NICUT RAIDERS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 February 1941, Page 6

NICUT RAIDERS

ONE CRASHES INTO CABLE OTHERS SHOT DOWN BY BALLOON CREWS. THREE THUS ACCOUNTED FOR IN EIGHT DAYS. (British Official Wireless.> (Received This Day, 11.4 G a.m.) RUGBY. February 19. ■ Including the enemy raider brought down by a collision with a balloon cable on the night of February 15. as announced in an Air Ministry communique, the balloon barrage has destroyed three night raiders in eight days this month, states the Air Ministry news service.

The other two were shot down by gun crews of the balloon barrage. The first bomber crashed into a balloon cable. The engines of the raider failed after a fierce flash had . been seen in the sky and the aircraft fell into the sea.

Three nights later the crew of a barrage balloon opened fire on enemy bombers. Immediately there was an explosion and a sheet of flame and an aircraft dived into the sea about a mile and a half away. Another balloon barrage brought down a third bomber five nights latdr. The gun crew held its fire until the aircraft was directly overhead, when they opened up and hits were registered on the machine. Shortly afterwards, the bomber burst into flames and crashed. Although they normally work on balloons, the crew of the balloon barrage are trained in gunnery.