1940-09-02 — Page 3

THE CHINA MAIL, SEPTEMBER 2, 1940.

"BATTLE OF LONDON"

Being Fought Out High Above The British Capital

Reaches Intensest Pitch During Saturday, Sunday

AERIAL WARFARE REACHED ITS MOST INTENSE PITCH: DUR- ING THIS WEEK-END, THE ANNIVERSARY OF BRITAIN'S DÉ- CLARATION OF WAR ON GERMANY.

While throughout Saturday and Sunday, the "Battle of London” was being fought high above the capital, the Royal Air Force, whose fighters with the anti-aircraft gunners main- tained a ring of steel round the city, was ham- mering Berlin remorselessly.

Well over one hundred German 'planes have been shot down in the two days, 85 of them on Saturday. Sunday's figures are not yet complete, but reports up to 6.30 p.m. gave 22 officially confirmed, and it is expect- ed to total more than 40. Eleven British 'planes came, DO down, but five of the pilots are safe.

When a big formation which attempted to break through the defences of a Thames town yes- terday was turned back, four of them used a new technique. They dived below the anti-aircraft barrage, and made a dive bomb- ing attack.

Some of the bomba fell; on waste ground, but most of them fell on the heart of the town. Several houses

were damaged and many families are homeless..

A Giant 'Plane

In one raid, about twenty bombers, with fighter escorts, headed towards London led by a huge four-engined machine which 'stood out like a giant from the others. They were turned back.

Official Communique

An Air Ministry and Ministry| of Home Security communique onj yesterday's raids states in the morning a strong force of enemy aircraft crossed the. Kent roast and flew northwards towards the Thames.

A.A. defences went into action! and the enemy force was inter- cepted by our fighters and brokenį up.

Bombs were dropped at several places on the river and in north- east Kent.

In one town several houses and

A.A. GUNS GET

SIX IN TWENTY MINUTES

Anti-aircraft

gun-

ners had their best day on Saturday for nearly a fortnight, de- stroying 15 enemy air- craft, states the Air Ministry news service. Ten were brought

B.B.C; REFUGEE BROADCASTS GO

The B.B.C.'s Polish "letter- box" daily announcements of the names of Polish refugees is to be suspended. Personal] messages to oversea listeners can! no longer be broadcast in any language.

4

Since October, the B.B.C. Polish Refugee Service broadcast 34,000)

names.

THOUSAND HOUSES

AND SHOPS WRECKED

IN RAMSGATE

IN A CONGRATULATORY message to the R.A.F. Bomber Command yesterday, the Prime Minister, Mr. Winston Churchill, contrasted the be- haviour of British and German bombers and dis- closes that nearly 1,000 houses and shops were wrecked in Ramsgate.

*********00000000;

CANBERRA AIR DISASTER FINDINGS

The

•

investigation

into the Canberra air disaster, in which ten persons, including three Australian Cabinet Ministers, were killed, has been adjourned indefinite- ly...

It was stated that any question of im- proper maintenance and inspection had been disposed of by the evidence.

Mr. Justice Lowe, who presided, agreed that it was sheer speculation to say that

other anyone than the pilot was at the controls.-Reuter.

STOLEN FILMS DISCARDED

The message states: "The fact that in the first operations in the Berlin area last Sunday week the great majority of the British pilots brought their bombs home rather than loose them under weather conditions which made it difficult to hit precise milf- tary objectives as prescribed in their orders, shows the high standard of poise and self-restraint preserv-who was carrying them disappear. ed by the R.A.F. in the performance of their dangered yesterday in Wah Hing Lane ous duties.

"This.. is in marked. contrast with the wanton cruelty of Ger- man siers who, for example, down during the even-vented their spite upon the de- ing attack on Southtown of Ramsgate in which near- East England, includ-ly 1,000 dwellings

ing the London area.

Six of these were shot down in 20 min- utes by various bat- teries in London's outer defences.-Reu- ter.

shops were destroyed and some destroy

Tenceless watering place and

and. shops, mostly of modest character, have been wrecked.

- "It--is--very-satisfactory -- that so many tons of British bombai have been discharged with such precision in difficult cón- ditions and at euch great dis- tances, and that so many Im2 portant military objectives in Germany and Italy have been 80 sharply smitten.

"All this is another sign and 000000" proof that command of the air is being gradually and painfully [but remorselessly, wrested from aerodromes in Kent, the Nazi, criminals who hoped by:

this means to terrorise and do- and minate European civilisation.”—

damage done to a laundry, rail-Surrey and Essex. way station and riverside dwell- Once In the morning ings. Casualties were not large. twice in the afternoon 100 or Reuter.

Reports hitherto received show that in these engagements 11 enemy aircraft were shot down by our fighters and one of our aircraft lost.

more raiders crossed the Kent coast and three times Fighter Command pilots and A. A. gunners folled the attacko. The second raid of the day,

was

In the early afternoon a second between noon and 1 p.m., force of enemy aircraft came in-the largest. Over 150 raiders land and approached the south-crossed the coast and the bomber| east outskirts of the London formation flew as far 13 the southern outskirts of London, to

area.

A series of engagements took be broken up by A.A. fire. place and bombs were dropped before the enemy was driven back. Full reports are not yet available-Reuter.

Broken Up In Ten Minutes

Later.

Three Hit

Gunners saw their shells hit

500 BOMBS

ON RAMSGATE

It is estimated that 500 bombs, mostly high explo- sive, were dropped by the at least three out of 12 German; bombers flying at 16,000 feet.

German air force in their The third attack was weake: mass attacks on Rams- and confined to. Kent coast acro-

Large-forces-of-German-air-dromes, craft crossed the south-cast const yesterday and headed towards London in the third daylight "in "the London area and warning the seventh within 24 hours,

gate,

Most of the bombs fell on sea-

A single-seater Messersch midt 109-fighter dropped, bombs. side, boarding houses and work- They have been put to this use ers homes. before but yesterday were used · From direct hits many wers razed to the ground and many made completely uninhabitable. Altogether, nearly, 1,000 houses were wrecked...

In spite of the heavy material loss, casualties were few killed und - injured, although some are still reported missing. The raid occurred on, August 24-Reuter

as dive bombers. Deveral minutes before the Enemy planes were reported: warning counded in the London last night over Wales, two south- area squadrons of British west towns and the Midlands.- fighters flaw southward ..to Reuter. meet the enemy.

* Heaviest Fighting » Two formations of the enemy, however, managed to The Air Ministry news service get through but were soon met summing up Saturday's fighting, by a very heavy barrage and n says the heaviest fighting of the fresh force of fighters.

day came at 8 pm, when the After a ten minutes fight the enemy hurled 300 bombers and chemy formations were broken fighters against south-east Eng- up and individual units made land, including the London area. A number of people of Pinner, for the const in various directions Among many fighters, which Middlesex, spent their week-end pursued by Spitgres and Hurri helped repulse the attack was a dismantling “ ornamental chains Polish squadron which fighting from their gardens as a contribu- over Kent, destroyed four Mes-flon to the war scrap metal heap, serschmidts and damaged others They persuaded others to 'do German bombers and fighters without loss to themselves. the same, and within an hour a continued their daily attempts to Reuter.

big heap had been collected.

canes.

Heavy Raids

GIVE CHAINS

Twenty rolls of film, reported to have been lost when the coolie,

ed on Friday, were found, disard- The film belonged to the Choi Lok Theatre.

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