AIR OFFENSIVE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 April 1941, Page 6

AIR OFFENSIVE

BRITISH DAY & NIGHT OPERATIONS AGAINST OCCUPIED ARFAS & GERMANY. NAZI BASES BLASTED. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.50 a.m.) RUGBY. April 13. During daylight yesterday, the R.A.F. carried out extensive operations against the enemy. These ranged over the North Sea, enemy-occupied territory and Germany. Aircraft of the Bomber Command attacked shipping off the Dutch coast and a number of industrial targets. A power station and goods yard near Neidcn were bombed and a successful attack was made on docks and petrol stores at Flushing.

Other aircraft flew into Germany and bombed targets in the North Ruhr and at Zuotcland. A supply ship alongside a jetty was bombed and hit. One aircraft of the Bomber Command is missing from these operations. Aircraft of the Coastal Command bombed and machine-gunned two enemy ships near Fecamp and destroyed an enemy fighter ofi Berck. One aircraft of the Coastal Command is missing from patrol. Fighter Command aircraft also carried out several offensive patrols over Northern France and the coast of Holland. One patrol attacked the aerodrome at Le Touquet from a low level. Hangars, gun emplacements and enemy aircraft on the ground were machinegunned and two fires were started. Near Berck, gun positions were ma-chine-gunned and silenced by another patrol. At Hazebrouck storage tanks were attacked and one enemy fighter was destroyed; One of our aircraft is missing.

Last, night aircraft of the Bomber Command continued their offensive against the naval base at Brest in spite of bad weather. The submarine base at Lorient and an aerodrome at Merignac, which is the principal base of the Fockewulf bombers, were also attacked and largo fires were seen at these places. One of our aircraft is missing from the night operations.