R.A.F. NOT WAITING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 August 1940, Page 5

R.A.F. NOT WAITING

EVER=EXTENDING RAIDS ON GERMANY RESULTS ALREADY IMPORTANT. BEARING ON ENEMY INVASION PLANES. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Dav, 9.10 a.m.) LONDON, August 4. A correspondent, who was permitted to visit the headquarters of the Northern Command, writes: “Here the Army and Home Guard stand ready for the invader. They recognise that his plan may be to cut England in half at the narrowest part, as it was Russia’s idea to bisect Finland.

Both the Army and Navy know that if Hitler delays the invasion until the springtime he may not have a chance to attempt it, but the R.A.F. is not even waiting for the invader to stake his all on a blow by sea and air while the summer lasts and the high tides of early August and again in September are in his favour. The R.A.F. not only intend sweeping the skies of Britain clear of the enemy. It is planning to drop heavier’ loads of bombs on enemy territory than at present. The longer nights ahead will permit raids deeper and more widespread than hitherto. The night bomber station I visited intends, like others, to make fullest use of opportunities to attack. Military objectives well beyond the Ruhr will be the range of the Whitley planes during the longer hours of darkness. The widespread R.A.F. bombing has already had the effect of dispersing Germany's anti-aircraft defences, which formerly concentrated around important areas like the Ruhr. The German fighters, once never seen at night time, are now encountered frequently. It is clear from the reports of observers that Germany’s war machine has already suffered a tremendous hammering from the British R.A.F. Pilots operating since the outbreak of the war are being gradually replaced by fresh personnel, the veterans being sent back as instructors.” BOMBS ON GERMANY NEARLY 400 FOR EVERY ONE DROPPED IN BRITAIN. (Received This Day, 9.15 a.m.) LONDON, August 4. The “News of the World” reports that the R.A.F. thus far has bombed over one hundred towns in eastern Germany, carried .out over a thousand raids and dropped nearly four hundred bombs on Germany and Germanoccupied territory for every bomb dropped on Britain.