MASSED AIR ATTACK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 September 1940, Page 6

MASSED AIR ATTACK

BROKEN IN THE THAMES ESTUARY RAIDERS MEET TERRIFIC FIRE. DOGFIGHTS DURING RETIREMENT (Received This Day, 9.35 a.m.) LONDON, September 24. After a break of only a few hours Germany resumed her blitzkrieg against England this morning, when 100 bombers and fighters crossed the Kent coast, f A large formation of Germans later was seen proceeding up the Thames Estuary. They met a terrific barrage, dogfights occurring as the raiders retreated, one fighter plunging into the sea. A British communique states: “Enemy planes bombed London in several places, hitting and damaging houses and several industrial premises in London, causing some deaths. Houses also were demolished in south-eastern and north-western districts. A high explosive bomb scored a direct hit on London office buildings and wrecked the upper floors. The south-east coastal area had its longest night raid since the outbreak of war. Two bombs landed on a famous cricket ground, damaging two pavilions.” NAZIS TRY AGAIN SECOND MASS ATTACK REPELLED. BRITISH GUNS & FIGHTERS BUSY. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 11.20 a.m.) LONDON, September 24. Twenty-one Dorniers appeared over the Kent coast in a second daylight mass attack on London. Waves of Messerschmitts circled around the bombers, which encountered fierce anti-aircraft fire and were driven back after ten minutes. ENEMY PLANES EIGHT LOST IN BRITAIN ON TUESDAY. (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright! (Received This Day, Noon.) LONDON, September 24. Reports to 10. p.m. show that eight German planes were shot down. We lost four machines, but one of the pilots is safe. GALLANT A.R.P. MAN RESCUES FROM BOMBED SHELTER. PLUNGES DOWN ESCAPE SHAFT. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 11.20 a.m.) LONDON, September 24. Choked and blinded and endangered by falling earth and concrete, Maurice Vent, a member of the A.R.P., flung himself down an escape shaft in an East London shelter in an attempt to save those trapped. He handed fourteen persons through the shaft to safety. A bomb ploughed a ten-foot crater in the earth beside the shelter, throwing down a section of wall on families sleeping under it. Several were killed, including a father, mother and three children.