DEEP INTO FRANCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 June 1941, Page 6

DEEP INTO FRANCE

LATEST BRITISH DAYLIGHT SWEEP MINE ENEMY FIGHTERS SHOT DOWN. TWO OF OUR PLANES LOST. LONDON. June 24. Today's British offensive sweep over Northern France was carried to the heart of France's heavy industrial area and a power station was bombed 50 miles inside France. Mine enemy fighters were shot down and two British fighters were lost.

NAZIS OUTFOUGHT

FIVE OF THEIR PLANES DESTROYED. FOR EVERY BRITISH PILOT LOST. (Received This Day, 1.10 p.m.) RUGBY, June 24. In the eight days ending last Monday, the R.A.F. Fighter Command carried out ten offensive operations in daylight over Northern France. They shot down in these operations 112 enemy fighters for the loss cf 26 of our own fighters, five of our pilots being safe. As there was no large-scale offensive on one day, and virtually no opposition to our forces on another, when only one Messerschmitt was shot down, 111 of the 112 destroyed were shot down in six days, states the Air Ministry news service. These fighters do not include the destruction of isolated day raiders by fighter patrols round the coast. On eight of these offensive sweeps, forces of bombers have been escorted to attack targets in Northern France, and enemy shipping in the Channel.

Many squadrons of our fighters, constituting very formidable striking forces, have flown over occupied territory during the last eight days, but only a few enemy machines have approached this country singly in daylight. In our operations in Northern France, the enemy lost more than five fighters for every British pilot not returned.