AIR OFFENSIVE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 April 1942, Page 3

AIR OFFENSIVE

PRESSED BY BRITISH FORMATIONS FULL ADVANTAGE TAKEN OF MOONLIGHT NIGHTS. ATTACKS ON SUPPLY SHIPS. (By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright) LONDON, March 31. The Fighter Command is taking full advantage of the present moonlight nights to maintain the offensive against the enemy, says the Air IXliiiistry news service. Immediately daylight fighter sweeps end, night fighters and fighter bombers prepare to take off to carry the war still deeper into the occupied territories. Aerodromes were bombed and machine-gunned. Units of small German bomber forces now raiding Britain were intercepted and attacked, and marshalling yards, factories and other easily identifiable targets sought out and bombed. The past week has been a particularly successful one for night fighters. On one moonlight night an oil refinery near the Ghent aerodrome and railway yards was accurately bombed. Night fighters destroyed a Dornier 217 bomber over its own aerodrome and probably destroyed a second. Another night 12 aerodromes were visited. An Air Ministry communique states that the Coastal Command last night attacked shipping off the Norwegian coast. In Saturday night’s attack on Lubeck our bombers destroyed two enemy fighters. In a raid on the Ruhl’ on Thursday night they destroyed one. Swift moonlight attacks on German supply ships were carried out last night by aircraft of the Coastal Command patrolling the coasts of Norway and Denmark, says the Air Ministry news service.

A medium sized vessel was torpedoed by a Beaufort and probably sunk, and a smaller ship was bombed by a Hudson and left burning. Torpedoes were released at two other ships, but heavy anti-aircraft fire prevented the results from being seen.