BIG FIRES IN BERLIN

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21205, 30 August 1940, Page 7

BIG FIRES IN BERLIN

RAIDS BY BRITISH AIRMEN EXPLOSIONS AND FLAMES—RAILWAY DAMAGED WAVES OF PLANES OVER WHOLE OF CITY (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) (Received August 30, 11.15 a.m.) STOCKHOLM, August 29 The Afton Bladet says that Royal Air Force raids on Berlin last night were more violent than the raid on August 25. Several waves apparently operated and the anti-aircraft fire indicated that the British planes were distributed over the whole of Berlin. Red flames followed the detonation of bombs. The worst fires were caused, in East Berlin, where the Goerlitzer railway goods yard was set on fire. Fires also broke out in North Berlin, notably in the Greifswaderstrasse. The authorities claim that the fires were mostly confined to roofs of buildings. A special attack on one objective only four miles from the centre of the city was selected by Royal Air Force aircraft which dropped a large number of bombs on a series of carefully-chosen military objectives in Berlin last night. A young pilot officer, describing the attack on the Berlin power station, said: “We bombed it dead on midnight. Somebody had been there before us and when we arrived we found the target well on fire. We could see it when we were 25 minutes’ flying time away from the target. We came in more or less north to south, and put a stick of bombs down just to the left of this big fire. Then four or more fires were started. They were burning with very bright white lights. Altogether we were cruising round over Berlin for about half-an-hour.”

Big Fires Seen Another pilot who attacked the same target reported a line about half-a-mile long of what appeared to be white-hot fire. Attacking another target, a captain and his crew reported that after they had made their attack they saw fires 50 miles a\?ay when on the return journey. Taking their bearings from a sheet of water one raider dropped a stick of heavy bombs on works near Texel, one of Berlin’s lakes. Owing to the haze he was unable to determine the success of this attack, but twenty minutes later another pilot saw a fire at these works. Shot by Own Defences On the way out a wing commander and his crew saw a German plane shot down by its own defences. The enemy aircraft was approaching a German-occupied aerodrome with its navigation lights on. Two green lights, presumably the signal to land, were flashed from the ground. Then the searchlights caught the aircraft. Gunfire started and apparently hit the German plane, which dived vertically to the ground. Germans Take Shelter A number of British planes were over greater Berlin last night, according to the German official news agency, and press reports state that for three hours while the bombers were overhead the people of Berlin were in shelters.