THE CHINA MAIL, JUNE 4, 1941.
PILOTS
DARING EXPLOITS OF R.A.F. OVER REICH
SERIOUS
R.A.F. ATTACKS on industrial objectives POSITION
in north-west Germany and on Berlin on
Monday night were pressed home despite ADMITTED
very bad weather conditions. Though there were heavy clouds and much ground haze in the Dusseldorf area there were enough breaks in the weather for the crews of air- craft of the Bomber Command to aim a heavy load of incendiaries and high explosives at industrial parts of the town.
Bad weather, states the Air Ministry news service, stretched over much of the Continent
Sir Frederick Stewart, Australian Minister for External Affairs, yeste day stated:
There is no desire to cover up our military position in the Mid- dle East which is very serious.
"The men who have been fight- ing in Greece and Crete have inflicted considerable lusses on the enemy, tied up their forces
of the German Army
and some bombers had to fly through heavy and disorganised picked sections rain storms and through clouds charged with electricity.
There was ice as well, and rain fell from higher clouds on to the aircraft and froze very quickly in smooth layers.
"We climbed," one pilot sund, "to Land targets aftationd elud
factory at Freddi rehskong 14,000 fe, but still we could noted a get above this front of had wen- and an industrial inuiding south- ther.
west of Rinsburg.
We had been it wit 40 less minutes when suddenly the
ganes died on us.
I turned to an angle of about 90 degrees because I thought the wea- ther would be elesge that way. We lost 4 000 feet and then the en- gines gradually picked up
He and other pilots came back with reports of "St Elmo's fire.” a "brushing" discharge of electric. ity which is sometimes seen on the masts and yards of ships at sea in stormy weather and sometimes
also mountains, "I was bour- ing with rain," the pilot said, "und we were getting iced up. On top of all came the St. Elmo's, -
Like White-Hot Wire The electrical discharge
made
bluish-white circles of light round
Ditish Wire-
SPITFIRE
HAS A
FIELD DAY
Fighter
Command
pilots again ranged over occupied France yester-
to
Lord Gowrie, V.C. Governor- General of Australia, has sent a General Freyberg, message V.C., expressing his admiration of the courage of the Imperial troops.
Router.
CONVOY ATTACKER DECORATED
AN OFFICER OF THE RAF. VOLUNTEER RESERVE WHO LED A FORMATION OF AIR- A CRAFT WHICH ATTACKED CONVOY OF SHIPPING NEAR BOULOGNE WINS THE DEC 'N THE LATEST LIST RAF AWARDS.
The list includes one bar the D.FC, seven D.F.C.'S two D.F.M.s.
OF
10
and
This officer, in spite of intense are from a convoy, obtained Awo! titeet hits on the largest vessel which it was later lea sunk.
.j
"per-
A bar to the DF.C. is award- d Flight-lout,
E MeFall. day, says the Air Ministry in the enemy adsance
1941. in Libya in May. and service, news
torted sulendid work in lightning dives shot up
veying vital information to There was a glow on the wing what targets they could inuiders." British Wire-
the air screws and sparks flashed between the guns both E front and in the rear turret.
the
tips which made me think: we had got our navigation lights on by me-take.
The atrial was trailing below the aircraft and the rear gunner said that it looked like a white hot wire. We wound it in. We were in the storm about half an hour but we got through Dusseldorf,"
to
wit
Over Berlin the weather clearer and a small force of air- craft bombed objectives in the centre of the city,
find.
One Spitfire pilot had the satis- faction of seeing two German staff officers hurt themselves into ditch to avoid the stream of bul lets from his guns. He had al- tacked their camouflaged eat a main road and fired nice than 1,000 rounds at it.
#
TH
Ch.
Con-
V11-
WINANT SEES THE PRESIDENT
ROOSEVELT
Tull A column of troops in
PRESIDENT target
MOUR marching order made
some CONFERRED FOR AN for another pilot of the
JOHN squadron. Coming down to 300 YESTERDAY WITH, MR.
UNITED STATES into WINANT. ranks and AMBASSADOR TO BRITAIN.
Mr. Winant, it was noted. was brief-case Several British pilots report carrying a bulging
White seeing friendly waves from French when civilians,
Bombs from one alreraft alois feet he sent 1200 rounds started five large fires and oth, the closely packed crews reported a whole circle of saw men falling down. fires.
Kiel Raids
the
probably
at
he
the entered House. "One
trawler
He remained for luncheon, destroyed" is the latest addi-which Mr. Harry Hopkins, who tion to the score of an R.A.F.is charged with carrying out the
ald for Britain programnie, Fighter Command pilot.
Giving further details on R.A.F. rads on Kirl and else- where the Air Ministry news service states that aircraft of the Bomber Command covered the He saw an armed trawler close also present-Reuter. whole length of the Kiel Canal to the French coast and diving in search for enemy shipping. low, poured a stream of cannon A bomb-uimer who was about sheils into her hull all along the
Zooming up to attack a 1,200-ton vessel sud-water line. denly saw a bigger target and he repeated the attack on
vessel so released only half his load, other side of the He saw the first ship hit.
when he last saw her she
fect lower
The second ship was thought sunk at least four
The pilot dived from 1,500
again
the
and
had
to be about 3,500 tons.
into the water.
feet, firing the front guns
Because he did not
only all actually sink he
see her claimed
"*oro-
the way down. Just before her-in R.A.F. terms-as the aircraft was pulled out of bably destroyed."-British Wire-
the dive, bombs were released less.
and the rear gunner took up
the machine-gunning.
be no
So that there should waste of effort incendiaries car- ried by this aircra ́t were saved for a third aiming point
inland industrial target.
En
Spaced along the Canal there were other ships of various ton- nage from 6,000 to 10,000, tons.
N.Z. NAVY MEN IN BRITAIN
A further draft of New Zea-
Delayed Action. Bombs | land personnel for seamen and Fleet Air Arm branches of the After each attack our alrcraft Royal Navy has arrived in Bri- were back in cloud cover before tain from the Dominion and was the crews.could see the-delayed welcomed at the port of arrival action bombs explode.
on behalf of the New Zealand
But beneath the clouds the High Commissioner by a senior weather was so clear it was officer of his staff. "possible to take good aim, and Another draft of reinforcements thecrow of one aircraft were for the New Zealand, forestry unit. confident that they had account in Britain also arrived recently, ed for one of the larger ship, wwe British. Wireless
was
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