FINE WAR RECORD

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 May 1943, Page 3

FINE WAR RECORD

OF FREE NORWEGIAN FORCES BOMBS RETURNED WITH INTEREST. TOLL TAKEN OF GERMAN PLANES & U-BOATS. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, May 16. Norwegian airmen flying bombers have now dropped a greater tonnage of bombs on Germany than were dropped by the Germans in Norway during the fighting of 1940. Norwegian ships have sunk a total of 25,000 tons of enemy shipping. These arc among- facts in a review of the activities of the Free Norwegian fighting forces which is given in a Norwegian paper in London, the “Norsk Tidend,” on the occasion of the celebration tomorrow of the Norwegian Independence Day. It is also revealed that Norwegian warships are operating in most waters and have escorted Russian convoys. In 1942 Norwegian corvettes either sank or badly damaged 10 U-boats. Seventy-two German planes have been shot down, 26 others probably destroyed, and 85 damaged. The Norwegian Navy is now some 60 units strong and is manned by some 5000 officers and men, 1200 of whom are serving as gunners on Norwegian merchantmen. The Norwegian Defence Minister announced that in order that there should be enough trained Norwegian officers to command troops to be raised in Norway when it was invaded a training school had been established outside Norway for the first time.