WEB OF DESTRUCTION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 October 1940, Page 6

WEB OF DESTRUCTION

WOVEN BY BRITISH BOMBERS IN GERMANY Shown fa Ministry of information Map HUGE AND MOUNTING TOTAL OF DAMAGE ENEMY OIL AND AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES SUFFER HEAVILY (By Telegraph.—Press Association. —Copyright.) (Received This Day, 12.5 p.m.) ' LONDON, October 6. ■ How the R.A.F. is smashing Germany’s industries and war machine nightly, while the Germans are bombing London s houses and shops, is shown in a huge map issued by the Ministry of Information. The map shows the vast web of destruction woven by the British bombers, which have struck at over two hundred military targets, while over seven hundred blows have been struck against Germany herself. Beside each name of a bombed target is the number of times it has been.attacked. Instances are: —Berlin, 15; Wilhelms-' haven, 20; Frankfurt, 12. A map of the Ruhr inset shows that every important town has been a victim of the R.A.F. Hamm has had over sixty raids. Essen has had sixteen. The Ministry of information, in accompanying notes stressing the significance of some of the targets, says: “We still bomb Germany’s aluminium plants. The R.A.F. in the past two months has continuously attacked oil plants in Western Germany, which normally produce forty per cent of her total of two and a half million tons of oil yearly. Now the R.A.F. is paying attention to Central Germany, where over 50 per cent of the oil production is carried on. The Ministry repeats its belief that bombings have already appreciably reduced aircraft production, while damage to Hamburg and Bremen has prevented the loading and unloading of any ships there. The R.A.F. is also interfering with internal water, transport and rail traffic, resulting in entire industries being often interrupted. “The bombing of the invasion ports, ’ ’ it is added, “not only removes the threat of a German landing, but handicaps inland waterways, and occupied territories, because barges have been brought down from the Rhine and other German rivers which normally carry huge loads of her goods. The most telling proof of the R.A.F’s. damage is found in the German Press, which is now forced to make cautious admissions in view of public opinion. ’ ’