1940-06-10 — Page 6

THE CHINA MAIL, JUNE 10, 1940

R.A.F. CONTINUOUSLY

IN ACTION

Day And Night Attacks On Key Points

London, To-day.

AN AIR MINISTRY BULLETIN states that from nightfall until shortly before dawn yesterday, heavy bombers of the R.A.F. were almost con- tinuously in action against military objectives in Germany and the battle zone in northern France. Enemy reinforcements moving up towards the line of the Somme offensive were bombed and harassed by ma- chine-gun fire, ammunition dumps, were destroyed and lines of communication in many parts of the back areas were cut by low level bombing attacks. Railway junctions at key points between Rhenish Prussia and the Belgian frontier were bombed, setting goods waggons alight, blocking tunnels and disorganising rail traffic.

On the Somme front, Abbeville was heavily attacked soon after dark by a section of heavy bombers; ‹ two direct hits were scored on the main rallway bridge, completely demolish- ing one end of it.

In a second rald on the town two hours later main roads were hit with high explosive bombs and one salvo apparently struck an am- munition store, for the bomb burst was followed by a terrific explosion which lit up the town and violently rocked the aircraft above. - In an attack on St. Valery, eight miles west of Abbeville, the railway and road bridge over the Somme estuary were repeatedly hit; one salvo of bombs burst on top of an

de anti-aircraft battery which was fending the bridge.

Span Collapsed

A parachute flare dropped after the attack showed the northern span of the bridge has completely collapsed.

Enemy troops and supply columna were attacked as well as forests and woods where enemy forces sought

cover.

Bombs were dropped on a column of heavy vehicles in the Forest of Boulern and struck an ammunition lorry which blew up and set the woods ablaze.

After a salvo of bombs were dropped in the Bois de Chimay a series of explosions occurred as ammunition or petrol_dumps.went up in flames.

Road and rail junctions from Amiens to Charleville in the south to Valen- ciennes in the north were attacked,

Direct Hits

the

Eight direct hits on the railway junction at Charleville wrecked main line track, demolished houses and set a petrol container alight.

ware-

The railway aldings, crowded with loaded goods waggons, were Jeft

blazing.

At Valenciennes, oil storage tanks were bombed and exploded. Flames 500 feet high were visible 50 miles away and a pall of black smoke 7,000 feet high covered the area within a few minutes.

Raids In Germany

In Germany, marshalling yards near Essen, Duren and Euskirchen bombed and large fires started.

were

PANAMA CANAL PRECAUTIONS

Panama, To-day.

The United Stated Army Com- mand in the Canal Zone is now conducting a searching investiga- tion Into the antecedents and cre dentials of all European-born employees on the Canal, with a view to exposing post Sle Fifth Columnists.

.

It is reported that there are, about 500 Germans, mostly re- fugees, as well as many Italians at present employed.-Router.

FIGHTER PLANES IN ACTION

London, To-day.

The Air Ministry an- nounces that our fighters on Saturday shot down 10 enemy aircraft, including. seven bombers; two of our aircraft are missing.

Eight R.A.F. Hurricane fighters pa- France trolling the fighting zone in met a formation of 20 Heinkel bombers and shot down six.

III

Ten Messerschmidt 109 fighters which were escorting the enemy bombers were unable to give them ef- fective protection against the Hurri- were also raided at night fierce fire was seen to break out at canes' attack. One Messerschmidt was shot down; two Hurricanes are miss- Abbeville aerodrome.—Reuter.

ing-Reuter.

and

Operations Over Wide. Area

London, To-day.

2.

An Air Ministry communique says

DAYLIGHT AIR ATTACKS

that throughout Saturday medium bombers of the R.A.F. continued the

LONDON, TO-DAY. attacks on enemy lines of communica- tion, including road junctions and DESCRIBING DAYLIGHT AIR AT- river crossings behind the fighting TACKS BEHIND THE ENEMY LINES fronts.

IN FRANCE, AN AIR MINISTRY BULLETIN SAYS ENEMY TRANS- PORT COLUMNS WERE SCATTER- ED-AND FLUNG INTO CONFUSION, LINES OF TANKS WERE HEAVILY AND BOMBED, ARMOURED CARS MOTOR LORRIES REDUCED BY DIRECT HITS TO TWISTED AND MARCHING WRECKAGE, TROOPS MACHINEGUNNED.

Troop concentrations and columns of armoured fighting vehicles were also bombed. Two of our aircraft are missing in these operations, which continued during the night. The northern entrance to Amiens and key points in the Abbeville area were attacked by our heavy bombers. Ammunition dumps concealed in wooded areas in the Ardennes were blown up.

Night Attacks

British bombers ranged over the German right wing on the Bresle and the Somme, delivering a series of shallow and deep dive bombing at- tacks. Other formations of heavy bombers

A detachment of German cavalry` made night attacks on military objec-with transports encountered south of tives over a wide area ranging from Nampsaurval stampeded in all directions the Ardennes north-east to Rhenish when the bombers approached. Prussia and the Ruhr.

A hundred incendiary bombs were Coastal Command aircraft made dropped by shallow diving bombers bombing and machinegun attacks on on a petrol dump in a wood near Ab- oll storage tanks at Ghent; exten-beville. sive damage was done and many There was a tremendous explosion fires started.

and the wood was left a mass One cluster of tanks was already flames.-Reuter. blazing fiercely when the second wave of bombers arrived,

and.

there- fore they placed their bombs on ather oil reservoirs silhouetted by the flames; these were also set alight.

A large convoy of vehicles near Wavre, south-east of Brussels, was machinegunned for 20 minutes and

Glare Of Flames reduced to a state of chaos. The enemy occupied aerodromes at When following aircraft found their Abbeville and Endhouen (Holland) targets on fire already, they aimed

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London, To-day. The offer of over £300,000 by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has been gratefully received by Lord Lloyd, the Colonial Secretary, on be- half of His Majesty's Government,

He asks the Governor to convey to the Legislature and people the Home Government's deep appreciation of the gift.-Reuter.

1

their bombs so as to widen the burning areas-every time successfully.

So widespread and high were the flames from the oil tanks that one pilot in the last stage of the attack -thought It would be a waste. of

bombs to drop any more

cauldron.

In the

The glare of the flames revealed five railway lines, two of which were fill ed with covered wagons, and the pilot was able to obtain very precise re- sults on the unexpected target.

Great Explosions

As the waggons blew up there was a succession of great explosions.

There were explosions, followed by eruptions of black amoke, when an- other aircraft made four hits on a further section of the largo oll con-

tainers,

The

pilot of another aircraft released

all his bombs In a single salvo, setting at least two more oil tanks alight.

He then dew low and machine- gunned other tanks and set fire to escaping fuel with tracer bullets, add-

the aircraft on night operations re- turned to their bases, Reuter,

Ingenohl's Cigar Stores La Perla del Oriente" and other tobacconist

Perla del Oriente" and other tobacconisting to the scene of flaming ruin. All