WELL ORGANISED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 December 1942, Page 4

WELL ORGANISED

POWERFUL ALLIED AIR ATTACKS ENEMY COLUMNS HARRIED. ROVING COMMISSION GIVEN TO FIGHTER-BOMBERS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.5 a.m.) RUGBY, December 14. Describing the air strafing of the Axis forces at El Agheila, a correspondent says: “Late on Saturday night, operation controllers and squadron commanders had worked out the details of the order which was to result in this day of intensive strafing. Hundreds of fighterbombers took off on a roving commission, to bomb from a low level the tnin-skinned enemy vehicles hastening along the salt marsh road towards Nofilia, 90 miles westward. Before breakfast, columns of smoke were rising from burning lorries, but there was no dense concentration of enemy transport. Rommel had remembered the slaughter of El Daba and had dispersed his columns under cover of darkness on the previous night. Unceasingly, Kittyhawks of the R.A.F., the South African and Australian air forces sought out their targets and dropped bombs from as low as 100 feet. Spitfires dived in to complete the attacks with cannon fire. Enemy fighters made some half-heart-ed attempt to prevent these offensive operations, but their efforts were a dismal failure and in two engagements alone at least six Messerschmitts were shot down by our fighters.