RAIDS RESUMED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 February 1941, Page 5

RAIDS RESUMED

BY SINGLE NAZI PLANES TWO SHOT DdWN IN BRITAIN. THREE HOSPITALS HIT. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON. January 31. The Luftwaffe yesterday put new energy into its raids, giving the London area the worst daylight blitz for months. Single planes crossed the coast in Indian tile throughout the day and swept over a wide area, including London. Anti-aircraft defences put up a strong opposition. During an afternoon alert in London a Dornier swooped down from a cloud to within 300 feet of the ground and began machine-gunning people, who hurriedly sought the shelters, but no casualties were reported. The Ministry of Information reports that there were no German raiders over this country last night. German planes, operating mostly singly, dropped bombs in England yesterday without worrying about military objectives, the 8.8. C. reports. At lease three hospitals were hit. Some bombs were dropped in several parts of the London area. One German plane was brought down in Suffolk after it had tried to bomb children in a playing field. The five members of the crew were captured. Another was brought down in the sea off Cornwall. It had just previously machine-gunned fishing boats off the coast and had dropped bombs on a village. AIR MINISTRY REPORT ■ -■■ i DESTRUCTION OF ENEMY AIRCRAFT. PROMPT' HANDLING OF FIRE BOMBS. (British Official Wireless.) • Received This Day. 11.25 a.m.) RUGBY’. January 31. Two enemy bombers were destroyed during daylight raids on Britain today. An official communique states that enemy aircraft, operating singly, dropped bombs through the clouds at several points in the London area and at a few other places in the southern half of England. In the London area, some houses and other buddings were damaged and a smaff number of fires was caused by incendiary bombs. The number of casualties is reported to be not large. Elsewhere little damage was done, and there were very few casualties. So prompt was the action of pedestrians and fire watchers in tackling fire bombs in one London area that the regular fire-fighting organisations could watch the volunteers obtain very useful practice.