WAR OFFICE REPORTS CONSIDERABLE SUCCESSES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 April 1940, Page 5

WAR OFFICE REPORTS CONSIDERABLE SUCCESSES

All Possible Support for Norwegians FURTHER RAIDS ON ENEMY AERODROMES BALANCE OF AIRCRAFT LOSSES HEAVILY AGAINST GERMANS A War Office communique states that in the operations in Norway our troops are landing at many places and have achieved considerable successes in the face of great difficulty. They have made contact with the Norwegian forces, to whom they are giving all the support in their power. The German News Agency reports bitter Norwegian resistance north of Oslo and other messages suggest that the resistance referred to was in the Hamar area, where British and French forces are reinforcing the Norwegians. There is no official confirmation of these reports. In a German air raid on a railway junction the American military attache in Stockholm was killed. . The Germans have lost at least 70 planes in and around Norway since fighting began two weeks ago. These figures are put forward in London as a minimum. Probably the Germans have lost 100 planes. Britain has not lost more than 25 in the Norwegian campaign. More German planes were destroyed by further R.A.F. raids on Stavanger and Aalborg. Stavanger has been raided eleven times in the last fortnight. At least six German planes parked on the side of the flying field were destroyed and several fresh fires were started. All the British planes returned safely, in spite of intense anti-aircraft fire. At Aalborg some of the fires started in Thursday’s raids were still burning and several fresh fires were started and the landing field was heavily bombed. One British plane failed to return. German planes continue to fly over neutral countries. One has been shot down in South-Eastern Belgium and four have been put out of action in different parts of Sweden. Twentyeight flights were made over Swedish territory in one day.