TREMENDOUS BLOW

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 August 1942, Page 3

TREMENDOUS BLOW

STRUCK BY R.A.F. BOMBERS AT DUSSELDORFF MOST CONCENTRATED ATTACK YET MADE. OTHER ENEMY AREAS RAIDED. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, August 1. An attack described by the Air Ministry news service as probably the most concentrated yet made by the Bomber Command of the R.A.F., has been carried out on Dusseldorf, one of the largest centres of heavy industries in Germany. More than 150 40001 b. bombs and a great weight of other bombs of all sizes and hundreds of thousands of incendiaries were dropped on the town. Fires were still burning this morning and it is expected the damage done will have a considerable effect on industry. Airfields in the Low Countries were also bombed. Fighter Command aircraft attacked railway objectives in northern France. Thirty planes of the Bomber Command and_ one fighter are missing. The attack on Dusseldorf by a strong force in good weather was completed in 50 minutes. The defence was saturated, guns and searchlights being confused by the momentum of bombing, although the former were extremely active throughout the attack. Our bombers shot down four German fighters during the attack. Continuing the attacks on Holland, Belgium and Northern France during the night, aircraft of the Fighter Command bombed two marshalling yards and saw their cannon shells strike the engines or trucks of six goods trains. One pilot was fired on by a small ship as he returned. He attacked it with cannon fire and left it with only part of the funnel and superstructure showing above water. Bomb-carrying Hurricanes this afternoon attacked goods trains and other targets in occupied France. North-east of Le Havre, they attacked the Mirville railway station, and two goods trains and bombed a factory, warehouse and railway track. Some bombs were dropped from 20 feet. Engines and trucks were blown off the line. Later in the afternoon, Boston bombers, escorted by Spitfires, attacked the docks at Flushing. Two Bostons are missing. SPLENDID SCORE

OF R.A.F. FIGHTER STATION. NINE HUNDRED NAZI PLANES DESTROYED. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, August 1. The honour of securing the 900th enemy aeroplane for a Fighter Command station in Kent which has the highest scor6 in Britain must be shared by a New Zealander, an Australian and an Englishman, as they all shot down a plane about the same time, and no one is able to say which brought the score to 900. The station began scoring in November, 1939, and one of its squadrons has accounted for 135 planes. NIGHT SWEEPS MADE BY BRITISH FIGHTERS. LONDON, August 2. During the night R.A.F. fighters continued their offensive sweeps over occupied territory. Two are missing. RAIDS ON BRITAIN ENEMY USING NEW TYPE OF FIRE BOMB. LONDON, August 1. Bombs dropped by German raiders last night on a north-eastern town (said by Berlin radio to be Hull), caused a number of casualties in the working class district. Most casualties occurred from bombs which fell between two shelters which were almost | demolished. A number of residents were trapped in their homes. Ten are still missing. Raiders dropped a variety of incendiaries. A warning was issued to fire guards not to approach one type of fire bomb/ An official communique states: “Last night a small number of enemy aircraft dropped bombs in a coastal area in eastertn England. At one place, some persons were killed, and a small number injured. Some damage was done. Elsewhere in the same area damage and casualties were slight. One enemy aircraft was destroyed. An enemy plane was destroyed by a fighter off the south coast of England this morning, and another off the Dutch coast.

NORWICH BOMBED A FEW FATAL CASUALTIES. PLANE LOSSES DURING JULY. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10 a.m.) 1 RUGBY, August 2. I An Air Ministry communique states: : “Fighter Command aircraft were over < occupied territory on extensive patrols j last night. Two of our aircraft are 1 missing. _ 1 “During darkness last night, a small j number of enemy aircraft made a ; short attack on Norwich. A few people^; were killed, but the damage is not , heavy. “During , July, the Axis, excluding - Japan, lost 424 aircraft in all theatres ; of war, not including Russia. The ■ R.A.F. lost 432 aircraft. Fifty-five Axis : aircraft were destroyed over Britain, ■ without R.A.F. loss, while over Europq , the Axis lost 58. The R.A.F. lost 251 in , the Middle East and the Axis lost 307. including 149 at Malta, while the R.A.F. lost 181. The Royal Navy destroyed a . further four enemy machines.” BAD MONTH FOR NAZI NIGHT RAIDERS ON BRITAIN. 43 DESTROYED IN JULY. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.15 a.m.) RUGBY, August 2. Britain’s night defences last month scored their biggest success against the Luftwaffe since the heavy raids of May, 1941. During July, 43 night raid-| ers were destroyed. In one week, night-

fighters, gunners and intruder fighters over enemy bases and occupied terntory between them destroyed 37 machines. This brings the total number of night raiders destroyed over Britain this year to 132. Twelve enemy aircraft were also destroyed in daylight last month, bringing the month’s total to 55. By the end of last month pilots of the Fighter Command had brought then total of enemy aircraft destroyed in daylight since the war began to 4,452.