GROUPS OF RAIDERS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 October 1940, Page 5

GROUPS OF RAIDERS

MET WITH HEAVY GUNFIRE IN LONDON CASUALTIES IN BLOCK OF FLATS. TENEMENT IN LIVERPOOL STRUCK. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, October 14. Following two daylight alerts yesterday—one long and the other short —groups of raiders returned over London last night and were met with heavy gunfire. It was announced this morning that the night’s attacks over Britain were on a larger scale than recently. The London area was again the principal objective. Attacks were made on Merseyside and other parts in the northwest. There were also isolated raids on the north-east and on some other areas. In one London district commercial premises and industrial buildings were damaged. From reports received so far it is feared that the number of persons killed is larger than during recent night attacks. Many of these occurred in one place where a block of flats was hit. Bombs fell in the Home counties, but the damage was slight and the casualties were not large.

Buildings in Merseyside towns received some damage, and in a northwest town slight damage was caused In two towns in the north-east houses were destroyed and commercial premises damaged. In one of these towns two shelters were hit. There were some casualties, a number being fatal. Elsewhere the damage reported was slight-and the casualties few. In Liverpool two bombs struck a tenement, a number of people being trapped. There were some deaths in a north-east town, where workers' houses were wrecked.

Observers on, roof-tops in London suggested that two types of planes were being used in last night’s raids. They heard the uneven drone to which Londoners have been accustomed and also a higher-pitched note, apparently of a faster machine. It was announced this morning that two raiders were destroyed yesterday. Two Royal Air Force planes were lost, but the pilots of both are safe. TIP & RUN TACTICS ENEMY LOSSES REDUCED. BUT STILL DISPROPORTIONATE. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, October 13. The closer approximation of R.A.F. losses of aircraft to those they have inflicted on the enemy is a feature of the past week’s air battles which is commented upon in the Sunday Press. Even in this period, however, the Royal Air Force has enforced losses nearly twice as great as it has suffered. The Gremans would appear to have abandoned for the present the tactics which brought such heavy destruction upon them, and for the most part confined their daylight attacks to tip-and-run raids by converted fighters carrying relatively small loads of bombs. Nevertheless, during last week the Germans lost eight times as many airmen as the Royal Air Force did. Sixtysix German machines were definitely | brought down during that period. The | R.A.F. lost 43, but the pilots of 26 were saved. The British losses of planes for the war to date are estimated at 1486 and the German at 4773.