BRITISH BOMBING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 September 1940, Page 5

BRITISH BOMBING

HEAVY BLOWS STRUCK

AT ENEMY

IN FOREST AND OTHER AREAS. NAZI ATTACKS ON THAMES ESTUARY. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.10 a.m.) RUGBY, September 4. R.A.F. bombers made further extensive raids on new targets in Germany last night, from which all the aircraft returned. An Air Ministry communique, describing these raids, states: “R.A.F. bombers attacked military objectives concealed in German forests in the Hartz Mountains and in _ the Gruenwald Forests, north of Berlin. Many fires were started, which later caused explosions. Other aircraft carried out reconnaissances over an area of the Black Forest, east of Baden, where fires had been started by our bombers on the previous night. Many of these were still blazing. Other forces of R.A.F. bombers attacked electric power stations, lighting installations and an armament factory in Berlin, oil storage tanks at Magdeburg, goods yards at Hamm and Schwerte, a blast furnace at Merzig and several Dutch and German aerodromes. “Aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm, operating with the Coastal Command, attacked barge concentrations in the Beveland Canal at Terneuzen in the mouth of the Scheldt. Forces of Coastal Command aircraft attacked the docks at Ostend. All our aircraft returned.”

Large forces of German aircraft again attempted to break through the British defences and suffered heavy losses. An Air Ministry communique, describing the day’s raids, states:“Shortly after midday today, a large formation of about 200 enemy aircraft crossed the coast of Kent. They were met by our fighters and anti-aircraft gunfire ancTmost of them were driven back over the coast. Two small formations, however, were able to penetrate the defences and one of these flew inland and dropped bombs on industrial premises. Some damage was done and a number of casualties were caused, some of them fatal. Other formations passed over Kent to the Thames Estuary and dropped bombs on a Medway town. Some houses were damaged but there were few casualties and no fatal injuries are reported. Elsewhere in the south-east, bombs dropped in a few scattered areas and damage was caused to a number of shops and dwelling houses. “Reports up to 7 p.m. show that our fighters todav destroyed 45 enemy aircraft, of which 33 were bombers or fighter-bombers. Eleven of our fighters were lost, but the pilots of five are safe.”