11,7.43 No. 3. INDIA JOINT WAR COMMUNIQUE No, 176 The following communique from India was received in London this morning Yesterday morning (July 10) R.A.F. Vengeances ..-escorted by .fighters attacked objectives on Akyab Island and other aircraft machine-gunned rivercraft on the Irrawaddy and enemy motor transport on the Prome- T'aungup Read, None of our aircraft is missing. 11/7/43 - No. 5 Air Ministry News Service Air Ministry Bulletin No. 10343 ASHED ESCORT VESSEL ATTACKED Coastal Command Beaufighters attacked and scored hits on a heavily armed enemy escort vessel off the Norwegian coast last night and left it settling by the stern, on fire, and with a- list to starboard, One big explosion and other aircraft saw/ pilot reported a flames and copious whitish-grey snake which poured from the - "a stern of the' ship.," During the attack the vessel replied with anti-aircraft fire, . One Beaufighter is missing, Please check ‘with broadcast 11/7/43 - No. 6 Not to be used before delivery Following is script of broadcast appeal for King George's Fund by Rt. Hon, A.V. Alexander at 8 p.m. tonight. In December, 1941, I asked over the wireless for money for the King George’s Fund for Sailors. The naval situation was then as serious as it has ever been. The Japanese had just struck their treacherous blew at Pearl Harbour, and we had just learnt of the sinking of the PRINCE OF WALES and the REPULSE. It ‘waS a bad time for us all. But the Navies, both the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy, on whom a greater strain fell, never flinched from their superhuman task. In the Atlantic, battles fought continuously against fleets of U-boats had to be operating further from their bases greater numbers than ever before; and in in the Mediterranean every convoy had to be pushed through against violent air attack# In the icy North supplies have been carried to Russia only by the greatest gallantry and endurance against attacks by aircraft, heavy surface forces and U-boats; and finally there was the threat from the Japanese to be met, spreading westwards like a yellow plague. i Our seamen took strain, like a row-tope that holds against the might of that heavy waves. The rope held; and now, taut and creaking, but with steadily increasing 'power, it is the U-boats pulling the load against all that the sea can do; are being sunk, and the groat victories in North Africa have been made possible. But this achievement has not been won without loss. Some of our bravest men have gone; others disabled; and have left dependants behind them, are many provision is of course made for them by the State, but legislation cannot cover every special case of need. There which often are many cases which cannot be covered by regulations, are due to causes beyond human control, but which might be alleviated if the -sailor• leave his ship and come home, as of course in ‘wartime he cannot do. All these and many similar cases are covered by the King George's Fund for Sailors, whose function is to see that the various- Seamen's Aid Funds for the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy alike, are assisted according to their proved need. I am not appealing for charity tonight, but I asking you to give a generous the expression to the gratitude which we must all surely feel to our sailors* Over of and than years they have literally kept us alive; worst months the last three more that, by bringing over the materials, they have built up war power to right and to win # This has always meant danger and often suffering; but they have gone borough it an ■with cheerful courage. The King George's Fund provides us with a simple method of giving something of what we owe; but the it needs and funds. My last appeal as war goes on, more more brought in 60,000 But this sum I hope ‘will be greatly exceeded this time* This is a groat occasion for saying thank you to our seamen. They have just taken the largest armada of merchant ships and naval craft straight across Mussolini***• Lake and landed our forces in Sicily. with Roman A wonderful feat* Say thank you your gifts. Make them as large as possible. Send your contribution, however large or small, to me, A.V. Alexander, King George's Fund .for Sailors, Trinity House, London, E.C.3. I will repeat the address. Thank you. ADMIRALTY 11/7/43 - No. 7 MIDDLE EAST AIR COMMUNIQUE Headquarters, Royal Air Force. Middle East., 11th July, 1 943 yesterday heavy bombers of the 9th U,S,A,.A.F, attacked the marshalling yards at Catania, Other formations bombed the aerodrome at Vibo Valentia in Italy, and Hits were scored on the landing ground/hangars and aircraft on the ground were set on fire. During the night of July 9/10, heavy bombers of the R.A.F. attacked targets at Avola No to San Paola in Sicily. Bomb bursts and many fires were seen in the target areas and direct hits were scored on a large building and a main road. An-anti-aircraft position was silenced. In an offensive sweep off the coast of Crete, our aircraft attacked enemy shipping without observed results. From these and other operations one of our aircraft did not return. 11/7/A3, ~ No. 8 North AFRICA COMMUNIQUE NO. 249 Allied Force Command Post July 11,1943 Throughout yesterday fighters of the North best African Air Force kept vigilant patrols over Allied shipping and troops landing on the beaches of Sicily. The enemy aerodromes, still operational, communication points and transport concentrations were attacked by our bombers, awhile inland targets of opportunity were attacked by our fighter bombers. During the previous night large scale bombing attacks were made against airfields and objectives in the invasion area.. Verity two enemy aircraft were destroyed during the above operations, and twenty eight of our aircraft have not returned to base. WAR OFFICE Checked with broadcast 11/7/43 ~ No. 9 Following is script of broadcast by a North Midlands colliery manager, in the 1 o’clock news today, As the colliery manager of an important pit in the North midlands, I have been looking at the performance of some of our coal face workmen, and some pretty remarkable facts have come to light. I needn’t remind/ that at the War has now been in progross for two hundred weeks, nearly four years; and during this time coal has been wound on every available day. I have examined the records of thirty one coal fillers; the average age of these men is 40, and in 200 weeks they produced between them more than half a million tons of coal - more than half a million tons of coal - to be exact, 547,157 tons. Of course, some have produced more than others, and some have worked regularly than others, more but taking it all round, this is a pretty remarkable performance. The actual tonnage raised by these thirty one men amounts to 17 1/3 tons per shift worked* There is one non, known to his friends as Bert, who has produced 21,511 tons of coal in 1,205 shifts; 84 of these shifts hove been ‘worked on Sundays'# Bart is 45, he stands 5 ft* 4 -in. high in his socks, and weighs just 9 1/2 stones. He’s a cheerful little fellow, and full of the joy of life, Every day this man has worked, he has produced only a fraction below 18 tons, which is equal to 300 ' times his own in weight. Let’s look at it another way 4 years Bart has loaded the equivalent 2,200 railway trucks of coal, or one of 'whole trainload every four weeks. The vast quantity of coal produced by this one man is sufficient to provide the finished steel for the production of one heavy cruiser and two destroyers f the Tribal class*. During; the whole period of the War, Bart has lost only one shift voluntarily. He has worrked 7 days a week for 84 weeks, and his average for' the whole war is 6 days per meek, including holiday periods. Of course, some of the other men I hove mentioned have run him pretty close. Many of then hove averaged 6 days a week over long periods, and 10 have produced over 18,000. tons of coal each, to date* BRITISH BROADCASTING- CORPORATION 11/7/43 - No. 11 NOT FOR PUBLICATION, BROADCAST ON USE ON CLUB TREES BEFORE 00.30 D.B.S.T. (i. e. FOR MORNING IMPELS) ON MONDAT JULY 12. 1943 • THIS EMBARGO SHOULD RESPECTED OVERSEAS BY PREFACING ANY 'MESSAGES FILED WITH TIE EMBARGO COMPOSITION AND PRICE OP SAUSAGES Following, the recent announcement of the steps to be taken to improve the nutritional value of the wax-tine sausage, the Minister of Food has made an Order amending the Meat Products and Cooked Meat (Control and Maximum Prices) Order, 1912, which will make it compulsory, from July 25, to include 7 1/2 low fat soya products in all beef and pork sausages • and beef and pork sausage .meat, Provision is made for a tolerance of 1/2% above and below that figure. In order to attain more uniformity in the meat content of beef and pork sausages and sausage meat. the Order further prescribes, from July 18, 1913, a neat content of 37 1/2% with a tolerance of 2 1/2% below and 5% above that figure; this compares with the present requirement which allows as much as 45% and as little as 3o to be included. The prescribed meat contents for luncheon sausage, liver sausage, and those other meat products for which standards are laid down, will remain. as at _ present, ♦ From July 18, the maximum. prices for pork sausages and pork sausage meat will he reduced by Id. per. lb, in each cane so that the new retail price will be as follows On a sale by retail per lb. Pork Sausages in Hog Casings Is, Ojd, Pork Sausages in Sheep Casings Is, , Ipd, •Pork Sausage Meat MINISTRY OF FOOD TO BE CHECKED WITH BROADCAST 11/7/43 - No, 1 Following are excerpts of tonight's postscript after the 9 o'clock news by Mr. John Hilton: I ought to explain, perhaps, hew I cane to make this journey to North Africa, in the course of which I visited, and talked with, so many of our men in such a diversity of settings, ' For three-and-a-half years now I’ve been talking, on Tuesdays, to the ran in the Forces, and to his people at hones and all over that period, I’ve been talking for the part to most an Army in training; or to an Army fighting, with many set-backs and reverses, against heavy odds, I’ve been talking to an Air Force, always hitting with a night far beyond its apparent neons, but still building itself up for the final overwhelming assault. And now it was clear that the tables were turned. The gathering power was with the Allies, Victory was on its way (I speak of mid-April last) in North Africa, So the question arose, as we talked things ever one day at the B, B. C, how this , change should find its reflection in the tone and content of my talks. There was no doubt in any of our minds. I must, if it could "be arranged, get across to North Africa, to be with, and talk with, our fighters by land and air in the forward areas and our workers in the repair yards and the supply and communi- on cation lines; so that I might learn, out there on the spot, .something of what is in the heart and on the mind of the men with the forces overseas; see through his eyes, from his standpoint, at his end, all those -matters with which I have been accustomed to deal. When I ask myself what I most remember as the hall-mark of the men among whom I moved and with whom I talked, it isn't so much their courage or their fortitude or their zeal or their high spirits (though all these shone in them): what comes to the front of my mind and won't be denied is - queerly enough - . good manners. - ought I to call it style Or style of living and planning and working and fighting? - I myself saying, again and again, that I'd seen this that or the other being done find in "great style", that's right. And style is all mixed up with pride in the job. I found that everywhere. At one point we made our way to the Army bakehouse, We wanted a couple of loaves for the next stage of our journey, And, of course, I wanted to see the bakery and talk with its staff. To them, what had ensured the victory was their baking. Proud as Punch they were of their installation and their methods and of their bread. And they’d every right to be proud; for lovely bread it was: white bread (for grey flour won't keep, you know) White loaves with nutty crusts. My 'word.' And it was true that their loaves had ensured the victory. It' s every ran who has a job to dowell, whether in the front line or just behind it and does it or anywhere on the lines of communication or supply, who ensures the victory. works I see now, as I speak, a R.E.M.E. yard with cars under assembly; a R.E.M.E. with guns under repair. (You know, they're so keen on what they're doing and how they're doing it that if you're an old engineer, as I am, you just can't tear yourself away.’), I see the men of the Signals, by the roadside, or in their tents; absorbed, each and every one, in his assigned task. I see the maintenance units on the aerodromes, I see the men of the Postal Services who through their long hours have only one overmastering from the the home passion: to get the letter and the parcel to the man to - ran or fellows in the N, A, A, F. I, stores, who after the lancing quickly and surely. I the see line days and two nights without rest or. sleep that the men in the front worked two - should have their supplies Great style. First the by land air things first. Honour first and foremost to men who, and overwhelmed him. -know what it to look death and see., beat back the enemy and They means right in the face. They have done their job under conditions Which don’t bear remem bering. Memory, they tell me , is a kindly beast. /First -2 First things first* But second, things second, Honour also to those who did their stuff behind their .lines end even fight back at the base* The warrior, whether by Land or by air, is-the. fighting tip cf a great triagle of forces. Behind, him, in widening array, are those who make and:, carry and hand, him his tools, and, who are ready to take him and tend him should, he suffer sickness or injury in the fight.,, pr, should- he, on the morrow of victory, not know quite what to do with himself in the lull after the battle. ”Those who take him and. tend him, should he suffer sickness or injury”. The stretcher bearers. They’re first, I see I have scribbled in my notebook: . ”Be sure to speak of the stretcher-bearers; who’ve carried the wounded over endless miles of perilous rcadis .and impossible roads and. no roads at. all, Many lost their lives. Others were themselves carried, to the dressing station. Without their devotion our work on the line and behind, it would have been of little avail,” That was the Direct or-General of Medical Services for North Africa, But ail worked team, asThe surgeons, the orderlies, the men who drove the a vans and, flew planes and ran the trains which took the wounded back, the And, for that air service special thanks to the .American flying men, who, bringing troops and munitions and supplies up forward,, took our sick and. wounded men away back. It was my good fortune, even as I was writing those "words in my notes, to hear at first' hand from one “who at that very moment "blew in" of the work of as we say, the surgeons and the medical staffs who go down with the paratroops. Of the M.O*", who, there in the heat and fury of the fighting, with only the instruments and equipment that had come down alongside him, tended, and. operated, on the wounded- right and left and did not lose a. single case; and, who, as it was discovered, was working' all the time with a broken knee which he himself had operated, on and- bandaged and, who, when the supply of blood plasm crime to an end., gave of his own blood. These things make you proud; while they make you humble. You who have responded to the call for blood transfusion; who have spared the tine and have put yourselves to the necessary trouble and not minded the slight tiredness that follows, may I .bring to you, from the scene of action, this message* ’’Brave men, 'without number, owe to you their lives. Be harpy end" proud in that knowledge.” Wherever I 'went, in and about the wards, heard sitting and chatting I everywhere, with' the sick and the injured, praise of the medical services and the hospital administration and of the nursing staffs. Not, mind you, that everything in the garden’s. lovely*. If I’d come back to report that I night better not have gone* Here, as in innumerable other matters, you come across instances where what's prescribed high doesn 1 fit in at all 1 on with wheat is performable doom below. Dietaries are a trouble. The chicken and fresh milk and new laid eggs and what- not laid down in theregulations for patients in category so-and-so nay be just the. things he needs; but if you can’t get then you can’t get then, and then where are ■ you? But I never raised a point of this sort, picked up in my goings to and fro, without finding that someone in authority not only low of it but was on the job getting it put right - so far as putting it right lay withing human powers. And the nurses, plucky and hardworking and adored by their patients, had their own troubles too. I act many of those who'd. been on the ship which was 'torpedoed and who’d lost everything but they stood up in* what It was a fact that on lending they went straight into battledress, men’s battledress, and were at work in the wards at once; but they hoped a day would soon come when some women’s wear would be released to then; for woollen battledress, under the North African sun in the month of June, isn’t. very comfortable to wear. /IN ' —3— In and among the nurses were the Rod Gross workers. Their, concern is for the non-medical, tho human and personal, comfort and well-being and tendence of the sick and injured* Thorp read for the man who cannot read; they write the letter for the-man who cannot write; they provide, in so far as there are supplies, needful toilet end other small ware; they teach rug-making and "badge-embroidering 'and glove- making and all such-like (what they call " diversional therapy") to those who are bedridden/or convalescing* They provide hooks and magazines and cards and chess and draughts. They are hospital welfare. How can I speak of them -without seeming to ' overpraise. It's difficult. * At Headquarters, B.N.A.F,, I dropped in without warning, very the Red Cross early in the day. There, on her knees, scrubbing the floor of the shop which is the outer' room of their offices, was the young lady in charge; a young lady of gentle birth and upbringing. That, as you may imagine, warmed the cockles of my heart; and from that moment I could always see the Red Cross everywhere not just doing the fancy and dainty jobs ready but be, if need on any occasion, to roll up its sleeves and use a scrubbing brush to excellent purpose, , The same lady, I heard later, though not from her, had learned a day or young two before that hospital ship had been unforeseen .a prevented from getting ha at 7 a.,m, according to plan. The wounded wore on the near strechers on the quay-side, 'and it was going to be hours before they could go on board. In next to no time she had a team organised,■equipment. And material assembled, and she and her party were at the docks dealing out tea. and lemonade, made, with fresh lemons by the gallon and gallon and cutting up cake and sandwiches on the tail board of a cart with a gramophone going like billy-ho. Good work. They’re all like that. Those of us who've contributed our sums small or large to the Red Cross may be happy in the thought of what we’ve made possible in North Africa. alone. No one on a mission such as mine could help comparing the welfare arrangements for the British and American forces, As perhaps you know, there is a fundamental _ .difference in practice. The American Red Cross is responsible for all welfare activities among their own Forces ’whether for the sick or for the fit. Our own Red Cross concerns itself with the welfare of the side and wounded, Welfare work for the fit of our British Forces is looked after by the Army and Air Force Welfare Branches; helped by voluntary bodies such as the Y,M,C,A, , the Salvation Army, the Church Army, Toc, and the Y.W.C.A, H, You the and I’m it’s Been leaned for good and all, learn on spot, sure nor that close on the heels of a valiant army as soon as the ships are available must go the means and the personnel wherevy those, who have fought and conquered can take their ease and refresh their spirits for a little while Before the next push. WE can "be proud and glad of our men in -whatever 'branch of the' Services; workers end fighters alike; and re can he happy and confident in the personal quality of those who minister to their human needs. Goodnight, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION 11/7/43. No. 16 NORTH .AFRICA COMMUNIQUE No. 250 Allied Force Command Post, ARMY: With all the teaches firmly held and al1 the troops advancing, the Allied navies' most important task during the day was landing further troops with their vehicles, guns, fuel, equipment and stores. This important work proceeded satisfactorily in spite of the heaving swell on some of the teaches, and of the exits some being heavily mined* Warships were also engaged in silencing enemy batteries and gun positions whenever and in providing defence necessary, occasional against attacks by enemy fighter-bombers. Minesweepers were employed sweeping the various anchorages. Naval units reported that the landing in the neighbourhood of Gela Successfully engaged tank reinforcements coming from inland. The navies' primary duty of getting the army safely on shore continues without intermission* NAVY: Although few details have yet come in it is clear that our operations against Sicily continue to go according to plan. During the course of the day's fighting good progress has been made and the advance continues. Information in regard to casualties is net yet available, but it is believed they have been slight. WAR OFFICE 11/7/43 - No. 23 OFFICIAL ADMIRALTY COMMUNIQUE No.854 At 0300 on Saturday, 10th, light forces of the Royal Navy and Royal Norwegian Navy, under the command of Lieut* G.E.C.T. Baines, R*N*, encountered an enemy force of three torpedo boats with an escort of R-boats about 45 miles north east of Ushant. In the action which followed one enemy torpedo boat was severely damaged and probably sunk, and, in addition, one R-boat was probably destroyed* All ships of the Allied force returned safely to harbour. There was a small number of casualties. The next of kin have been informed. ADMIRALTY 11,7.43. - No.24 Air Ministry Bulletin No* 10844 Air Ministry News Service AIRBORNE TROOPS IN SICILY Airborne troops played an important part in the assault on Sicily, Numbers of troop-carriers aircraft and gliders were used in the operations on the night of July 9/10. Night operations such as these call for the highest standard of efficiency among all air force and airborne troops taking part. The take-off of a large number of tug aircraft and their gliders can be neatly and expeditiously accomplished. The gliders , drawn in two lines, hose-to-tail. On the take-off strip while are up the tug aircraft are lined up on each side of the runway, each one opposite to the glider it is to two and each bearing identical numbers. The tow-rope slack is carefully arranged so that it straightens smoothly when the towing aircraft taxi out in front of gliders. An officer present at the take-off of some of the gliders said: "It might have picnic party that they were about to take part been a and cracked jokes in* They chatted, laughed, smoked, chewed gum their about the cup of tea they would be consuming when nearing journey’s end. It was no picnic, though* for these tough looking airborne troopers, lined up on a North African airfield in preparation for their greatest adventure of the war an airborne - landing on Sicily. in of In front of them a long spanned Horsa glider was process of steel cable, to twin engined bomber’which being coupled, by means a would act as the tow. The scene was being enacted all ever the airfield* You saw same gliders being towed by jeeps towards their stations on the runway, the aircraft wheeling overhead and coming down to land ‘ you saw towing in a cloud cf dust, and you saw the glider crews clustered together in their respective groups, as they awaited instructions to beard their craft. Most the surface casualness cf it all. It might impressive was haw "been an evening on any airfield, and instead of "first night”. rehearsal” imperturbability. Over at a glider tension you had "dress if you sought an atmosphere of melodrama you found for instance, To start with, the claret-bereted crew, yourself sadly disappointed. in khaki drill shorts, stout beets and anklets, and clad jacket, Christmas tree said one of with "like blooming equipment a laden - number their craft as a rich jest, "Now what them - treated the of and "who’s get mirror to break" were salt", a about spilling some - uttered principally for the typical of the quips. These though were tribute to in their midst, and their only genuine sttanger contained in the grim assertion that .'No, 13 would superstition was undoubtedly prove unlucky to the l Eyeties’. /Cont ’d. £ - - ‘ There was a. rich mixture of dialects - the soft burr' of the west country, cockney, the the broadened vowels of Yorkshire and Lancashire, the "s ing-song monotone of Clydeside and the broad of the north of Scotland - for if you call of the British counties you would have had the response "’ere" to the mention of most of them. Pilots and co-pilots of the gliders, themselves specially trained, had been briefed earlier. At half past the of glider 13, eight crew last on the schedule to take off, continued to watch their fellow adven- turers, become airborne. With a roar of engines that sent up bellowing clouds of dust aircraft would take off down the Its attendant an runway. glider trailing less than a hundred yards behind would rise daintily from the ground, and soar aloft and a little later the.towing aircraft, too, would take to the air. This account was written by an officer who flew in-a bomber: "The take-off was nothing but a concentrated dust storm, (he said) but when one is airborne one can see the father remarkable expedition forming up, as aircraft and gliders come up through the dust. On this occasion it was an impressive sight to see.this large collection of aircraft forming up into a long column, and then go streaming off across the sea. The journey was over two hundred miles and darkness fell after a third of the journey was completed, The air was comparatively still water, over the and there-was no really rough weather to things unpleasant for the make gliders. During this time there were regular exchanges on the telephone - between the glider pilot and the captain of the aircraft. But providing the glider pilot keeps his station there is little else to worry him. "In the half-moon the coast of Sicily shows up at the right place and tine. The point of release is further on, height and is gradually gained so that the glider can make the required distance after release. "The first aircraft took the enemy'unawares, and release was made without alerting the defences. Later comers had both searchlights, and anti-aircraft defences to compete with but most of the gliders released themselves in from which they could land the pre-arranged a position on spot. "Aircraft crews were able to ‘follow some of them for a way in the darkness,, while lucky the less clearly ones were more seen through being picked by searchlights, or by being followed by flak. lip They seemed, however,' 'to' manoeuvre with competence and should have had good chances of getting down satisfactori1y" (Continued) . 3 That the enemy was taken unawares is scarcely credible: it seems more probable that he has been able to make little use of the breathing space afforded him since the fall of. pantelleria and Lampedusa to put his defences in order. without exception crews reported the. feeblest of opposition, Searchlights, to be counted on the fingers of one hand, misdirected flak which at no time was a menace, 'Several of the "tugs" dropping their gliders spent a little after time circling over Southern Sicily "looking for trouble" as one pilot - said. They got none whatever, and all returned safely to base. Here are some observations made by crews as they afterwards reported them at the interrogation: "Shelling from the sea seen at 10.30 p.m." "large fire visible for fifty miles at 10.30": "Big explosion and fire in headland"; "We saw numbers of C.47s (paratroop) carriers) on the -way out": "Near Malta we flew over the invasion fleet travelling north" - a pilot; "Some of the crews caught glimpses of. their gliders after they had been released", "I could see our . glider making for the Sicilian coast" said a wireless operator, "It was caught In a searchlight, and machine-gun posts on the shore opened up at it. But there were no signs of its being hit and I am sure it got down .all right". Another wireless operator saw his aircraft's glider approaching the coast "with plenty of height to spare". Members of the crew of another saw a glider - not theirs - pass- overhead going north towards Sicily. ' Time after tine, at the interrogation, crews expressed their con- fidence In the success of the invasion in such terms an "Glider released successfully and good landing indicated" and "Good trip and successful release. Conditions favourable for good landing." On the outward journey the starboard outer engine of a bomber caught fire. But the pilot went on. The fire died out, but the en- gine remained useless so the pilot towed his glider to the right spot and returned home to make a safe landing. It is the rear who sees most of the glider. He is connected gunner by intercomm, with the glider’s pilot (each glider has two)and speaks ■ his instructions when the "dropping zone" is near. /The -4- The 'instructions go like this; glider, hullo glider (or "hullo pony" the accepted nickname) * "Hullo tug. calling, we are now approaching the "dropping zone". And after a .few minutes, "hullo glider, hullo glider, tug calling. You can detach now* ' You can detach now". ... A moment later the glider releases itself from the towing cable, turns into the wind and drops away. That was the routine followed over Sicily on the night of July 9/10. Without exception the gliders got away with as little trouble as a yacht casting off a dinghy. Each of them carried a number of fully equipped men; w others' carried fewer men but heavier equipment. The risk of being followed home by enemy ■ intruders was so negligible that many of the'bombers made- for base' with lights full on* They were flying in huge "V" its high in from a formation, apex the night sky and seen a great distance-they appeared to hang there, motionless, for several minutes like a gigantic Christman tree. . Experienced' air force officers declared they*d, never seen anything like it. Then as they approached and lost height they broke formation, and in dozens roared close overhead, their lights still blazing. 11/7/43 - No. 27 Air Ministry New Service Air ministry Bulletin N0. 10845 BOSTONS ATTACK ENEMY WAR INDUSTRIES War industries in occupied territory were attacked this afternoon when Bostons bombed several electrical power stations which serve factories in the Bethune area. The bombers unescorted, and after using cloud flew cover over the coast, dived to tree-top height for their bombing run. One Boston crew reported that throe of their four bombs had fallen in the centre of the objectives: another Boston hit a switch house and the pilot saw smoke rising from the building afterwards# One aircraft went in so low that it had hop twice over high tension to cables. I was so near the ground when I bombed" said the pilot afterwards, , "that I had to make a violent turn to avoid factory chimneys. I made another twist to give the gunner a chance to hit another electrical installation with a long burst"# There was plenty of flak from the ground defences, but only one crew reported seeing German fighters who, however., did not attack# 11/7/43 - No, 31 Air Ministry News Service Air ministry Bulletin No, 10646 TYPHOONS Go TRAIN BUSTING Fighter Command Typhoons, mustangs and Spitfires today attacked ground targets in Belgium and France, Locomotives, tugs, barges and lock gates, and two petrol lorries were destroyed or damaged. i. - - Typhoon pilot, / after he and a companion had attacked and damaged the engines and trucks of tore goods trains in Belgium, shot up another locomotive. As his aircraft passed above it there was an explosion* "I could not pull up in time and my aircraft received a severe buffeting", said the pilot afterwards, "I huge was enveloped in a cloud of smoke and steam, in which the locomotive just vanished from ' sight," The Typhoon bomber pilot who dropped his load on lock gates in Belgium scored a direct hit, and saw debris fly 100 feet into the air. Flying debris was seen by another Typhoon pilot, a Belgian, when he scored a ’near-miss 1 on another pair of lock gates, He also attacked tugs on the river Escaut, leaving two of them apparently out of control. Two Spitfire pilots, train busting in Northern. France,saw pieces blown off a locomotive which they attacked with machine guns and cannon. Other Spitfire pilots shot up trucks in railway sidings. Two of our aircraft are missing.