MIGHTY FORCES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 November 1941, Page 6

MIGHTY FORCES

EMPLOYED IN LATEST

AIR ATTACKS ON GERMANY AND OCCUPIED AREAS. HEAVY LOSSES PROMPTLY MADE KNOWN. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.55 a.m.) RUGBY, November 9. This week’s R.A.F. activity is noteworthy for the greatest force of bombers ever to leave Britain on a single night attacking Berlin, Cologne, Mannheim and the Ruhr, while the Soviet national day was being celebrated in Moscow. A sudden weather, change while this mighty force was above the targets interfered with the accurate reporting of results and led to the loss of a higher proportion of aircraft than usual. Thirty-seven bombers, mostly forced down by the weather, failed to return. These losses were promptly made known to the world by the Air

Ministry. This spectacular effort was followed by another strong attack on the following night, on Essen and other industrial towns in Western Germany, resulting in heavy explosions and fires. Continued exceptionally severe weather conditions limited night operations in the earlier part of the week, though bombers defied the weather to carry out an attack on Essen on the night of November 4 and bombers were out every night of the week attacking ports, docks and shipping routes in the Channel and on the North Sea coasts. Every day of the week saw daylight sweeps over Northern France by R.A.F. bombers and fighters. A striking feature of these raids was the use, for the first time, of fighting bombers, with excellent results.

A daylight attack followed the great night offensive on Friday, when at least 300 fighters and a number of bombers were over Erance. This was one ’of the heaviest non-stop raids which has ever left factories, siding and docks in flames.

From these operations 55 R.A.F. bombers and 81 fighters are missing, while eleven German fighters. are known to have been shot down.