CLOUD MASSES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 June 1942, Page 4

CLOUD MASSES

HINDRANCE IN GREAT RAID ON BREMEN SKIES ABOVE LIGHTED BRIGHTLY. BIG FIRES BLAZING IN ENEMY PORT. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.0 a.m..) RUGBY, June 26. Describing the Bremen raid last night, the Air Ministry says: “The bombing of Germany’s second-lar-gest port in this third R.A.F. fourfigure raid Was concentrated into 75 minutes—fifteen minutes less than the time taken for the gigantic attack on Cologne. The weather failed to come up to expectations. Clouds, blowing in from the sea, often covered Bremen. At times no more could be seen than the glow of fires under the clouds, though the flames were bright enough to light up the sky above. Some of the crews who managed to dip underneath the very low cloudbase reported many large fires. It was very bright above the clouds, with a glow of northern lights in the distance and a brilliant moon to the southward. It was thus a good night for fighters. The captain of a Halifax said he could distinguish the types of aircraft as far as five miles away. ‘We could see fights going on and tracer bullets weaving about,’ he said, ‘but the conditions meant that fighters had little chance of pouncing on us without being seen. It was nothing unusual for a bomber to be surrounded by three or four fighters.’ “There were many fierce battles. Several rear-gunners definitely shot down enemy fighters. In i addition to the British 'squadrons, there were Royal Dutch Naval Air Service aircraft and also Polish, Czechoslovak and Canadian squadrons.”