STILL MOUNTING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 July 1941, Page 5

STILL MOUNTING

ENEMY SHIPPING LOSSES HEAVY DURING PAST WEEK. GREATER THAN BRITAIN’S IN WHQLE OF JUNE. [ (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 9.50 a.m.) RUGBY, June 20. With the probable destruction of 48,000 tons of enemy shipping in two successful attacks on convoys yesterday, the R.A.F. during the past week has destroyed or seriously damaged 42 enemy ships —a total of some 242,000 tons. In the past week the R.A.F. has sunk a great tonnage of enemy shipping than the total of British shipping lost for the whole of June. The most successful attacks have been carried out during the past four days and the amount then sunk was not included in the total of 300,000 tons of enemy shipping destroyed in the past four months, given by the Air Minister, Sir Archibald Sinclair, in his speech yesterday. In the daylight raid on Rotterdam on July 16, between 90,000 and 100,000 tons were probably sunk and a further 40,000 to 45,000 tons were severely damaged. On the night of that day, a further 10,000' tons were almost certainly sunk. On July 18 16,000 tons were destroyed and yesterday a further 48,000 tons were probably destroyed. These totals do not include successes in the Mediterranean against shipping, which also have been considerable recently. The Air Minister’s figures for the total enemy losses during the past four months must have now grown to some 500,000 tons sunk and about as much again severely damaged. Sir Archibald Sinclair said: “The rate of destruction increases and the weight of attack delivered on enemy shipping during the past fortnight of this month exceeds anything" previously achieved.” In the course of operations over the Channel this morning British fighters destroyed an enemy fighter. ENEMY PILOTS JACK IN THE BOX ESCAPE. SPRING-LIKE RELEASE.' (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, July 19. A new method of quickly getting out ■of damaged Messerschmitts was reported by a wing commander who destroyed one and shared in the destruction of another during the attack on Dunkirk on Saturday. He said: — “After being hit one Messerschmitt pilot immediately threw back his hood and sprang out like a jack-in-the-box. It looked as though he had been released by a spring and his parachute opened as soon as he was out of the top of his loop.” A squadron leader reports that he recently noticed similar spring-like releases of Messerschmitt pilots on other occasions,