RAIN OF BONUS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 April 1941, Page 5

RAIN OF BONUS

POURED DOWN ON LONDON FOR EIGHT HOURS WORST RAID OF WAR NAZIS USE DIVE TACTICS. CASUALTIES EXPECTED TO BE HEAVY. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, April 17. The Luftwaffe last night, pounded the London area for eight hours in the most smashing and .most intensive raid since the outbreak of the war. The Germans dive-bombed London, which was the newest, and most daring tactic the Luftwaffe has used in its attacks on powerfully-defend-ed areas in Britain.

It is believed that several hundred planes—more than any previous raid — smashed at the metropolis, and London rocked under terrific blows of bombs screeching from the starry sky. There was a waning moon which did not appear till the early hours of this morning.’

Reports of casualties so far are scanty, but they are expected to prove heavy. Thousands of incendiary bombs started many fires which threw a giant orange glow over the metropolis. Fire engines clanged almost constantly and fire-fighters who had spent the day as clerks, salesmen and in other occupations, battled with the blazes amid a hail of more incendiaries and thousands of high-explosive bombs. The fires were quelled with amazing quickness.

Not a single other place throughout Britain has reported even the presence of raiders all night.

Anti-aircraft guns brought down the first raider within an hour of the beginning of the attack. Since soon after dusk, when continuous waves began pouring over London all the civilian defence personnel were struggling with their jobs in spite of the terrifying rain of high-explo-sives, incendiaries and anti-aircraft shell fragments. At the end of seven hours R.A.F. night-fighters and the Luftwaffe were still furiously duelling over the blazing city. Roofspotters heard an almost constant drone of Defiants, Hurricanes. Beauforts and D.7’s and also frequent machine-gunning. A new tactic of the raiders seemed to be the dropping of comparatively few “sticks” of three to five high-ex-plosive bombs simultaneously; instead they dumped bombs one by one, while the bulk of the populace burrowed underground to the basements, subway stations and Anderson shelters in back gardens—in any place where they could feel best protected from the blast and flying bricks, glass, timber and girders.

The spirit of the Londoners appeared to be bearing up well under the strain of the constant hammering. There was an example in the Australia); United Press office when an office boy of 15 snoozed in a chair beside the switchboard, oblivious to the deafening explosions of bombs and guns which were rocking the building. We had to nudge him to answer the telephone. An Air Ministry communique issued at 8 a.m. states: “Enemy aircraft last night made a very heavy and sustained attack on London. It began soon after dark, and continued till shortly before dawn. Early reports show that the casualties are heavy, and the damage considerable. Bombs dropped outside’ London were mainly in the Home Counties, and the casualties in these areas were not heavy, and the damage was not excessive. Two raiders were destroyed during the night.” ENEMY LOSSES SIX BOMBERS DESTROYED. TWO WHILE ON THEIR WAY TO LONDON. LONDON. April 17. The Germans lost six bombers in their mass attack on London last night. Two of the enemy machines were destroyed on their way to London by a wing-com-mander who is leader of a nightfighting squadron. Mr Winant. the American Ambassador and Mrs Winant, expressed their horror at the devastation they saw in London this morning, after a tour of the West End. “I know now what ‘London can take it' really means,” said Mr Winant.

Among those killed were Lord Stamp, Economic Adviser to the Government, Lady Stamp and their son. There was little enemy air activity over Britain today. A plane made a hit and run raid on a north-east Scotland town, where four people were killed.

HOSPITALS STRUCK BUT FEW CASUALTIES AMONG PATIENTS. VICTIMS TRAPPED UNDER DEBRIS. (Received This Day. 9.40 a.m.) LONDON, April 17. Hospitals again suffered severely. Three were struck but few casualties resulted. There was considerable damage done when two bombs fell near a hospital, demolishing several houses, but there were no casualties among the inmates of the hospital. Fifteen persons were buried under houses when a heavy bomb fell. A rescue squad extricated most of them, digging under the debris by the light of torches: A woman and two children are still trapped.,but it is feared that all are dead.

THOUSANDS HOMELESS AFTER AN UNPRECEDENTED ORDEAL. FIRE ENGINES STILL BUSY AT DAWN. LONDON. April 17. A special representative of the Australian Associated Press, reporting last night’s raid on the capital, says that for eight hours the German bombers vented their fury on innocent citizens. London had ex-

perienced nothing like this terrific onslaught, even .in the height of the autumn blitz. Many of the previous assaults have been more prolonged, but none has caused such damage. The raiders began to stream across the coast immediately after dark, after which there was scarcely a minute's lull in the ferocious bombing. Buildings sometimes shuddered incessantly for long periods. The old familiar sound of crashing walls rose above tremendous bursts of gunfire and an unprecedented noise of planes, which seemed to swoop lower than ever before.

The attack was not relaxed till the first glimmer of dawn. A fierce glow of fires through the night lit up the entire capital. , The coastal guns hotly engaged the early waves of raiders, but they pressed on, dropping flares and thousands of fire-bombs as guides to the following planes. Many buildings were blazing as the later bombers roared in with high explosives. There has never been such an unholy symphony in London's night sky.

Many hundreds of fire-watchers whose services were for the first time called on in earnest were amazed at the hours-long roar over their heads such as London so far had not heard. At dawn fire engines were still clanging through the debris-strewn streets. It is estimated that thousands of homeless persons are thronging the rest centres, where they are being given hot tea, sandwiches and clothing. Arrangements have been made for emergency housing.