BY DAY & NIGHT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 April 1941, Page 6

BY DAY & NIGHT

MANY TARGETS ATTACKED BY R.A.F. SCHARNHORST & GNF.ISENAU AGAIN BOMBED. POWER & WIRELESS STATIONS HIT. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 9.40 a.m.) RUGBY, April 15. An Air Ministry communique states: “A strung force of aircraft of the Bomber Command bombed the naval base at Brest last night. 'The attack lasted for about four hours. It began in cloudy weather, but later the sky became clearer, though darkness made the observation of results difficult. Both the battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau could be seen to be still in their berths. Hundreds of heavy bombs were dropped in the dock areas. Bursts were seen which appeared to be either on or near the ships, but it Was impossible to confirm direct hits.

“In daylight yesterday, aircraft of the same Command attacked enemy shipping off the Dutch coast and a number of objectives inland. A convoy of supply ships, with an escort of fighters and naval patrol vessels, was ' sighted and attacked by a number of aircraft, from a low level, both with bombs and machine-gun fire. In some instances poor visibility prevented .observation of the results, but a supply ship of about 4.000 tons was hit and left with clouds of steam, escaping. Power stations nt Haarlem and Leyden were hit by several bombs. A wireless station near Leyden was bombed and one of its pylons collapsed. Troops guarding the station were machinegunned. The crew of a gun emplacement near Zandvoert were -also ma-chine-gunned. In the course of these daylight operations, enemy fighter patrols were encountered, but these failed to prevent our bombers pressing home their attack.

"From all these operations, by day and by night, one of our aircraft is missing.”