OF HIGHEST VALUE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 August 1940, Page 6

OF HIGHEST VALUE

R.A.F. ATTACKS ON GERMANY ENEMY OFFENSIVE POWER CURTAILED. - FEATURES OF DEVELOPING OFFENSIVE. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day. 11.5 a.m.) LONDON. August 4. The similarity of the daily communiques issued by the Air Ministry on the R.A.F. attacks on aerodromes in Fiance and Holland is thought by air circles here to lead the public to minimise their paramount importance, because of their guarded and somewhat official repetition. It must always be remembered that the German High Command itself claims that that there has been no -lull in the war." and that the struggle is going on with the greatest intensity. It is certain that the whole question of the success of an invasion of Britain is bound up with the use the enemy is able to make of these air bases. The work of the R.A.F. is of the highest value in the defence of Britain, and as the war progresses the British people will look back with pride at this matter of fact record of R.A.F. achievements. » Further details of the R.A.F. attacks announced in the Air Ministry communique show that some of the most important sources of Germany s synthetic oil supply were attacked l night by the R.A.F. Since the first attack on Germany’s oil supplies, the enemy has been forced greatly to strengthen his ground defences. Last night, besides firing at the raiders, many shells were aimed at parachute flares dropped to illuminate the tai get. The raiders were located by other aircraft in spite of poor visibility. Some of the bombs set fire to naval buildings. At Husum, west of Kiel, buildings of an aerodrome were damaged, the tarmac was hit and anti-airciaft fne was abruptly stopped after a rear-gun-ner had replied with two hundred rounds. ~ A large goods yards in the northern part of Cologne was hit with high explosive and incendiary bombs by an aircraft which cruised above its objective for about an hour. Aerodromes and seaplane bases were also attacked. In daylight raids on Saturday, aerodromes at Schipol and Haumstede were again attacked. At Abbeville, one of our bombers following half an hour after the initial attack, bombed a stores park and machine-gunned troops and a convoy of lorries from only nity feet. Between Gravelines and Dunkirk an armoured train was discovered and attacked and barges in a canal east of Bourbourg, near Gravelines, were struck with salvos of bombs. Fewer enemy fighters were encountered than on trie previous day, but the ground defences were strong and accuiate. GERMAN REPORT (Received This Day, 12.35 p.m.) BERLIN, August 4. A communique states: — “Our air force on Saturday night bombed an oil port near Liverpool and started numerous fires, attacked antiaircraft posts near Capvey Island and at Swansea, also reconnoitred between the Channel and the Hebrides. “British planes flew over North-West Germany and caused less damage to non-military objectives than on previous nights, although they dropped more bombs.”