HEAVY ATTACKS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 October 1941, Page 6

HEAVY ATTACKS

ON NORTH AFRICAN OBJECTIVES MADE BY ROYAL AIR FORCE. NAVAL PLANES ALSO BUSY. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 12.20 p.m.) RUGBY, October 13. A R.A.F. Middle East communique today records continued heavy attacks on North African key objectives. The harbours of Benghazi and Tripoli were raided by heavy bombers on the night of October 11. At Benghazi, a large fire broke out on the Cathedral Mole, while at Tripoli bombs were seen to fall on a seaplane base, barrack buildings, the Spanish Mole and the Spanish Quay. Other aircraft attacked Bardia and started a number of fires among motor transport workshops. Aircraft arriving later found a large fire which was visible for many miles from the target. Gazala aerodrome was also raided. In the course of patrol activity in the frontier zone yesterday, formations of our fighters encountered opposition from enemy fighters, and in_ several air combats three Messerschmitt 109’s and another aircraft were destroyed. Other enemy aircraft were severely damaged. Four of our planes are missing. In the Central Mediterranean, naval aircraft bombed a medium-sized merchantman on the night of October 11, but owing to cloud and bad visibility the results of the attack could not be observed. Other naval aircraft ma-chine-gunned a barrack building at Cape Passero, Sicily. With the exception of the four fighters mentioned above, our aircraft returned safely from these and other operations.