BRITAIN’S SUNDAY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 November 1940, Page 6

BRITAIN’S SUNDAY

MOST PEACEFUL FOR SOME WEEKS SCATTERED NAZI RAIDS. SMALL NUMBER OF CASUALTIES. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 12.20 p.m.) RUGBY. November 3. An official report of today's enemy air activities over Britain records a more peaceful Sunday than has been experienced for some weeks. Dealing with the day’s raids, an Air Ministry and Ministry of Home Security communique states: “Enemy air activity over this country during the morning and afternoon consisted of flights by a few single aircraft over some districts in the southern half of the country. Reports received to 5 p.m. indicate that a few bombs were dropped, but the damage was not serious. In some cases enemy aircraft dived from clouds and delivered short bursts of machine-gun fire. A Small number of casualties were caused in these attacks. One enemy bomber was destroyed today and one of our fighters was lost.”

a LOSS OF SEVEN PLANES ® ADMITTED BY GERMANS. 3 (Received This Day. 11.50 a.m.) LONDON. November 3. g A German communique admits that seven German planes were lost over j, Britain. It blames bad weather.| ’ UNITED EFFORT FIGHTER PILOTS & AIR, GUNNERS. ! DESTRUCTION OF DORNIER (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day. 12.40 p.m.) ' RUGBY, November 3. Fighter pilots and anti-aircraft gunners shared a German bomber between them today. The machine, a Dornier 215, was first seen, above the clouds over Essex, by two Hurricane pilots. Both fired bursts and left it dropping slowly through the clouds, with its engine silent and smoke pouring out. One of the Hurricane pilots dived within ten yards of the bomber before it disappeared into the clouds. A German air gunner fired back. ' When the Dornier appeared below the clouds, anti-air-craft gunners spotted it. They saw it was not quite out of action and decided to finish the fighter pilots’ work for them. A few rounds brought the bomber crashing down near the Essex coast. This was the second German raider the gunners had a hand in destroying over the same spot within 24 hours. The first was brought down in flames by anti-aircraft fire yesterday evening. On inquiry at the Air Ministry, it was learned that last night’s. bomber operations over Germany and occupied territory were cancelled because of extremely unfavourable weather conditions.

SOME RAIDING IN SPITE OF BLANKET OF MIST. PLANE MACHINE-GUNS CHURCHGOERS. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 12.50 p.m.) LONDON, November 3. Under a protective blanket of heavy mist, London returned to almost normal early tonight, with no alert for several hours after darkness. Londoners were surprised late in the afternoon to hear violent anti-aircraft fire, accompanied by the hum of planes, flying low. A Dornier machine-gunned churchgoers in the streets of two London districts in the evening, causing several casualties, some fatal. The same raider later was seen in distress, after an anti-aircraft battery went into action. A low-flying raider dropped five bombs on a Midlands town in the afternoon. Another dropped fifteen bombs on two East Anglian towns. SIR W.J-REEMAN APPOINTED VICE-CHIEF OF AIR STAFF. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 12.40 p.m.) RUGBY, November 3. Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfred Freeman has been appointed Vice-Chief of the Air Stall', replacing Sir Richard Peirse, who was recently appointed Commander-In-Chief of the Bomber Command.