AIR RAIDING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 March 1941, Page 5

AIR RAIDING

LITTLE ENEMY ACTIVITY OVER BRITAIN GERMAN OPERATIONS YESTERDAY. SOME DAMAGE & CASUALTIES. There was little enemy air activity over Britain yesterday, states the 8.8. C. Shortly after dawn bombs were dropped in a few places in south-east England. There were no serious casualties and very .little damage. Yesterday afternoon single enemy planes dropped bombs. Some damage was done but the casualties were not numerous, though a small number of people were killed.

ON REDUCED SCALE R.A.F. RAIDS OVER GERMANY. SURVEY OF WEEK’S ACTIVITY. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, March 8. R.A.F. raids over German and occupied territory during the week ended at dawn on March 7 were again on a reduced scale. Among objectives attacked were Wilhelmshaven, where the naval docks were subjected to a long raid lasting several hours; Emden port and military objectives; Lorient naval barracks, where one aircraft came down to 50 feet and debris was thrown high into the air from barracks; Cologne, where wharves, industrial buildings and factories were subjected to a heavy, successful raid, many fires breaking out. On the return crews saw a glare in the sky for nearly 100 miles. A second raid was made here later in the week. The R.A.F. also made three raids on Boulogne and two on Brest, where, though observation was difficult, pilots report a cruiser of the Hipper class which was in dock, must have been damaged by bombs, which if they did not directly hit it, must have fallen close enough to inflict damage. There have been many daylight sweeps over the Channel to northern France, Holland (north-west Germany and night attacks on aerodromes by fighter patrols, in which several German aircraft have been destroyed or damaged. From widespread operations 11 of our aircraft are missing. Five German aircraft were certainly destroyed and six more most probably destroyed, but the result could not be seen because of low cloud.

SPLIT=SECOND CHANCE SPITFIRE PILOT’S SUCCESS. SHOOTING DOWN OF JUNKERS BOMBER. RUGBY, March 8. One of two Junkers 88’s shot down by the Fighter Command today off the east coast owed its destruction to the speed with which a Spitfire pilot seized and turned to account a split-second chance, states the Air Ministry news service. The pilot was on patrol with a companion off the Norfolk coast when a Junkers 8 suddenly dived out of thick cloud above him and passed between the two British aircraft, which were only 100 yards apart. The pilot of the rear Spitfire, despite his surprise, immediately gave chase and opened fire, getting in several short bursts from his machine-gun. The leading pilot also turned and joined the fight. The enemy dived steeply io destruction in the sea only a few seconds after he had first been seen. The plane’s destruction was confirmed by members of the observer corps on the coast and boats were sent out, but there was no trace of the plane or crew. The second Junkers met its fate after being sighted inland by two Spitfire pilots, who chased it out to sea. A sergeant-pilot gained the victory after firing several bursts which set fire to the whole aircraft, which went into a cloud with smoke pouring from it. “I followed it down,” said the pilot, “and got below the cloud first. While I waited and watched it came through out of control and in flames and went straight into the sea. There was no need to fire again. Three of the crew baled out. The wreckage floated for some minutes.”