German planes flying to London from the direction of the Thames Estuary. Observers in a south-east district said that this was the strongest force of raiders they had so far seen. British fighters again engaged the Germans, many of whom were heard over the London area where machine-guns were clearly audible. During the mid-morning air raid on the London area many people saw a German bomber shot down over the middle of the city. When the raid warning had been on for about half an hour, suddenly the sound of violent machine-gun fire could be heard and high up in patches of clear blue sky between the clouds the silver flash of aircraft could be seen. A fierce engagement right over the heart of London was clearly proceeding. Watchers saw a Spitfire dive on to one of a flight of some 20 enemy bombers and almost at once a trail of black smoke was observed from the bomber’s tail. One of the crew jumped by parachute and immediately after the bomber went into a steep dive, burst into flames and crashed in the fore-court at Victoria Station. It is reported that after striking: the ground nothing but a smouldering mass of wreckage was left of it. Further reports state that a little later when more machine-gun fire was heard another big German machine was seen diving at a steep angle towards the ground over the London area. The third air raid warning since midI night was sounded at 2.13 p.m. and the warning lasted just over an hour, but the raiders failed to penetrate the central London area.

| BOMBS JETTISONED Some of the 400 German planes participating in the attempts to reach London this afternoon jettisoned their bimbs as they were fleeing back and did some damage in south-east England. A high-explosive bomb demolished a row of houses in a London district, but there was not a single casualty, the occupants being underground. [Planes shot down over,London fell alongside Victoria Station and also Kensington and Streatham. ' ! A Spitfire made such a mess of another raider over St. James Park that the fragments provided souvenirs for hundreds of people. s One German who parachuted to a Suburb began shouting “Kamerad” before he reached the ground. A crowd of civilians waiting to receive him, tore his parachute to pieces for souvenirs.