FIERY ORDEAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 May 1941, Page 5

FIERY ORDEAL

CLUSTER OF INCENDIARIES RAINED DOWN EVERY GUN IN LONDON SEEMED IN ACTION. CASUALTIES IN BUILDINGS & STREETS. LONDON. May 11. The German radio promised for last night the biggest raid ever made against London, and the beginning of it certainly seemed to live up to that promise. Many bombers arrived, raining down clusters of incendiaries and very heavy explosives. Householders declared that raiders swooped almost as low as their roof-tops. More and more incendiaries and explosives came down, and every gun in London seemed to be in action. The rapid onrush of raiders continued unabated, some dropping highex.plosives first presumably with the intention of intimidating the firefighters and Home Guards; however, the fire-engines sped through the streets regardless of the incessant hail of bombs. The brilliant moon became a mere pale circle in the brightness of the incendiaries. A bomb in a street market caused casualties and trapped those sheltering. Other bombs swayed largo buildings. A residential district on the outskirts of London has suffered badly. A direct hit on a warden’s post killed the chief warden and injured others, and an auxiliary fire-station was directly hit. Rescuers are searching for persons entombed in the debris. Numerous incendiaries fell in a south-east coastal town, but firewatching parties mostly extinguished the outbreaks before the brigades arrived. The sound and fury of the bombing slackened considerably after five hours, but the night of horror continued till dawn. Sweeping flames leapt from 'building to building, and many were gutted. | Each new blaze sent up fragments of blazing wood, some as big as a fist and some bigger, which were like a hellish snowfall drifting across the buildings, littering the streets and lodging in gables, starting fresh fires. The air was literally filled with fiery particles. The acrid aftermath of this wanton orgy reveals that at least two of London’s most loved churches, one of which is among the oldest, are mere shells, and others are scarred. Many imposing buildings and office blocks are damaged irreparably. DAMAGE. VERY GREAT IN LATEST ONSLAUGHT ON HAMBURG MANY LARGE FIRES LEFT BURNING. BATTLES WITH NIGHT FIGHTERS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day. 10 a.m.) RUGBY. May 11. Hamburg was the main target of heavy and widespread R.A.F. raids last night. An Air Ministry com- i munique states: “Last night a strong' force of aircraft of the Bomber Command attacked shipyards and industrial quarters in Hamburg. The damage done was very great and many large fires were left burning. “Smaller forces attacked the ports of Bremen, Emden and Rotterdam and objectives in Berlin. “Other aircraft attacked enemy shipping. A naval vessel was hit and two supply ships were damaged. “In the brilliant moonlight, many combats took place between our bombers and enemy fighters. In a number of these engagements the enemy was seen to be hit and broke off action. Two enemy fighters are known to have been destroyed and several others probably were destroyed. Seven of our bombers are missing.

“Aircraft of the Coastal Command attacked enemy supply ships. docks and oil stores at Lapallice. Many fires were seen in oil stores and a refinery and much damage was done to dockside buildings. Other aircraft of the Coastal Command attacked shipping off the Dutch and Danish coasts. No aircraft of the Coastal Command is missing from these operations.”