R.A.F. ATTACK ON NAZIS

Southland Times, Issue 24236, 20 September 1940, Page 5

R.A.F. ATTACK ON NAZIS

CHANNEL PORTS BOMBED DIRECT HITS SCORED ON BARGES GERMAN RAILWAY YARDS SUFFER (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, September 18. Medium bombers of the Royal Air Force were Zeebrugge and Ostend yesterday afternoon, states an Air Ministry bulletin. Direct hits were made on harbour installations at Ostend and at Zeebrugge ships were bombed. One aircraft attacked four barges off the coast, securing direct hits on two of them. It is claimed that 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 the British aircraft, but both made off after an exchange of fire. Steady and increasing pressure on the German held Channel ports is being exerted by the Bomber Command of the Royal Air Force, which last night sent one of the largest forces of British bombers so far used in the war to continue the relentless “forestalling offensive” which for nearly a fortnight now has been going on against the German invasion plan. TERRIFIC ONSLAUGHT While the potential invasion spearheads—the French, Belgian and Dutch Channel coasts and the barges, docks, harbours and gun emplacements there —were receiving yet another terrific onslaught other forces of Royal Air Force bombers flew north-east to pound the right wing of the enemy’s line in Hamburg and to add further to destruction in those strategic railway yards and junctions on Germany’s western frontier which have already taken so much punishment. At Calais a fire about a quarter of a mile long was left raging on the west side of the Carnot Basin and a medley of lesser fires broke out near the southwest corner of another basin and down the railway lines in the east of the Carnot Basin.

A later salvo on the east side of the basin caused an immediate explosion followed by about 60 others. A tidal lock was straddled and heavily hit and a line of bombs left a track of flames between the canal and the south-east corner of the Carnot Basin. 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 Floringzelles, Harinzelles and Franzelles near Cap Gris Nez were definitely identified by the raiders in the brilliant moonlight and were heavily attacked. Many of the pilots saw the 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. A particularly successful attack was made through broken clouds. The 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 showed 20 miles out at sea about three o’clock this morning. ZEEBRUGGE ATTACKED 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. At Ostend the outer and inner harbours, the main docks and the south side of the Basin Dechouage were all hit and a group of about 30 barges was bombed. Another wave of attackers hit the east end of the main docks of the Basin Dechasse, timber wharfs, the mole, the north lock gates and a railway station. A big barge concentration in the harbour of Terneuzen south-east of Flushing was spotted and one of the raiders, having lurked in the clouds for nearly an hour 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. Another shallow dive attack resulted in hits along the sides of the entrance 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 incendiary bombs. ANTWERP DOCKS PUNISHED Antwerp docks again took heavy punishment Incendiary bombs started great fires on the quays while shipping lying in the Scheldt and in a riverside dock were repeatedly hit. Flying suddenly out of the clouds bomber after bomber dropped its sal-

voes on part of the ships at Flushing and then disappeared again - into the clouds while guns thundered below. One bomber scored six direct hits on ships moored at the town quay. Over Flushing a bomb aimer dropped a stick of high explosives but could not see the bursts. But he remarked significantly that, after the attack a 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 and then made dive attacks, straddling the ships and the 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 today. # x Other objectives of the night’s operations included the 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 one of the two large ships sunk by a Royal Air Force bomber in Cherbourg harbour last night, when a number of ships were attacked, was a destroyer. The other 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 burning buildings and vessels. SUBMARINE NARWHAL LOST (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, September 18. An Admiralty communique states that the submarine Narwhal is overdue and must be considered lost. The Narwhal, which belonged to the

Porpoise class, was completed oh October 29, 1935. Her displacement was about 2000 tons. She carried one 4-inch gun and two machine-guns and was equipped with six 21-inch torpedo tubes. Her speed on the surface was 15.75 knots and submerged it was 8.75 knots. Her cost was £348,365.