CORINTH CANAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 August 1941, Page 6

CORINTH CANAL

CLOSED BV BRITISH BOMBERS WIDE RANGE OF EFFECTIVE ATTACKS. MANY TARGETS TN SICILY & AFRICA.

(British Official Wireless.) (Received This Dav, 11.35 a.m.) RUGBY, August 15. Heavy R.A.F. attacks have closed the Corinth Canal, according to an R.A.F. Middle East communique, which states: “On the night of August 3, and again on the night of August 13, bomber aircraft of the R.A.F. carried out heavy bombing attacks on the Corinth Canal, with a view to preventing its use by enemy shipping.

A subsequent examination of photographs shows that considerable landslides were caused on the bank of the Canal by bombs, and that these are sufficient to prevent the passage of enemy shipping for some considerable time.

“Our aircraft' also dropped a number of bombs on the aerodrome at Heraklion, in Crete. "A force of heavy bombers also attacked Tripoli on the night, of August 13. Hits were obtained on Government buildings and on anti-aircraft gun positions. “Swordfish aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm raided the submarine base of Augusta, in Sicily, on the night of August 13. Two hits were observed on a submarine jetty and a large fire broke out on the quay. Other Swordfish aircraft bombed barrack blocks al Syracuse, starting a fire which spread over a large area and caused two explosions, In the course of the operations, a reconnaissance of Syracuse Harbour showed that a merchant vessel attacked by Swordfish aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm on the night of August 10 was sunk. “Attacks have been made on Wolchefit and Gondar (Abyssinia). At Wolchefit enemy trenches and buildings were bombed on August 14. On the previous day, at Gondar, two direct hits were made on buildings near the military headquarters, and three on a remaining depot, which started a number of fires.

“From all these operations, one of our aircraft is missing.”