1940-10-02 — Page 41

THE CHINA MAIL, OCTOBER 2, 1940.

THIS WAS THE BIGGEST AIR BATTLE

PEOPLE IN SCORES OF TOWNS AND VIL- -LAGES SAW THE BIGGEST AIR, BATTLE THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE OVER, LAND SINCE THE WAR BEGAN.

Bombers estimated at between a hundred and two hundred, escorted by fighters, came over the countryside in perfect formation. Then they were attacked by Hurricanes and Spitfires.

For half an hour a terrific dog fight raged Towns. and. villages: were bombad and machine- gunned. Raiders, split from their formation, were forced down to rooftop height, chased by our fighters.

A number of them were brought down and crashed in fields and on houses.

At least eight 'villages were bombed, two were machine. gunned, and in a fight which took place at housetop height over one village a German ma-

chine was so low that its bomb rack struck a chimney pot In the middle of a row of cottages. Soon afterwards а

bomb ex- plrded and wrecked two of the

cottages.

WARMEST

SEPTEMBER

ON RECORD

Last month was the warmest September on record, says the report of the Director of the Royal Observatory, Mr. C. W. Jeffries.

The weather was mainly fine and sunny; there were occasional showers during the carlier part of the month, but from the 21st

A GUIDE TO TRUTH

Time after time. Berlin announ- ces that a raid has utterly destroy ed some important objective, while London says the damage was negligible.

Neutrals ask which they shall believe

Here is a pointe

The German High Command announced that not only were most of the ships: in Portland hár- bour sunk, but the naval repair yard was practically destroyed, oil tanks destroyed by fire, and ware- houses. left in ruins.

The Admiralty said the raiders' scored few hits but did no damage of any importance.

The American Columbia Broad- casting Company's British repre- sentative made a comprehensive tour of Portland harbour and naval yard after the raid and this is what he said in a broadcast to the United States:

'Admiralty Accurate

"The Admiralty communique reporting the German raids against Portland was accurate.

"I should say that perhaps four

destroyed.

bombs had been planted in a line railway on a practically unused yard, too far one way or the other to do any serious damage.

A seventy-year-old woman in onward the weather was dry and or five small office buildings were one of them was taking refuge hot, except for a brief rain-storm

"One group of six or eight uriderneath the sink in the kit-on the 28th.

She chen.

was dragged out The mean temperature for the was 82.4°F; this is after the raid by A.R.P. workers, month .and

2 above normal, and is a record was suffering only from

for September. A maximum of severe shock.

The family next door, includ-92.1' was recorded on the 1st, ing two evacuee children, were and a minimum of 75.1° on the ready to sit down to their midday 5th. The mean relative humidity

was 79%%%, which is normal,

Sunshine amounted to 236 hours, which is 38 hours above normal;

sunniest

meal.

it was. the

September since 1925.

:

"When the crash came the din- ner was blown over the houses," the husband said. "I shut my eyes and when I opened them

The long spell of excessive again you could not see for dust."

in rainfall, which had persisted since The Germans came over waves of fourteen at a time. fly-March, came to an end, and the Ing very high.. But they could be total rainfall for September was clearly seen.

only 3.59 inches, which is about one third of the normal.

The Spitfires and Hurricanes got in among them, and split| them up into two sections. More of our fighters plunged into the battle and split them up yet again..

in

A man who lost a brother the raids said: "The Jerries did not know what to do. I have never seen anything like it.

R.A.F. Dive In

them,

"First of all came the German bombers with their fighters dodg- ing around to protect Then our boys got busy. You could see them turning somersaults in the air, Alinging their machines everywhere and diving right in among the Jerries from all angles.

"I saw one British fighter single out a German bomber. He dived right at him, let fire with all his guns and cut the German's wing clean away. "You could see the wing come crashing down to earth and the Germans jumped for it and came down in their parachutes.

Our

ighter-the one who had done the damage-followed the para- chutes all the way down to the ground."

Five of the German raiders down during the battle. At any rate they had British fighters following hot on their tail.

either divebombed or were forced

Said another man: "I was watching a squadron of German planes when all of a sudden one machine with several others, fol- lowing it, British and German, flew over the village at housetop height.

The maximum wind velocity in a gust was 37 m.p.h, at 2.30 p.m. on the 30th.

POLISH SQUADRON PASSES 100

One of the Polish squadrons at. present engaged in the Battle of Britain has so far shot down 109 German 'planes.

Reuter.

"There was no damage that could be observed to any of the vital elements of the naval estab- lishment of Portland. It is still doing business.

Page

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"Probably the most impressive Telephone 28031 thing about this aerial warfare is the speed with which it happens, and the calmness of the people. If one must be bombed one could not ask for better company."

WIFE TOO HEAVY

FOR HIM TO SAVE

When a fourteen-stone woman BRUSH AWAY of a punt her husband tried ANYTHING THAT

fell into a lake while stepping out

to

pull her out, but she was too heavy for him.

Accidental death was the verdict COULD CAUSE

on the woman, Mrs. Anne Wat- son, aged seventy, of Lake Lodge, Knebworth Park, Herts.

LEGAL MEN CHECK NAZI LOSSES

OUR FIGURES of Nazi air losses are an under- statement, according to an American journalist who visited a Southern England aerodrome.

"I have always thought that the Air Ministry's figures were an under-estimate," he said. "Now. that I have seen the exacting and careful system of checking I have no doubt about it.” ·

Attached to each fighter aero-stroyed only if it has been' seen drome is a station intelligence to blow up, be hopelessly on fire, or to have crashed on land office, where all pilots' reports are checked and counter-checked be-

or sta. fore being sent on to the Air Min- istry. Each squadron using the aerodrome has its own Intelli- "One of the German machines gence officer. hit the chimney pot of one of a Some of them were barristers row. of cottages. Sinoke burst in civil life. Many saw service from the cottages that had been in the last war. struck and the bomb exploded

almost at once.

•

Bricks and pieces of timber were blown into the air and fell all over the village: The street was full of smoke and dust."

In one village four people: in an Anderson shelter which had not been provided with a blast screen were killed.

CANADIAN TO AID B.B.C.

Four Times Daily

Last week soine of these pilots made three or even four trips daily into the air.

"Probables".

Kare machines which have suffered.. extremely severe damage with pieces breaking away, or were seen to be crashing down, but were not observed to have hit the ground...

Hit Not Enough

*

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The "damaged" are those which have not only been hit but have been seen to have suffered de- finité " damage,

tell The pilots

their stories calmly and impersonally, and they have some amusing as well as dramatic tales to tell..

One of them had to make a parachute landing. He came down in what seemed to him a "dead

One, middle-aged intelligence officer said, that in some cases he had not had time to take details from the pilots of one combat be- fore they were sent into the air again to counter another German wave of bombers and fighters.. world. The sirens had gone, but, That is one reason, why during of course, he had not heard them.; the days of the hottest engage- "As I banged on a door,” ht ments reports were delayed and said, "a deep voice from what full details of German losses were seemed to be the bowels of the not available until the early hours earth said, "Who are you? and of the following morning, out of an Anderson shelter stepped

For the purpose of determining the occupant of the house. enemy casualties three categories "He had a shot gun, so I put are used destroyed, probable, my hands up. It's the safest thing to do in such circumstances,

The Canadian Broadcasting Cor- poration, at the request of the B.B.C., have agreed to second Mr. Ernest L. Bushnell, its general programmes supervisor, to act as North American programmes or and damaged. ganiser for the B.B.C.

A machino la claimed as de- I don't you think?""'

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