POWERFUL ATTACK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 April 1943, Page 3

POWERFUL ATTACK

ON CHIEF ITALIAN NAVAL BASE MADE BY HOME-BASED BRITISH BOMBERS EVIDENCE OF HEAVY DAMAGE. DAWN RAIDS ON NORTH-WEST GERMANY. LONDON, April 14. Four - engined Lancaster bombers from Britain flew nearly 700 miles to Italy last night to join in the Mediterranean air offensive, when they attacked Italy’s chief naval base at Spezia, on the Gulf of Genoa. It was a heavy attack and photographs show that the crews had the big naval yards well in their sights. The captain of the last Lancaster to leave said the docks were burning fiercely. Several crews reported seeing a large ship on fire in the outer harbour. The defences were weak. At the beginning of the raid a few searchlights were poking up into the sky, but they were not moved. Towards the end of the raid the crews began to swing them around, but they wavered hopelessly, like grass in the wind. An airman said he could see the interiors of buildings looking quite black, but with their walls white hot, and there were wide areas as red as the inside of a furnace. The raid involved a round trip of 1300 miles and a double crossing of the Alps. It was the first time Spezia has been the main objective of our bombers. The importance of Spezia has increased considerably since the R.A.F. so heavily damaged the Genoa base, 50 miles away. The population of 100.000 is mainly connected with shipbuilding and repairing, and especially with submarine works. Other British bombers made dawn attacks on targets in North-West Germany. Three bombers are missing from this raid and the raid on Italy. DAYLIGHT OPERATIONS. This afternoon fighter-bombers, escorted by fighters, attacked enemy shipping off the coast of Brittany and railway yards at Bruges, in Belgium. Three enemy aircraft were shot down and two more German fighters were destroyed over the English Channel. Four of our machines are missing from the days operations.