RAID ON CHERBOURG

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 August 1940, Page 6

RAID ON CHERBOURG

DARING AND SUCCESSFUL ACTION SEVERAL SHOT DOWN IN NORTH SEA. SHIP TAKES SMASHED MACHINE INTO PORT. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day. 10.33 a.m.) RUGBY. August 2. An Admiralty communique states: “One of our convoys in the North Sea was repeatedly attacked by German aircraft yesterday afternoon. No damage was done to any of the ships of the convoy. One of tne escorting vessels, H.M.S. Weston, shot down one enemy aircraft. There were no casualties on the Weston. “In another part of the North Sea, the S.S. Highlander was twice attacked by enemy aircraft last night. In the first attack, the enemy aircraft dropped bombs which missed, then raked the ship with machine-gun fire. While doing so, the German aircraft was hit by the defensive armament of the Highlander and was seen to crash into the sea in flames 100 yards astern of the ship.

Ten minutes later, the Highlander, was attacked by another German aircraft. The bombs again missed. As the aircraft circled to renew the attack, it was hit, causing it to lose height. The aircraft’s port wing struck the Highland’s port lifeboat at the davits. This swung the machine round and it crashed on the poop of tne i-iigniancier, which this morning steamed into harbour with the wreckage of the aircraft on its poop. The Highlander’s only casualties were two wounded.