SHATTERING BLOWS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 November 1940, Page 5

SHATTERING BLOWS

STRUCK BY BRITISH SQUADRONS AT HAMBURG AND OTHER TARGETS. GERMANS RELATIVELY INACTIVE. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, November 18. British bombers appear to have been more active than the Germans during the last two nights. A preliminary communique by the Air Ministry on last night’s operations states that our bombers attacked a number of targets in the Ruhr, the great German industrial district). It is also known that the French coast was pounded during the night, andthe British long-range guns replied to the Germans across the Straits of Dover after a large-scale air attack on the invasion ports. • Hundreds of people, watching the thunderous exchange, saw vivid orange flashes of the guns on both sides of the straits, and the explosions of shells rocked Channel towns. The shelling lasted for three hours.

On Saturday night Hamburg had its third successive night of the very heaviest blows the R.A.F. can strike. Three separate industrial districts were powerfully bombed. Other aircraft ranged during the day and night over other enemy territory. The German radio, announcing that 223 were killed and a large number injured in Hamburg on Friday night, described it as a reprisal for the raid on Coventry and threatened retaliation.

The Air Ministry communique on the air activity over Britain last night is very brief. It states: “During the night a number of bombs w’ere dropped on the south coast and a few scattered incidents occurred in other parts of the country. The damage done was practically confined to private houses, and reports received up to 7 a.m. indicate that neither the damage nor casualties is likely to have been heavy.” However, Londoners were disappointed when, after the shortest early night raid so far, the Germans returned after a brief respite. One roof-spotter during the night said that some of the biggest explosions heard for weeks occurred on the outskirts of London. There was a tremendous sustained rumble, giving the impression that the enemy was using very heavy bombs. “Molotov bread-baskets” were dropped but no fires occurred.