DAMAGE AT RY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 May 1940, Page 6

DAMAGE AT RY

ENEMY BASE IN NORTH DENMARK EFFECTIVE WORK BY BRITISH BOMBERS. WIDESPREAD FIRES STARTED. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10.55 a.m.) RUGBY, May 3. The Air Ministry announced this afternoon that the large Danish airfield at Ry,' lying in open country cn the shore of Lake Salten Langi so. in North Jutland, and known to be used extensively by the enemy in connection with operations in Norway, had been heavily and successfully bombed by R.A.F. -aircraft. The attacks began yesterday evening and were continued during the night A daylight attack was also made on Stavanger on Thursday and both this base and Fornebu were also bombed during the night. The communique ended: “Numerous R.A.F. aircraft were engaged throughout yesterday in providing protection against air attack for the convoy transporting British military forces from Andalsnes. No British aircraft were lost in any of these operations,'’ The attacks on Ry announced by the Air Ministry were the first on this nest of enemy air transports. A strong concentration of aircraft dispersed around the landing ground was subjected to two separate attacks, the first in the half-light of late evening, and the second alter dark. More than 20 aircraft could be seen on the first approach. Traversing the aerodrome from east to west, singly and in qjiick succession, the first section of raiders dropped their load of explosive and incendiary bombs on the landing ground and woods. A salvo from the leader was seen by the following aircraft io fall in the centre of the aerodrome, setting two enemy machines alight. Hits were registered in all parts of the landing area and as the last attackers drew off fires were seen to have broken out on three sides of the aerodrome, while the surrounding woods were alight and blazing fiercely. A few minutes later, the rearguard of the attacking force was in action. Continuous bursts of their high explosives and incendiary bombs straddling the aerodrome and the woods added to the blazing confusion on the ground below. A deep pall of flameriddled smoke now enveloped the air base. Fifty miles from the target, on the homeward journey, the rear gunner of one of the raiding aircraft saw the vivid flash of an explosion from the direction of Ry, as if an ammunition dump or petrol store had blown up. No enemy aircraft were seen during the raid, and though heavy pompom and machine-gun lire was encountered over the target area, none of the British aircraft was hit.

The second phase of the attack on Ry began soon after dark, and ceased two hours after the first raiding force had left. Converging on the aerodrome singly and from different directions, the night raiders bombed their target at intervals for nearly 30 minutes, attacking from various heights. Two hits were registered in the northwest corner of the aerodrome. A heaVy bomb was seen to burst just short of the main hangar. A salvo of three bombs straddled the northern boundary of the target. Numerous explosions occurred in the woods and new fires were seen to break out. The opposition from the ground defences was again ineffective and all the British aircraft returned to their bases.