FIERCEST YET
ONSLAUGHTS BY BRITISH BOMBERS FROM BERLIN TO NORTHERN ITALY. CHANNEL PORTS ALSO HEAVILY STRAFED. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, October 21. Perhaps the fiercest attacks yet carried out by the Royal Air Force against the enemy were launched last night. Berlin was among the centres raided and had one of its 1 longest attacks to date. The official communique says that ' the attacks ranged from Berlin to : northern Italy and other parts of Ger- ' many and the invasion ports. : Confirmation of the severity of the attacks comes from other sources. These say that the raid on Berlin was ■ one of the longest yet. The Berlin wireless stations went qff the air as early as 7.55 p.m. New York reports say that Berliners were kept awake in their shelters till dawn. Official German sources say that wave after wave of British bombers flew over the capital and dropped incendiary bombs. Agency reports say that there was bright moonlight, but, a slight haze. The Germans used their searchlights sparingly. There was heavy gunfire in the southern part of the, capital, but little activity in the central area. No details are available yet of the raids on northern Italy, but Swiss reports say they were extensive. The Channel ports in German hands were also heavily attacked. Watchers on the English coast saw vivid flashes and the noise of the bomb explosions rumbled up and down the Channel like thunder. There is no detailed official communique about the latest offensive on enemy territory, but watchers on the coast of Kent report that they saw the Royal Air Forc.e loose a violent and spectacular attack on the enemy coastline across the Channel. They say that an avalanche of bombs was unloosed by British raiders, and the explosions were like thunder. They could see antiaircraft shells bursting in the sky and searchlights criss-crossing vainly trying to pick up the British bombers. NAZI TACTICS IM BOMBING OF BRITAIN. REGARDED AS ADMISSION OF FAILURE. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, October 20. Air experts are agreed that the German change of policy in the bombing attacks on Britain may be regarded as a tacit admission of the failure of the previous efforts and as evidence of respqct for the Royal Air Force. It now appears that the enemy is directing his day bombing merely against morale and that serious bombing is concentrated in the hours of darkness. The fact that the British losses of machines have been a little fewei than the Germans shows the. effect of the new policy by day, which relies on the use of fighters and fighterbombers. Bomb-carrying fighters now come with large escorts which do not carry bombs, and in several formations of more than 100 machines not more than 10 have carried bombs. The enemy has managed by this means to pentrate the British defences with a few fast planes and to pounce on the intercepting fighters with superior numbers. The relative losses although so different from those of a month ago. are not such as to cause concern, as the production on both sides at present far outstrips the losses. The aeroplanes which are regularly arriving in this country from the United States alone are more than double the British losses on the scale of the past two ■ weeks.
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Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 October 1940, Page 5
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547FIERCEST YET Wairarapa Times-Age, 22 October 1940, Page 5
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