RAIDS SLACKEN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 September 1940, Page 6

RAIDS SLACKEN

AFTER DISCOURAGING RECEPTION

ONSLAUGHT OF R.A.F. FIGHTERS. TOWN IN KENT HEAVILY DAMAGED. (Received This Day, 1.5 p.m.) LONDON, September 1. German daylight raids slackened off earlier than usual. Spirals of black smoke curling up from wrecked German planes along the coast told of R.A.F. fighters’ success after lunch, when formations consisting of eighty planes each came in procession over the Channel. A huge four-engined giant led one formation, but the raiders baulked at the wall of anti-aircraft fire. During a large-scale attack on a Thames Estuary town, four planes broke away from their companions, dived under the anti-aircraft barrage, and released their bombs from a low altitude. Most of the bombs dropped across the heart of the town, caused considerable damage and rendered many families homeless. Some of the raiders which were turned back from London jettisoned their bombs over a Kent town.

GERMAN REPORT (Received This Day, 1.10 p.m.) BERLIN. September 1. A communique states: “Our fighters and pursuit planes yesterday and last night made surprise attacks on Britain, bombing airfields in Kent and Essex, Harbour facilities at the mouth of the Thames and in Liverpool and air and armament factories in the Midlands. Numerous fires showed the great effect of these attacks. The enemy yesterday lost a hundred planes and 74 balloons. Thirty-four of our planes are missing.

“Enemy planes last night flew over the Ruhr to Berlin, bombed several places and caused small damage. No military objectives were hit. Our antiaircraft defences prevented the enemy dropping bombs over Berlin. Some of the bombs fell in open fields outside the city. “The sinking of the Dunvegan Castle brings the total sunk by our U-boats in the past three days to over 100.000 tons.’’ RAID WARNINGS TWENTY-ONE SOUNDED IN LONDON. SINCE AUGUST 24. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day. 12.25 p.m.) LONDON. September 1. Sirens have been sounded in the London area twenty-one times since August 24, making 33 raid warnings since the outbreak of war.