BLIND BOMBING
RAIDS ON BRITAIN VERY HEAVY CASUALTIES HOUSES DEMOLISHED (Omcial Wireless) (Received Oct. 18, 11 a.m.) RUGBY, Oct. 17 Low cloud hung over London last night and the anti-aircraft fire kept the raiders above the clouds, from which they dropped bombs blindly, a communique states. The enemy dropped bombs in several parts of Britain. London being again the chief objective. In a few London districts a number of dwel-ling-houses was demolished, causing some casualties, including several people killed. There have been no reports of widespread damage in any other parts of London or suburbs, but in several places in these areas houses were hit and people killed or injured. Only a few industrial buildings were affected. The number of fires caused was small, and all were brought under control. The indications are that the casualties have not been heavy. Bombs were dropped on the Merseyside and a town in the Midlands. In both attacks the material damage was slight but there were some casualties, including a small number of fatalities. Attacks were made on districts in the home counties, south-east and south-west England, Wales and at isolated points in England and Scotland.
In several places houses and property were damaged. Reports indicate, however, that the general extent of the damage was slight and there has been only a small number of casualties. Four enemy bombers are known to have been destroyed. Casualties in Hospitals One hundred and twenty raiders attempted to reach London this afternoon, but they were chased off. They dropped bombs on a south-east town, causing a few casualties. A family of five was wiped out as a result of a direct hit on an Anderson shelter. Five others were killed in another shelter in last night’s raids. Two more hospitals in the southeast of England were hit. A nurse at one was killed and members, of the staff and patients injured. Nurses and doctors worked in taking patients to safety, not relaxing attention even while raiders were circling overhead. Those severely injured were mostly nurses. The other hospital was one for mental patients, and between 20 and 30 patients had remarkable escapes. The roof and walls were severely damaged and windows shattered. Rescuers found the patients safe, the debris having fallen around them. A third bomber was brought down last night in the Liverpool district. The bodies of three members of the crew were near the wreckage. Formations Split Up A Ministry of Home Security communique states: The enemy made a number of attacks today on the south-east of England. These were mainly carried out by fighters, flying at a great height. Large forces of our fighters engaged the enemy on each occasion and split up his formations.
A few of the enemy succeeded in penetrating the London area and reports so far received indicate that few bombs were dropped, the damage does not appear to be great, and the casualties are not expected to be heav^*. Other raiders dropped some bombs on coast towns in Kent and a few other points in the south of England, with little effect. Three enemy aircraft were destroyed today and one of our fighters is missing. The four German aircraft destroyed last night are to be found near Harwich, Bishops Stortford, Denbigh and Frome. A German High Command communique admitted the loss of only two aircraft. PLEDGES BROKEN RAID BY ITALIAN PLANES (United Pres* Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) (Received Oct. 17, 1 p.m.) ALEXANDRIA, Oct. 16 Violating the pledge given by the radio to respect the Moslems’ holy month, Italian planes unsuccessfully raided last night and endeavoured to bomb the Mediterranean Fleet, which returned safely after eight days at
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Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21247, 18 October 1940, Page 5
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609BLIND BOMBING Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21247, 18 October 1940, Page 5
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