RAIDS CONTINUE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 April 1941, Page 5

RAIDS CONTINUE

ON BREST NAVAL BASE & OTHER TARGETS ENEMY AERODROMES ATTACKED BY SPITFIRES. TWO NAZI PLANES SHOT DOWN IN BRITAIN. Ln daylight yesterday two German planes were brought down by fighters over Britain, the 8.8. C. reports. The R.A.F. again raided the German naval base at Brest and docks and aerodromes in France and the Low Countries were also attacked. This was followed up yesterday morning by individual Spitfires attacking, from a very low altitude, enemy aerodromes in Northern Franco. R.A.F. ACTIVE PLANE ATTACKS ENEMY DESTROYERS. ESCORTING FIGHTERS BEATEN OFF. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day. 10.20 a.m.) RUGBY. April 7. An Air Ministry communique states: "Enemy warships, supply vessels and troops once more were attacked in daylight yesterday by aircraft of the Coastal Fighter Commands. A Coastal Command Beaufort, aircraft torpedoed i a German destroyer oil the northwest coast of France and it is believed to have been sunk. Another destrover was damaged by a bomb which struck its bows. The Beaufort sighted three German destroyers a few miles west of the He de Batz, oil the northern coast of Britanny. The pilot dived to release his torpedo before the escorting Messerschmitts could intercept. His crew saw the torpedo make a direct hit. amidships on one of the destroyers, throwing up a great spout of water. The German fighters swooped on the Beaufort, which went down to sea level and circled there only ten feet above the water, returning the Messerschmitts’ fire so fiercely that they broke off the engagement. "Bombs dropped by the Bomber Command on targets at Ijmuden. in

Holland, fell among blast furnaces, iron and steel works and a line of gasholders. Clouds of smoke and steam prevented further observation of the results. "Troops, aerodromes, lorries and gun positions were machine-gunned from low altitudes by single Fighter Command aircraft, which carried out offensive patrols over Northern France. During one of those patrols, an enemy fighter was encountered and attacked. It was seen to crash when attempting to land and probably was destroyed. "Last night the Bomber Command made another attack on Brest. Very bad weather and thick cloud, although making it difficult to observe the results. it did not prevent our aircraft reaching the dock area and dropping a largo number of bombs, some from a low level. "Other aircraft attacked docks at Calais and Ostend and aerodromes in the Low Countries. "Three aircraft of the Coastal Command are missing from daylight operations yesterday, and one of the Bomber Command from night operations. R.A.F. fighters this morning destroyed a Dornier 17 off the Suffolk coast. Also in the morning, a Messerschmitt 109 was shot down by R.A.F. fighters of the Coastal Command.