HEAVIER BLOWS

Taranaki Daily News, 27 September 1940, Page 7

HEAVIER BLOWS

By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.

ATTACKS INTENSIFIED BRITISH STRIKING HARD

Received 12.30 p.m. London, September 26. 'JHE Royal Air Force is intensifying its raids on Berlhi, and each night the attack grows longer. Last night the Geiman capital had an alarm which lasted for five hours, and the all clear was not given until 4 a.m. Strong forces of Royal Air Force bombers again attacked military objectives in Berlin, the Kiel naval base, and invasion bases along the enemy-occupied coast from Dunkirk to Boulopie last night, it was announced by the Air Ministry this morning. From 10 p.m. till nearly 4 a.m. heavy bombers made a series of attacks on important military objectives in and around Berlin. Four separate attacks were made during an hours bombaidment of a power station in the heart of an industrial section to the east of the city. Sticks of heavy calibre bombs were seen to burst on the objective. The West power station, which was severely damaged in an earlier raid, was again attacked, and bombs caused large fires to break out. Salvoes of bombs were also dropped on a raihvay yards south-west of the city's centre and on a junction near Charlottenberg. Other raiders attacked Berlin's main airport, the Tempelhof aerodrome, and a line of bombs was seen to fall across the target. One raider hung over an industrial district for 20 minutes while waiting to find his target. Five flares later established a clear view of a munitions plant at Rugersdorf, some miles from the centre of the city, and fires were caused by bombs.

Reports from Berlin indicated that industrial suburbs in the north of the city were the raiders' main objective. Antiaircraft guns, however, went into action in the centre of the city twice. The raiders were over the city earlier than usual and caught many Berliners away from home. They were forced to scurry to strange shelters, into one of which 1500 persons were crowded, including a number of Dutchmen who had just reached Berlin. Many citizens spent a most uncomfortable night. German officials claimed several houses were damaged in the northern suburbs and that eight blocks of flats were hit. They made the usual claims that no damage was done to military objectives, but the Berlin correspondent of the Swiss newspaper Basler Machrichten says Nazi officials have been suppressing all details of damage done by British raiders since Tuesday night's raid. The German people are not deceived by the official communiques put out by Nazi headquarters, says a correspondent on the German frontier. The people near the north-west frontier of Germany are very bitter about the official accounts. They see the smashing blows struck by the Royal Air Force at industrial objectives and then have to listen to the German radio saying insignificent damage has been done to farm houses and cottages. Heart of Berlin Attacked. A number of military objectives in the heart of Berlin were .singled out and attacked the previous night when Royal Air Force heavy bombers, for the second night in succession, carried the war into the German capital in a raid lasting two and a-half hours. "The raid began shortly after 10.30 p.m.," said an Air Ministry bulletin, "when the first attacker, eveding an intense barrage from the city's ground defences, located and bombed the great Siemens and Halse factories, which produce a large proportion of the ^lectrical equipment used by the German armed forces. Great fires were seen to break out in the target area after the bombing. "Berlin's electric power transformer and switching station at Friederichsuelde, supplying most of the city's industrial current, was attacked at 1 a.m. to-day. Sticks of high explosive bombs were seen to burst across the plant. A blast furnace in the south-east suburbs was struck, causing large fires. Two sticks of bombs were dropped across a canal bridge, two miles south-west of Berlin's main airport of Tempelhof." Systematic Attacks. In extensive operdtions against the enemy which included as well as the contiixuation of systematic attacks of recent nights on enemy invasion ports, only two aircraft employed were lost. Finkenheers electric power station near Frankfurt-on-Oder, more than 300 miles from Germany's western frontier, was located half an hour before midnight and was twice attacked with sticks of high explosive bombs, which were seen to burst in and around the target. The main railway line near Magdeburg and the rail depot and distributing centre at Hamm were also attacked and a number of explosions on the main siding and sheds at Hamm were followed by a line of fires. Goods yards at Brussels were also attacked, the Hanover aerodrome was bombed from a high level and at The Hague to the north of Emden, where night flying by the enemy was in progress, a British raider came down to 2000 feet to drop his bombs on the hangar and runway. A flare revealed the wreckage of the hangar destroyed in the previous attack. Nightly Hammering. While long distance raids on Germany were in progress other strong forces of bombers in operation at short range kept up their nightly hammering of the enemy invasion ports from Hamburg to Le Havre, Fires were started at Hamburg docks. Bombs straddled the shipping bases at Cherbourg and at the Dutch port of Delfzi.il. At Ostend repeated hits were scored on the basins and on the harbour jetties. ' The Calais docks, the target for one of the night's heaviest bombardments, were subjected to a series of attacks lasting nearly seven hours. Barges lying alongside the quays were hit and fires and ( explosions were seen in many parts of the harbour. Before four o'clock on Wednesdav morning more than 30 fires were counted burning within the docks. At Le Havre raids began at 10 p.m. and continued at intervals until 5 o'clock on Wednesday. The lock gates were hit. warehouses were set alight and many other fires were started. A violent exploslon marked a direct hit on what appeared to be a harbour power station. Strong Opposition. Strong opposition from the ground defences was encountered at Boulogne. Direct hits were claimed here on the wall of one dock and on jetties between the basins and in many parts of the outer harbour. A particularly big explosion followed by a fire was seen to oceur in number seven dock. German long-range gun posltions at Cap Gris-Nez were also attacked shortly

before dawn and numbers of hits were registered on new emplacements under construction. Hudson aircraft of the coastal command sank a German supply ship near the Freisian Islands early on Wednesday morning. There were three enemy vessels in a convoy. A Hudson made a dive bombing attack on the largost one, which was leading. Threc bombs made direct hits. The ship was settling by the stcrn when the Hudson flew away followed by anti-aircraft fire from the two other vessels. Brest was again attacked, this time by Beauforts and Ansons of the coastal command. They set fire to infantry barracks, damaged docks, and started a vast fire nn and around the railway sidings. When coastal command Blenheims raided Cherbourg they had to contend wlth extremely bad visibility but all found their objectives. One pilot had to search for his target 35 minutes amldst intense anti-aircraft fire.