GERMAN CLAIMS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 August 1940, Page 6

GERMAN CLAIMS

ELABORATELY DETAILED FALSEHOODS.

(By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) ('Received This Day, 11.50 a.m.) BERLIN, August 9.

A communique states: "Our motor torpedo-boats attacked a strongly-pro-tected .convoy on the night of August 7/8. Despite an intense defence from accompanying enemy destroyers, from other convoy units and from the strongly-armed merchantmen themselves, we sank an 8,000-ton tanker, a 5.000-ton steamer and a 4.000-ton steamer and set fire to a small tanker. Our torpedo-boats returned undamaged. “German dive-bombers, with an escort of fighters, attacked stronglyguarded British convoys southwards of the Isle of Wight on August 8. Twelve merchantmen, totalling 55,000 tons were sunk and seven others were severely damaged. Our Air Force sank or damaged a total of 28 British ships yesterday. Messerschmitts destroyed twelve barrage balloons near Dover. “German fighters hit 49 British machines, including 33 Spitfires, during a larger air battle near the Isle of Wight and also at Dover. We lost ten planes and two made forced landings. “Our planes carried out night attacks on British aeroplane industries in the vicinity of Liverpool and Bristol, in addition to harbours, aerodromes and anti-aircraft positions in Southern England. Mining the entrances to British ports from the air continued according to plan. “British planes last night penetrated different places in Western Germany. Our defences forced part of the enemy planes to turn , tail, or prevented them from bombing. Isolated bombs caused insignificant damage to houses and fields. Some people were injured at a small place in a frontier region. Antiaircraft guns shot down two enemy planes.”