BRITISH BOMBERS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 August 1940, Page 5

BRITISH BOMBERS

MR CHURCHILL’S MESSAGE OF CONGRATULATION HARD BLOWS BEING STRUCK. SURE COURAGE AND SKILL OF CREWS. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, August 19. The Air Minister, Sir Archibald Sinclair, has received the following message from Mr Churchill: — “Please convey to the commander-in-chief of the Bomber Command the congratulations of the War Cabinet on the success of the operations against Germany on Friday night (when widespread attacks were made on new objectives in Germany). The War Cabinet is impressed by the skill with which both these operations and those against Italy and Germany on other recent occasions have been prepared, and by the cool and sure courage and efficiency with which the fighting crews of the bomber squadrons have carried them out. Both night and day, the bomber squadrons are dealing hard blows against Italy and Germany, and they deserve the thanks and admiration of their fellow-countrymen.”

LOUD EXPLOSIONS

HEARD ACROSS CHANNEL. IN DIRECTION OF BOULOGNE AND CALAIS. (Received This Day, 9 a.m.) LONDON, August 20. For several hours, early today, loud explosions were heard across the channel,, and sweeping searchlights and shell-bursts were also seen in the direction of Boulogne and Calais.

SMALL LOSSES

SUFFERED IN NIGHT RAIDS. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, August 19. A feature of the British offensive on the Continent, which has given particular satisfaction is the relatively low cost at which the impressive results have been achieved. All our aircraft have returned from most effective raids over Germany and German-occupied territory carried out last night.

BERLIN ALARM

TWO BRITISH PLANES SIGHTED. FLARES DROPPED BUT NO BOMBS. (Received This Day, 9.30 a.m.) LONDON, August 20. About forty loud explosions, apparently from anti-aircraft fire, were heard outside the western suburbs of Berlin during the alarm reported in an earlier cablegram. German officials stated that two British planes flew over Berlin and that one reached Tegel, nine miles north of the capital, and dropped numerous flares but no bombs.

PILOT. PARACHUTES

PLANE DESTROYED BY BALLOON WIRE.

LONDON, August 20.

An R.A.F. pilot successfully parachuted after his plane collided with a balloon wire in the London area last night. Within five minutes, he was telephoning his squadron from a nearby police station. The plane crashed into a baker's shop, setting it on fire, but the outbreak was quickly extinguished.

GERMAN REPORT

(Received This Day, 10.30 a.m.) BERLIN, August 20.

The High Command states: “Our planes, during armed reconnaissances over England, attacked armament factories, fuel depots, railway works, aerodromes and troops’ camps, especially in Sussex, Norfolk and Oxfordshire. Night attacks were made against aerodromes in southern England and harbour works and large tank depots on the south and south-west coasts of England. “Enemy planes last night bombed residential quarters of various towns. Several civilians were killed or injured and a number of houses were destroyed. Five enemy planes were shot down. Two of ours are missing.

“A U-boat sank the armed merchantman Ampleforth, of 4578 tons. Another U-boat sank G6BO tons of merchant shipping. A third U-boat sank altogether 40,000 tons of merchant shipping. The German News Agency claims that a Bristol Blenheim bomber was shot down at Oldenburg. It adds that large oil tanks near the Manchester ship canal were set on fire, and a railway junction seriously damaged.