MIDDLE EAST
THE CHINA MAIL, JANUARY 17, 1941.
RAIDS
30 Enemy Aircraft Left Burned Out On Ground WRITING HEAVY RAID
ON THE WALL
Hitler will be broken against the iron will of the British people," de- clared the Air Minister Sir Archibald Sinclair.) speaking at Glasgow yes- terday.
next
BY R.A.F.
ON BENGHAZI
BETWEEN THIRTY and forty German and Italian aircraft were burned out or severely damaged during the R.A.F.'s initial raid on Catania airport in Sicily on Sunday night, it is now revealed.
Italy's principa! Libyan port, Benghazi, was heavily raided both on Monday and Tues- day nights.
Britain will not be his victim, he said, "but one country ber 3 that "Fascist Italy has de- which is in real peril of complete liberately willed this war against Nazi domination is Italy. brought England.”
In
These disclosures are made in an R.A.F. communique issued in Cairo last night. Describing the Benghazi raids, the communique to the edge of destruction by the j Italy had gained nothing from says that the main mole of the infatuated ambition of Mussolini."; the sacrifice of Italian lives
harbour was heavily bombed and The Abyssinians were now
large fires
Among were caused in Spain. "She stonds to lose every-
Cus- around the arms and he hoped there would thing because
Mussolini's the buildings of
toms House. not be a long wait before they cowardly miscalculations and un- regain their indenend-nee
A heavy explosion occurred at, provoked attacks first upon France and Britain and then upon the
the base of the Mole.
hermic Greeks."
"Fascisin is doomed and friends of Italy must hope that the strong Halian forces will break the grip of the Fascist bosses before they drag Italy down wit them! int German slavery."
Formidable Enemy
Uttering a word of caution. over the victorious achievements in Libya, Sir Archiba'd said that behind the defeated armies, of Italy loomed the huge arm ies of Germany-there was a most formidable enemy. "Something else has happened 100." he added. "The great Re- public of the United States
ha taken its stand for freedom against Nazidom. If Hitler and his Gers man dupes dare raise their eyes they will see the writing upon the wall of Congress-the Aid to Britain Bill."-Reuter,
-
Fascism was doomed, he stated. Speaking of R.A.F. Successes against the Italian air force be said that on the Albanian front they had destroyed in combat 56 machines without counting those destroyed on the ground in bomb- ing attacks. The R.A.F. had lost nineteen.
Other bombers hit buildings on the quayside and straddled the Government buildings, Shipping was also attacked
Cn their return journey, the R.A.. raiders machine-gunned Benina aerodrome and two enemy atrerait
on fire and were set damage was caused to a number of others.
No Opposition
In the forward
area (of the British advance into Libya) br- tween Tobruk and Derna. OU fighters maintained constant pa- trol but no engagements with the enemy took place.
Photographic
In Melta we had broken the Italian air attack and destroyed 42 Italian aircraft at the cost of 25. In Libya the success had been At the even more remarkable. loss of only 17 aircraft the R.A.F. had destroyed 90 Italian aircraft and some 115 on the ground since AL-
reconnaissance the beginning of the battle. though enormously outnumbered | Gver Catania (Sicily) showed that the raid carried cut on Sunday to start with, the RA.F. had won
than so great a moral ascendancy over night was more effective the Italian air force as to reduce was first thought. Between thirty it in later stages of the battle al- and forty aircraft could be seen, Sir Archibald said the Italian most to inactivity-British Wire- either burned out or severely official wireless boasted on Decem-less.
damaged. One hangar was com- plately wrecked, another was very badly damaged and a third had been hit.
Fascism Doomed
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Administrative buildings at the air base had been heavily damaged and bomb craters were observed drome.
on the
acro-
The communique also records that raids were made in Italian East Africa against stores, at Assab on. Tuesday night and against Asmara the previous night, and reports that from all the operations. all but on fight er, shot down in Libya, returned safely. Reuter.
WILHELMSHAVEN BASE LEFT WASTE
OF FLAMES
(Continued from. Page 1) and a large proportion of the mi- litary objectives of Wilhelmshaven lay within the arca.
STOP PRESS
as successful within its limits as the previous large scale raid.
Last Message
The weather favoured both at- night
tacks and throughout the visibility was excellent.
One pilot. had the unpleasant experience of being held four times by searchlights while A.A. guns blazed away at him,
From an aircraft which is miss- came a last message ing there home to say its mission had been completed.--British Wireless.
At times the sleeping flames and black smoke above them, obscur ed all detail but at intervals some signal instance of disaster pre- vailed above the general confla- NAVAL PROGRAMME gration.
APPROVED
The prefix "special" to telegrams 19
A minute after one pilot had seen his high-explosive bombs The Naval Committee of the burat there was an astonishing House of Representatives in Wash- disturbance among the flamesington yesterday unanimously ap- used by the "Sunday Herald" and and debris was thrown by the proved the request of the authori- "China Mail to indicate news which explosion a thousand feet into ties for $909,000,000 to spend on is strictly copyright under the provi- the air. Three minutes later the 400 relatively small new ships dinance, 1936, and may not be reprint. same thing happened again. mainly submarine chasers, mine- od under any circumstances, either
and torpedo-boats. wholly or in part, without prior ar
The skeleton of a burnt-out building made a black silhouette in the midst of half a square, mile'] of fire wst of Bauhaven. By the power station to the north of the harbour the flames burnt
even more fiercely than elsewhere,
Bright Moon
As the British aircraft left all such details, were swiftly lost to: sight but the blaze remained to light they behind them for 130 milles on the homeward journey:
This first attack of the night lasted. from eight until soon after midnight? A second attack
was
made between five and six in the morning and pilots over at this hour saw the area still encircled by wide ramparts of fire”.
Though the moon was still shining brightly the smoke of these fires hid pärt of the town but pilots had no real difficulty in
sweepers Reuter.
n
∙sions of the Telecommunications Dr.
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finding their way to the naval | terprise Lid, by Gordon "CADE BURNETT,
| dockyards and their attack.
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