POLES CHEERED

Taranaki Daily News, 17 September 1940, Page 7

POLES CHEERED

British Official Wireless.

CHANCE TO SMITE NAZIS

Rugby, Sept. 15. The commander-in-chief of' the bomber command, Air-Marshal Sir C. F. S. Portal, to-day sent the following message to the officer commanding the bomber station where the Polish squadrons are based which took part in last night's raid on Boulogne: "Hearty congratulations to your Polish crews on the successful completion of their first opeiat.ion last night." Last night's successful attack on Boulogne was the first raid against the enemy to be carried out by Polish bomber crews operating from Britain. The two squadrons from which the crews were drawn were formed only three weeks ago. The pilots who took part in last night's raid are between 26 and 28 years of age and, like members of their crews, have all had previous fighting experience in the Polish air force. Describing their raid on Boulogne the observer in one of the Polisii bombers said: "The searchlight and anti-aircraft opposition was every bit as bad as we had been led to expect, but these aircraft of vours are good and we were able to evade most of it. We saw our bombs striking the harbour works and bursting on the basins, and we came home very much happier than we had been for a long time."