BRITISH AND NORWEGIAN FORCES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 April 1940, Page 5

BRITISH AND NORWEGIAN FORCES

Brief War Office Announcement RAIDS ON GERMAN AIR BASES IN BOTH DENMARK AND NORWAY A War Office communique states that British troops are operating’ in conjunction with the Norwegian forces, Daventiy reports. The War Office intimation does not go so far as a Norwegian military communique, which states that British troops are now in action in the east of Norway. Swedish reports continue to state that British troops have reached the Hamar area, north of Oslo, where the hard-pressed Norwegian forces have been making a stand. It is said that the British troops reached the area partly by road and partly by rail. There is no confirmation of a report that British troops have entered Hamar. Fifty German parachute troops have been taken prisoner, according to a Norwegian communique. A joint Admiralty and Wai’ Office communique states that extensive damage was done to Namsos by a German air raid, but the only Allied loss was one trawler sunk. There were no casualties to troops. The R.A.F. bombed three German occupied flying-fields, one in Denmark and two in Norway. The raid on the Aalborg Aerodrome is the first the R.A.F. has made on any base in Denmark and considerable damage is said to have been caused. Aalborg is 200 miles from Stavanger. In Norway the R.A.F. made its first attack on Christiansand Aerodrome, 100 miles south of Stavanger, while the Stavanger Aerodrome has also been raided again, besides a seaplane base further along the coast. All the attacks were carried out with strong forces and all our machines returned safely. Four German planes were fired on when they flew over Swedish territory near Gothenburg and one was shot down and fell in the sea. A German plane came down in Switzerland and its crew were arrested.