AIR BATTLES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 July 1940, Page 6

AIR BATTLES

GERMANS SWEPT BACK ACROSS CHANNEL FAILURE TO DAMAGE SHIPS. ELEVEN ENEMY AIRCRAFT BROUGHT DOWN. ißy Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright). (Received This Day, 1.5 p.m.) LONDON, July 19. Twenty-two German dive-bomb-ers’were among the large forces of German planes which attacked Channel shipping off the SouthEast coast this afternoon, in which nine planes were shot down, making eleven for the day. Five of our fighters are missing. Scores of heavy bombs were dropped, but the ships are reported to have escaped damage. Coastal batteries and the ships' antiaircraft guns put up a terrific barrage. The ground along the coast vibrated and buildings shook with the combined concussion of bombs 3nd gunfire. R.A.F. fighters engaged the raiders and carried the battle back across the Channel. The first German attack was made from less than a thousand feet. The bombers scored near misses, showering the ships with spray. A group of six dive-bombers singled out one ship for concerted attack. Salvoes exploded all around the ship. Fighters chased the raiders and there was a series of dogfights along the French coast. Four Germans are reported to have crashed in the sea and another on land. In a second attack, twelve bombers dived almost vertically on to a ship. Guns along the coast immediately went into action and the noise was deafening. One of the raiders was hit. British fighters engaged the other bombers.