MANY ATTACKS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 August 1941, Page 5

MANY ATTACKS

ON ENEMY IN MIDDLE EAST GUN EMPLACEMENTS BOMBED AT TOBRUK. ENEMY BASE IN SOUTH ITALY RAIDED. LONDON, August 4. In the Middle East a squadron of the South African Air Force made a heavy attack on enemy forces in the Tobruk area in which scores of bombs were seen' to fall on the target. Some of the bombs fell on gun emplacements from which the troops in Tobruk had been shelled. The enemy appears to have withdrawn from his forward positions near Tobruk and our troops were able to do much valuable work in locating and destroying minefields. In the 107th raid on Benghazi a large number of fires were started. Air attacks were also made on other objectives in Libya and Tripolitania, and a large number of fighters were blown to pieces in an attack on an enemy base in South Italy. Seventeen persons were killed and 58 injured in an enemy raid on the Suez Canal area last night. Slight damage was done to civilian property.

PUNISHING BLOWS

DAMAGE TO ENEMY BASES. WITHOUT LOSS OF BRITISH PLANES. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 9.50 a.m.) RUGBY, August 4. A R.A.F. Middle East communique states: “Squadrons of the South African Air Force, flying Maryland bombers, delivered a heavy attack on enemy gun positions in the Tobruk area yesterday. Scores of bombs were seen to fall on the targets. R.A.F. and S.A.A.F. fighters carried out offensive patrols over enemy occupied areas. During the night of August 2 a large formation of heavy bombers Of the R.A.F. attacked the harbour of Benghazi and, in addition to causing a large number of fires, a direct hit was registered on an enemy anti-aircraft gun battery. One of these aircraft also machine-gunned anti-aircraft guns and searchlights at the Berwa aerodrome, from a low altitude. During the same night aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm bombed the aerodrome at Gambut while on tho previous day R.A.F. bombers attacked Hisurata, where they demolished a blockhouse with a direct hit, and also severely damaged barrack buildings. “The R.A.F. yesterday carried out a successful, attack oh a number of Italian fighters on the ground at Reggio, in Italy. Fragments of aircraft were seen flying into the air as a result of this attack and it is known that a large number of Macchi 200 s were destroyed. From these operations all our aircraft returned safely.”