AIRCRAFT DESTROYED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 June 1940, Page 5

AIRCRAFT DESTROYED

IN LIBYA AND EAST AFRICA Bases Threatening Egypt and Red Sea INDICATIONS OF CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE According to a. Daventry broadcast this morning the R.A.F. has carried out attacks on Italian air bases in Libya and Italian East Africa. An R.A.F. communique issued from Cairo states that British planes made bombing attacks on concentrations of enemy bombing aircraft, petrol depots and bomb dumps on Italian military aerodromes in East Libya and Italian East Africa. In Libya the aerodrome attacked was the principal air base threatening Egypt. , Aeroplanes were destroyed on the ground, fires started and a petrol dump set ablaze. The attacking aircraft met with fire from the ground and fighters made an unsuccessful attempt to intercept them. In Italian East Africa several direct hits were obtained on a hangar on the main Italian base threatening the Red Sea communications and the Sudan. In all these operations three British aircraft are missing. . ■ RAIDS ON MALTA Few Casualties and Little Damage' . EMPTY HOSPITAL HIT BY BOMB Italian planes have carried cut a series of attacks on Malta. A War Office communique states that the casualties are only slight and little damage was done. One enemy plane was destroyed. Other reports state that two planes were shot down and that there was no damage to military objectives. An empty hospital was hit. ITALIAN SHIPS LOST Twenty-seven in First Day VESSELS SEIZED OR SCUTTLED In the first day of the war the Italians have lost at least 27 merchant vessels. Fourteen were seized, ten were already in Allied ports when war was declared and three scuttled themselves. Britain has mined several areas in Italian waters. Now that the war has started the Italian Press is taking a sterner note, warning the public that victory will not be won except by great sacrifices. NAZI DRIVE IN FRANCE Battle on Western Front Continues FIGHTING AS FIERCE AS EVER GERMANS ON SEINE BEING HELD French troops have made a withdrawal in the sector covering Paris, stated a Daventry broadcast this morning. German mechanised forces on the Seine were being held. On the east end of the front there was nothing to report. It is known that the battle on the Western Front, which is the battle for Paris, is being continued as fierce as ever. Authoritative circles in London compare it as a second and greater Verdun. French troops are fighting against odds of three to one. The arrival of more British troops has greatly heartened the French people. FRENCH COMMUNIQUE Area Around Capital Enveloped in Smoke (By Telegraph.—Press Association—Copyright.) LONDON, June 11. This morning’s French communique says it is confirmed that between the sea and the Oise River the attempts by the enemy to advance along the Seine River have been held. Between the Oise and the Ourcq, which is north of the Marne, the enemy sought to press on his previous gains. There is nothing of importance to report on the Aisne and Meuse fronts. German bombers are concentrating on the areas between the French front lines and Paris. At dawn this morning the whole capital was enveloped in a pall of smoke sweeping in from these raids and it was difficult to see clearly from bridge to bridge along the Seine. The German official spokesman claims that the German forces have now formed a semi-circular front round Paris, 30 to 35 miles from the capital at certain points. The evacuation of Paris has begun. The French Government has left the capital, and the city’s defences are beingprepared for any eventuality. Parisians are calmly hoping for a last-hour turn of fortune, but they are grimly prepared for the worst. People are streaming toward the railway stations. They are mostly on foot and many are pushing perambulators carrying their belongings.