FIGHTER SWEEPS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 March 1943, Page 4

FIGHTER SWEEPS

OVER OCCUPIED TERRITORY ATTACK ON CHERBOURG AIRFIELD. DAMAGE DONE TO MANY TARGETS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 1 p.m.) RUGBY, March 14. A Fighter Command communique reports: “Attacks were made by Whirlwind fighter-bombers on enemy airfields in France and sweeps by Spitfires over occupied territory today. Whirlwinds, escorted by Spitfires, attacked a German fighter airfield at Maupertus, in the Cherbourg Peninsula and that at Abbeville early in the evening. In the first of these operations the attack on the Cherbourg airfield was carried out in two waves, one formation of Whirlwinds being escorted by Czech Spitfire pilots, the other by British squadrons. . Not a single enemy fighter rose to intercept fighters as they swept over and all the aircraft returned safely, to report that, with uninterrupted bombing, bursts were seen on dispersals and on the perimeter track and centre of an airfield. Belgian and Australian pilots, as well as British, took part in the Abbeville attack—reported as very successful —while the sweep carried out by British and Fighting French squadrons of Whirlwinds, which dived from 13,000 to 7,000 feet, again had unhampered bombing. Two Focke Wulf 190 s were destroyed by French pilots and others were damaged. Earlier in the afternoon a fighter wing, sweeping the Fecamp area, saw an enemy aircraft making vapour trails a few miles away, but in this case the enemy could not be enticed into a fight. Fighters also swept the Abbeville and St Omer areas and the coast of Belgium from the Dutch border to Knocke and all the planes returned. It was reported that no enemy aircraft were seen and no flak. From the whole day’s operations four of our planes are missing. Last night there was little enemy activity over South-East England, it is officially stated. Bombs were dropped in coastal areas, causing some damage and a small number of casualties. It is now known that a fifth enemy aircraft was destroyed during raids on Britain on Thursday night.