BERLIN BOMBED

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21210, 5 September 1940, Page 7

BERLIN BOMBED

SUCCESS OF BRITISH PILOT’S THRILLING STORY MILITARY TARGETS HIT (Official Wireless) (Received Sept. 5, 11 a.m.) RUGBY, Sept. 4 A tribute to the German blackout was made in London today by two Royal Air Force officers who have frequently been engaged in bombing expeditions over enemy territory. One of them expressed the view that there “must be a death penalty imposed for showing a light.” A young flight-lieutenant, describing his first raid on Berlin, said: “It was the greatest thrill of my life.” He spoke of the honour which his crew felt had been paid it by its selection for this expedition. “The machine took off almost at dusk on a clear night,” he said, “and crossed the sea in what daylight was left. We were greeted at three cities with tremendous anti-aircraft fire, but fortunately were not hit and when about thirty miles from Berlin the barrage was terrific. “We could see other aircraft which had got there before us dropping flares, but the night was so cloudy over the city that at first I was unable to locate the target. My crew said, ‘You are not going back without dropping bombs. Find that target somehow.’ We came down low. A flare from another aircraft illuminated the target and we bombed it. Everything in City Revealed “Actually only about three bombers found the targets that night, but next time we went—last Friday—the weather was perfect, and although it was night lime we managed to locate nearly everything in Berlin by the reflected glare of the searchlights which were trying to penetrate the slight mist. “The whole of Berlin was clearly outlined. I could see the Unter-den-Linden plainly. I also saw the big sports stadium. Then, marking the target by means of a lake, I dropped bombs. I think that on this occasion each of our bombers found the target, which were big works.” Claims by Germany Informed circles in Germany claim that four or five British planes were brought down when they were approaching Berlin last night. Several Fires Started A pilot stated that he was greeted by anti-aircraft fire, which he described as intense but somewhat haphazard. but not a single searchlight was switched on. He delivered an attack and as mixed sticks of heavy and incendiary bombs fell on the yards there was a series of vivid flashes and several fires. Early on Tuesday morning another aircraft bombed a large electric power station at Genoa from a low altitude. The attack on the Schelbusch dynamite factory took place early on Monday evening. The Dortmund-ems Canal was again bombed and unexpectedly little opposition was met.