ATTACK ON BREST

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 January 1941, Page 6

ATTACK ON BREST

DRIVEN HOME BY R.A.F. i ENEMY FIGHTERS REPELLED. DESTROYER EFFECTIVELY BOMBED. During mi R.A.K attack I on Brest on Saturday night. | the 8.8. C. reports, a German ; destroyer which was using , her guns against the atrerait j was hit three times wit it j bombs and later another hit i was scored on her stern. The , raiders left the destroyer ; shrouded in slunk. 1 and with ■ het* guns silenced. During this attack on Brest, enemy | i fighters tried without success to inter-. : vene. One British bomber evaded 121 ' Messerschmitts. Hamburg was also! ! bombed on Saturday night. One Brit-j > ish bomber was lost. ' Two British Hudson aircraft made a] : successful attack on two enemy supply] 'ships oil the coast of Norway. Six, bombs burs’ on the deck of the larger] ■ ship and possibly five bombs on the, ] smaller vessel of the two. Although] 'German batteries were tiring at a 'range of less than 400 yards, neither] ’ British plane was hit. NUMBER OF RAIDS HAMBURG AMONG TARGETS (British Official Wireless.. (Received This Day. 9.50 a.m.' RUGBY. January .*>. ; The Air Ministry announces that laircraft <>f the Coastal Command attacked the invasion port of Brest at ■ dus'; yesterd: y An cnonv. destroyer j received three direct hits. Our airI cr; f, wore .utclted by enemy fighters and o.io of those w;.s hit :;n«! broke up , th. air. Ono of <ur aircraft is . ■ missing. . . "Direct hits weiv score i on two 2l enemy merchant vessels oil the coast ‘j of Norway during the night. The : weather grew worse and hampered the e i aircraft of the Bomber Command „ j Brest, however, was again attacked l’ ( and bomb.', burst on the waterfront. . Targets at Hamburg were also at- /: tacked and fires were observed. From ( i; these operation.' none of our aircraft i is mis. im’..”

DARING EFFORTS I R.A.F. AND COASTAL COMMAND. * I TLTMV SI’PUT V SHIP DAMAGED. i (Biili i; oni.-ial Wireless.' iTIPi-f vrd This Dav. 10.55 n.m.) RUGBY. January 5. , Further detail? cf yesterday's at-1 < (neks carried cut bv the R.A.F. show, i that in dayiir.ht and dusk attacks on’ ; Brest, alihcimh conditions cf visibility! i won’’ oxiromelv nnor. several stick? oti ' ! b. mb'- foil directly on the target areas. A de trover was hit three times by; 'inc Blenheim, and the bomb bursts) ■‘Wore followed by explosions. I ■ 1 Later in the attack at least one bomb! 1 exploded on stern of the destroyer. 1 which had been using its full anti- ? aircraft armament. The enemy ship ■’ was shrouded in smoke and its guns 5 were silenced before the raids ended ? The enemy used a force of lighters in • an unsuccessful attempt to resist the * attack. One British aircraft was eon- - I fronted with 12 Messerschmitts 109 s. ! but escaped them and got on to its tar-i get. After two Messerschmitt 109 s had i repeatedly tried to drive off annth(-r: • aircraft, one •>! the enemy broke up ini the air from counter fire. One Bien--i heim is missing. An attack on two supply' ships was! e ' carried out by Hudsons of the Coastal j - j Command when they were patrolling r • the Norwegian coast. Six bombs! I >burs* on the dock of the larger ship; .and at least three, and probably five.: ion the smaller one. Both pilots ap-) i proached at a very low altitude and) then climbed stceplj’ to make five at-; . tacks. A wide tqwer of dense smakej 'rose 2(10 feet high after heavy explo-i ’ sions from the larger ship. There were 'also -cveral explosions in the other) i vessel and debris camr up. to what | th.- crew described as “four times the] . height of a house" Both supply ves-‘ . ■ seis were found close inshore and so) ' inear the land that German coastal ba'-i teries were firing at the low-flying I i Hudsons from a range of less than 400 card Neither aircraft v.vis damaged. 1