HUMBER AS TARGET

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 May 1941, Page 5

HUMBER AS TARGET

CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE DONE

CASUALTIES LIKELY TO BE HEAVY DAY RAIDERS REPELLED. AT SUBSTANTIAL COST TO ENEMY. (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) LONDON. May 9. The Royal Air Force sent a record number of bombers over Germany last night. It is known that Hamburg and Bremen were very heavily attacked, as well as targets in Berlin, Emden and elsewhere. The German news agency admitted that Hamburg. Bremen and other places in north-western Germany were heavily raided, with strong formations taking part. Shortly after this came the official news that the raids were the heaviest ever made. Enemy raids were chiefly on the Humber area jand in two districts in the north Midlands. An Air Ministry communique says that considerable damage was done and the casualties are likely to be heavy in the Humber area. In the Midlands there was some damage, but it is not expected that the casualties will be numerous. Bombs were also dropped in eastern and south-eastern England and the London district, some causing serious damage but only a small number were killed. A later message states that the Merseyside was attacked for the eighth successive night. Raiders were also over Northern Ireland. One Royal Air Force patrol ran into a wave of enemy bombers crossing the English Channel and in 45 minutes had sent six crashing down and damaged others.

Two Nazi planes fell victims to a New Zealand pilot who has already won the Distinguished Flying Cross for his night-flying successes. His first victim went down in flames after the rear gunner had tried desperatively to drive off the attacker. The fuselage of his second victim caught fire after two bursts from his machine-gun and then dived into the sea.

In daylight yesterday 14 German planes, two of them bombers, were shot down when making daylight raids on Britain. 11 of them by fighters and two by anti-aircraft guns. One of our fighters was lost but the pilot is safe. A communique stated that there was considerable daylight air activity off the south and south-east coasts and over eastern Kent, but no reports were received of any bombs having been dropped. One pilot described the operations as a “small-scale Battle of Britain." The raiders found the defences too strong for daylight attack. Three German fighters were destroyed in seven minutes by a Hurricane pilot of a Polish squadron.