AIR OPERATIONS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 March 1941, Page 6

AIR OPERATIONS

R.A.F. BUSY IN AFRICA SUCCESSES IN KEREN AREA. SOUTH AFRICANS ALSO BUSY. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 1.25 p.m.) RUGBY, March 18. An R.A.F. Middle East communique states: —There Was continued activity by R.A.F. fighters and bombers in the Keren area yesterday. Troops and gun posifions were dive-bombed and machine-gunned. During these operations, an Italian CR42 was intercepted by our aircraft and shot down. “In Abyssinia, further south, enemy troops and motor transport vehicles in the Harar and Jijiga areas were attacked by the machine-gun fire of the South African Air Force. An enemy aircraft, which was machine-gunned at Jijiga on March 15, was observed to be burnt out. Four more Italian aircraft are now known to have been definitely destroyed by the South African Air Force near Daggabur and Diredawa on March 13 to 15. "A heavy attack was made on Tripoli harbour by R.A.F. bombers. A direct hit was observed on the mole. Other bombs straddled shipping and quays. Large fires were started on the south side of the harbour, in hangars and among military stores, while explosions were seen at a railway depot and near the wireless station.”