Sunday. July 28, 1940. MINISTRY OF INFORMATION NE W S BULLETIN No. 49. £2,048,521 IN GIFTS FOR AIRCRAFT. (The following item is not to be published before the morping papers of M nday, July 29, or broadcast o before 7 a,m. on that date) c Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, announces that he has received to date from the public £2,048,521 to buy various types of aircraft. Most of the money has been applied, at the request of the donors, to the purchase of fighter aircraft - Spitfires and Hurricanes, But the provide bombers is just as great. And the hope is need to expressed that the generous and patriotic public will also make contributions to the purchase of these types of aircraft. Ministry of Aircraft Production- Bulletin No. 47. (See embargo above). PRICE OF PRESERVED EGGS FIXED have been Home produced eggs that have been preserved up till now held in store. In view of the present short supply of fresh eggs the Minister of Food has made an Order which will come into force on M o nday, July 29, prescribing that home-produced eggs that have been preserved by cold or chemical storage, shall be to or by any other means of preservation, subject a maximum price of 2s. dozen, irrespective of the weight or the grade of the eggs. per This Order will enable preserved eggs to be sold at an appropriate price. Ministry of Food, M.o.I. 2. CONTROL OF CREAM In order to conserve milk supplies for more essential foodstuffs, the Minister of Food has made an Order prohibiting the manufacture of sterilised cream in tins or sterilised cream in glass bottles from July 29, 1940. Existing stocks of sterilised cream continue to be sold through the usual channels may of trade. From the same date a standstill Order on all cream prices comes into force. No cream, including fresh cream, pasteurised cream, clotted cream or sterilised cream may be offered for sale at a price in excess of that at which a similar container of cream was sold, or offered for sale, during the month of May, 1940. -- Ministry of Food. M.o.1. 3. ULSTER SAVES IN MILLIONS Over two million War Savings Certificates and more than a million Defence Bonds, amounting to £2,684,764, have now “been sold in Northern Ireland. There are now 874 Savings Groups. Dominions & Colonial Offices. M.o . I. 4. 28/7/40. - No. 1. BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR. Below is a list of British Prisoners in Germany, broadcast on Saturday night om Germany;- DATE OF BIRTH ADDRESS hn Joseph BAGNELL 17th April 1 913 91, Lillington Street, Victoria London. res DONOVAN 26th July 1910 Railway View, Port Sherry, County Cork. iney Douglas JOHNSON 22nd December 1916 3, Tower Hill, Hessel, Hull. an Hogg WALDOCK 30th July 1909 30, Falsbrook Road, Streatham, London, S.W.16. chael Joseph DELANEY 30th April 1900 Drill Hall Cottage, London Road, Camberley, Surrey. ec Walter BUNHILL 13th January 1917 44 3 Alverton Street, London ,S.E. 8. slie Charles Ash MOXHAM 11th June 1907 Calliopecks, Parkston Drive, Camberley, Surrey. hn E.ichard WILLIAMS 4th January 1909 65,9 Edward Street, Aidershot, Hants. thur Herbert SPENCER ATKINS 17th November 1906 39, Moorlands Road, Camberley, Surrey. hn Grant WILSON 3rd February 1908 2, Steele’s Place, Edinburgh, 10. ank William WHETTON 11 th February 1917 Graystone, Charlton Road, Worksop, Notts. ar les William TURNER 1 7th July 1910 88, Peabody Road, South Farnborough, Hants. irice William SAVILLE 24th March 1 920 18, Sandford Road, Aidershot. arles CAMPBELL 22nd March 1896 2, Margaret Street, Ludworth, Co. Durham. aham JACKSON 5th March 1912 126, Freedom Road, Walkley, Sheffield. 6. □tor OLIVER 20th January 1920 103, High Street, Grantown-on-Spey, Morayshire, Scotland. mes ELLIOTT 11th February 1911 Newtown Butler, County Fermanagh, N. Ireland. lentine CAREY 1 st September 1912 Holly Cottage, Boundary Road, Naffield Road, Woking, Surrey. MISTRY OF INFORMATION. 28.7.40 No.2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN ANY MANNER BEFORE THE BROADCAST TODAY BROADCAST BY H.M. QUEEN WILHELMINA The following is the English text of a speech by H.M. Queen Wilhelmina, to be broadcast on the new Dutchprogramme by the 8.8.C. today (Sunday, July 28) at 7.15 P»m. Her Majesty will speak in Dutch: It is a source of great satisfaction to me that as a result of the willing co-operation of the British authorities,facilities have now been secured from the British Broadcasting Company for this Dutch quarter of an hour. I hope that many of our compatriots, wherever they may be, will henceforward regularly listen in to the voice of their country as it comes to them through this new channel. And now I t'ake pleasure in being the first great to address a few words to you in our' Dutch quarter of an hour o First of all, I wish to join you in a solemn commamoralioh of the fatherland that has been so heavily afflicted by the calamity of war. Deeply moved* we think at this moment of the endless sorrows that have come upon our people and that continue to weigh on their hearts. We render homage to the heroes who fell in the execution of their duty to the fatherland, to the courage of our armed forces on land, at sea and in the air who with the exertion of their utmost strength resisted the overwhelmingly powerful assailant much longer than he had expected. After all that has already been said and written about the war in which have become involved, will not in these few we you expect me moments to deal with the war itself and its many related problems. But what we must do is to realise that the war reveals itself more and more clearly as being essentially a war between good and evil, a battle between God and our conscience on the one side and the forces of darkness now in the ascendant on the other side. It is a battle, I need hardly tell you, which belongs to the realm of the spirit fought in the deepest recesses of the human heart but now in the most distressing and loathsome manner come to the surface in the form of this immense world struggle of which we have become the innocent victims and all peoples suffer. What is at stake in this war is the liberty of those all rhe world over who wish to work for the good of mankind to do so without being frustrated by the evildoers. Those who think that the spiritual value acquired through the ages can be destroyed with the sword must learn to realise the idleness of such beliefs. They must be made to understand that crude violence cannot deprive a people of its conviction. Just as in earlier days neither force of arms nor the flames of the stake nor impoverishment and suffering have ever succeeded in exterminating our love of liberty, our freedom of conscience and religion, so I remain convinced that once again we all those of whatever nation who think like us shall emerge from this ordeal strengthened and chastened through our sacred May/ - 2 - May the knowledge that already thousands of our brave compatriots gave their all for this high purpose and that this sacrifice has not been in vain be a source of solace to their, kith and kin and to all of us. Even though the enemy has occupied our native soil, the Netherlands will carry on the war till the morrow of a free and happy future dawns for us. Our beloved flag flies proudly on the seas, in great Netherland in the East and the West. Side by side with gallant our Allies, our men continue the struggle„ The Empire overseas which has given such striking proof of its sympathy in the calamity which struck the motherland is more closely attached to us in its thinking and feeling than ever before. With un- shakable unity we intend to vindicate our freedom, our independence and all our territories. I call on my compatriots at home and wherever they may he, however dark and difficult the times may he to keep faith in the final victory of our cause a cause which is strong not only because it is served hy strength in hattie hut also because of the that profound belief our most sacred values are at stake. FOREIGN OFFICE. NEWS DEPARTMENT ON BEHALF OF THE NETHERLANDS GOVERNMENT. 28/7/40 - No.3 MINISTER OF HEALTH’S MESSAGE TO PARENTS . The Minister of Health (Mr, Malcolm Macdonald) is sending a to whose children evacuated under the Government Scheme in message parents are which he says: "If you read,, or hear on the wireless, that German aeroplanes have been ’South Wales’ ’The Midlands’ of the country where over or or any part your child is, don’t get worried. Remember these areas are big places, covering thousands of square miles, "It is not to publish just where the raiders have been, possible because that would helio the enemy, and I know how anxious you must feel sometimes when you read or hear one of those bulletins. So I want to tell you again that you have done the wise thing in letting your child go. ’’There are risks in the reception areas but they are very much } smaller than those which face the children still in the big towns and cities c The reason is this: ’You know how when a raiding aeroplane appears, soldiers do not stand in for this’dispersal’ it is together large groups, they scatter, as called, makes gor greater safety, Well, the population in the reception areas are widely dispersed. These areas cover 54,915 square miles mostly fields and open spaces. On an there average, ~ are about 250 people living in each square mile, whereas in the evacuation areas something like 10,000 people are packed in each square mile. You can see that the chances of safety are many times greater in the scattered reception districts than in the crowded has been raids in towns and cities. This proved by the so far, which there have been much smaller casualties in the country than in ! ” the towns. The Minister adds that should not think that because London parents has not been bombed, it will be yet never u ’’Everything possible is being done in the reception areas to see that the children are happy and comfortable. Keep in touch with the teachers and the householder with whom your child is billeted, about clothes, shoes and other necessities. You are responsible for providing them„ Help in every way you can the householder who is looking after your child o "Do not to the child home during the holiday period. The try bring month ahead schools being kept may be the most dangerous period. Many are open all through the holidays in any case. Your child will be vzell looked after by the teachers and. the householder during the holiday period. "May the day soon come when victory is won and the children are home ’’ again’ the in leaflet The message is b ?ing distributed to parents form. MINISTRY OF HEALTH. AIR MINISTRY BULLETIN 1239 28/7/40. - No. 4. AIR MINISTRY AND MINISTRY OF HOME SECURITY COMMUNIQUE. Enemy air operations over this country during the night were on a small scale and were mainly restricted to the areas of Wales and south west England. A few bombs were dropped, but only slight damage was caused and there were no casualties. Early this morning an enemy bomber was shot downby R.A.F. fighters off the south west coast, and a second enemy bomber was brought down in south east England. 28.7.40 No 5. IMPORTANT CORRECTION The Ministry of Supply requests the following correction in the advance script of Mr. Herbert Morrison’s broadcast, released yesterday for use tomorrow:- Line 5? page 2, should read; ”by the really good Local authorities was £lL|. per per thousand of their” instead of £l, as stated. Air Ministry Bulletin No 1 28/7/40 - No 6 R.A.F. AWARDS NO. 85. The King has been graciously pleased to approve the undermentioned award in recognition of gallantry displayed in flying against the operations enemy:- Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.,. Pilot Officer John Bently WEIGHTMAN During a night in June this officer was captain of a Hudson aircraft on reconnaissance along the Norwegian Coast, He successfully attacked an enemy submarine and completed a most valuable reconnaissance# ! Later, he was attacked by two Messerschmitt 110 s, one of which was badly damaged by his air-gunner 0 » Since the outbreak of hostilities this officer has been on 92 operational flights over the sea and has taken part in six successful bombing raids against the enemy, NOTES ON CAREER Pilot Officer WEIGHTMAN was born at Wragley, Lincolnshire, in 1916, and entered the R o A OF o as aircraftman second class under training as airman-pilot in 1936 a He became a pilot with the rank of Sergeant in 1937* He was granted a commission in April last. He is married and his home is in Belfast o Combined No. 6, IT IS REQUESTED. THAT NONE OF THESE ITEMS SHOULD BE PUBLISHED BEFORE THE DATES INDICATED IN THE RESPECTIVE SECTIONS. AIR MINISTRY WEEKLY NEWS LETTER. NOTEs- The information contained in this News Letter may be used by the press without acknowledgement. If it is desired to refer to the Air Ministry as the source of the information, the' expression "The Air Ministry ,f announces - is NOT tobeused. CONTENTS, Section A. Items in this section are available for first publication in EVENING newspapers of Wednesday, July 31st, and in WEEKLY newspapers published on Wednesday and Thursday, July 31st and August Ist, 1 PILOT S HILLSIDE LANDING, W.A.A.F. SHOWS GERMAN AIR TROPHIES. SIX TO ONE. WHAT POLISH FLIERS THINK OF R.A.F. FIRST CLASS SEARCHLIGHTS. IN THE CLOUDS. Section B. Items in this section are available for first publication in MORNING newspapers of Friday, August 2nd, and in WEEKLY newspapers published on Friday, August 2nd. STRAFING- THE GOOSE-STEPPERS UNLIKELY TO REACH HOME. OVERSEAS DONATIONS TO R.A.F. BENEVOLENT FUND. WEATHER NO OBSTACLE. LEAP-FROGGING OVER SHSLLS. TAIL-PIECE. press and publicity Branch, Air Ministry, King Charles Street, Whitehall, SaW.l. July 31st, 1940. 2 PILOT’S HILLSIDE LANDING, A Coastal Command Hudson aircraft which hide-and- had played seek with two Messerschmitts in the clouds Norway, over ran out of petrol as it neared the British coast. The pilot made a perfect landing on a steep hillside. His navigator jumped out and stones put behind the wheels to prevent the aircraft backwards. running The Messerschmitts pounced on the Hudson when it finished its reconnaissance of the Norwegian coast* But the British pilot saw them first. He dodged in and out of clouds, and at last left them still searching for him while he headed for home across the North Sea. But the encounter with the Me T s had made him use a lot up of extra petrol, ”0n the way home, petrol began to run low”, he said. ”1 thought we might be caught short and sere enough, just - as we approaching the east coast, the engines coughed and packed were up. We glided over the cliffs, I picked out the only possible place in sight, and prepared to land# ’’The ground above the cliffs was so steep that it looked like the side of a house. ”1 pulled the stick right back, the nose went up, and we pancaked down, ran for a few yards, then stopped. ”If my navigator hadn’t jumped out at once and jammed boulders behind our wheels we’d have rolled backwards into the sea. As it was, no damage was done.” W.A.A.F. SHOWS GERMAN AIR TROPHIES* Trophies taken from the German Luftwaffe are on view for uie first time at the W.A.A.F. Exhibition and Recruiting Bureau which opened to-day (Wednesday 31st July,) at Selfridges, London. Among -uhe exhibits is a collapsible rubber boat of the sort which has frequently been mentioned in official announcements of German aircraft shot down off the coasts of Britain. British and German parachutes, and a Nazi pilot’s heated flying suit are also on show. Photographs depict the life of an airwoman on a R.A.S. Station, and show something of the different trades of the W.A.A.F, in which they are employed. The jobs for which recruits are most urgently needed at the moment are those of plotters, radio-operators, cooks, mess and kitchen- staff, fabric workers and teleprinter operators. SIX TO ONE. Although many hundreds of enemy aircraft have been destroyed by them, our fighter pilots do not always have matters entirely their own way. Here is a story of a Hurricane pilot who became detached from his formation and found himself confronted with six Messerschmitt 110’s, the big twin-engined fighters of the Luftwaffe. Despite the heavy odds he promptly attacked. ”1 saw the first aircraft I aimed at badly hit”, he says, ”But before I could fire again, the Messerschmitts broke formation* Then I found three of them had got on my tail, and I was so busy taking avoiding action that I had no chance to fire. I got away into ” a cloud. 3 That might have seemed enough. But it was the British business to attack, and attack again he did. pilot’s ”1 stayed in the cloud until I saw the Messerschmitts regain formation and head off south. I climbed after them and opened fire on them again from below and astern”. Again the Messerschmitts broke formation and turned upon him. This time he concluded that discretion was the better part. ”1 thought it was no use having a repetition of the previous performance, so I shook them off and headed for home in the clouds.” But his day was not yet done. On his way home he had still another encounter. In uncertain light he was not quite sure of the the aircraft’s identification, although the stranger opened fire on him. He held his because he thought there was just & possibility that this fire, was a friendly aircraft which had seen the Messerschmitts and ’’got rattled”. So he gave it the benefit of the doubt. Apparently, it never occurred to him to get rattled himself. WHAT POLISH .PLIERS THINK OF THE R.A.F. A sidelight on how the Poles who are fighting for freedom the R.A.F. their British comrades of the air is alongside regard of R.A.F. station contained in a letter from the Commanding Officer an where there are a number of Polish airmen. He ”It is sometimes enlightening to hear an honest says: opinion of ourselves. Polish officers say that they always believed England to be very powerful with vast resources and a great tradition, but also somewhat and selfish. Since they have come to egoistic kind which they think must be due to England they have found us very - the Stream! What amazes them is our warming influence of the Gulf and the friendliness of officers nd stern severity on parade complete when they are not on parade”. As for what the think of the Poles, the letter goes R.A.F. ”The airmen here have respect and admiration. Their on; Polish our which is strength is rooted in deep religious feelirg and a patriotism derived from each man’s love of his village and country. own They have been through great hardships in Poland, Rumania, Syria and France and, by contrast, are now thoroughly enjoying the physical pleasures bears the scars of of a bed and good food« But nearly every man if is from a degree tragedy, knowing that his family, alive, darkened Poland oefore in all of oppression and cruelty such as never its tragic history”. FIRST CLASS SEARCHLIGHTS> Pilots of the R.A.F* Fighter Command are enthusiastic about the work done by the searchlight crews on the ground* pilot One good who recently brought down a Ju,BB bomber said quite frankly that he his ’’bird” but for the assistance of the search- could never have got lights* moonlit night, with little cloud when I ”It was a beautiful he said. well ahead of me, a dozen got the Junkers”, ’’suddenly, ew searchlights shot slim pencils of light into the sky or a o seconds they groped about, then concentrated on one particular spot* the searchlight beams, I looked hard, and then saw Jerry caught in looking for all the world like a silver moth. The searchlights attempt to continued to hold him, he turned and twisted in an although evade the inquisitive lights* 4 "He.was a perfect target and I closed for the fight. "It was over very quickly. I gave two short bursty hitting the Junkers with the second. He just went up in a blinding white flash, like a huge firework. ”1 saw nothing further of the enemy, but when I landed I found various bits and pieees of’ the Junkers attached to my aircraft. The searchlights were first-class. I take off my hat to them. After all, thesky’s a pretty big place and it’s hone too easy to pick out one solitary aeroplane in miles and miles of night sky. ”1 had a chat with the searchlight boys a day or two later* tie talked over this particular combat and I’m sure we both learned a lot which will be useful on future occasions.” IN THE CLOUDS. Against the hardships and hazards of his occupation the lirman may perhaps set at least one enviable privilege. Summer or winter, ret or fiiie, he sees the sun the if to of - or stars, he.belongs one ;he squadrons that take part in night attacks on Germany. The mists and clouds that blanket the rest of us for half he year are no obstruction to him.- And instead of grumbling at cloud he airman makes use of it, taking advantage of its friendly cover to ipproach his objective unseen, or to evade enemy aircraft should he e outnumbered. Whenever he likes he can climb out into the clear sky bove. As an airman nears his ’’ceiling’' he becomes, in fact, virtually ndependant of terrestrial weather. No rain obscures his vision, since e is well above it, and occasionally he flies higher even than the apex f a thunderstorm. South African pilots in the R.A.F. have been heard to express he opinion that there is no great difference between flying in cloud nd walking in it as it pours over Table Mountain in a South-easter, thers have suggested the impression of tramping on a foggy day across oors. What is strange about cloud flying is the appearance of the ace of Europe through the gaps, as flat and unreal as a map until the ircraft reaches i’os destination and drops to an effective height for Dirbing or for reconnaissance. At night it is still. There is nothing to tell gape stranger ’om cloud except when the airman catches sight, far over to one side, y a stray light or two; or sometimes patches of a ghostly Germany lit by distant )pear up lightning:. Flying well above a continuous layer of clouds the impression j very different. Below the aircraft, in the daytime, is a sort of "ozen sea or an shrubbery, heavily coated with snow. Above, ie extreme cold gives the lie to the story of - the melting wings of ariiSf though the sun is as bright as though it were reflected from l actual snow field. At night, however, there is little to stinguish a flight above clouds from a flight, in clear weather, over ie blacked out country-side. But the stars, from which the pilots id navigators of the R.A.F. frequently take their bearings on long ights, and the moon, have an unnatural brilliance. Fino clear nights have often given the ordinary mortals new wonderful views of their cities. But from the six it is like a t w of a new planet. O. STRAFING THE GOOSE-STEEPER S. High pay In A Pilot’s Life. A fighter Command pilot who had the Distinguished Flying Cross pinned on his tunic by the King recently came back from a patrol over enemy territory the other day full of enthusiasm. ”I’ve just been strafing a bunch of goose-stepping Huns”, he said. ”1 was alone over German-occupied France, and above a deep layer of cloud. I decided to have a look round below the clouds, there being no Terry aircraft of any description ’upstairs’. ”1 went down carefully through the clouds, and when I came into the clear again I was only about 70 feet above the ground. I found .myself approaching a village I had visited often before the war. I flew along the straight road leading into it and recognised the church on the left-hand side, the odd cluster of cottages and the estaminets. ”1 saw the Town Hall, still standing, in the village square. Then I saw a bunch of German soldiers goosc-stepping across the square. There were two long lines of thorn, goose-stopping as hard as they could gol It scorned sacrilege to me, particularly as I know the village in the happier days. "I just edged my machine down a bit and pressed the gun button when they were in range. The bullets simply knocked them down like a pack of cards. "Then I swung round, and came back to see what the result was. I saw those Germans who had not been hit running for shelter, but most of them were lying where they had fallen. Obviously they did not expect to see any kind of aircraft that day. The low clouds, they thought, would keep off both enemy and friendly aircraft, so they were doing a spot of goose-stepping to annoy the local victims of the invasion. ’’UNLIKELY TO REACH HOME.” ;} 5’ Other enemy aircraft are unlikely to have reached homo. That sentence,' or a* similar one, often appears in official bulletins. It is used because it is a rule that no German bomber or fighter nay be claimed as having been destroyed unless it has been definitely seen to crash in sea or on land# But how is it possible to decide when enemy aircraft are unlikely to reach their aerodromes ? Here is one answer given by a Hurricane pilot who had attacked a Dornier 17 bomber off the South coast. Flying at 7,000 feet, the leader of a section of Hurricanes sighted the Dornier about 2,500 feet below him. The Hurricanes dived on the Dornier in line astern, but it slipped into a lower layer of cloud. The German pilot circled round in ths cloud, hoping to confuse his He was unsuccessful. One Hurricane pilot sighted the pursuers. Dornier as it came out into a clear space, and a long chase began. The fighter pilot fired short bursts of bullets every tine the cloud allowed him to sec his quarry# ’’When last he n the Dornier about 100 feet from seen/* said, was NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL FRIDAY, 2ND AUGUST, 1940. 6 sea level and losing speed. His starboard engine was on fire, and the flames were spreading to the starboard wing, but he was not losing height and his rear gunner was still firing”. His machine on fire, his speed slackening and his qourney home not half done, the German pilot would be a very lucky man if he managed to reach his base. But because the Hurricane pilot did not actually see him crash, he was only recorded as ’’unlikely to reach home” . OVERSEAS DONATIONS TO THE R.A.F. BENEVOLENT FUND. A donation of £l,lOO ”in recognition of the magnificent work of the Royal Air Force” has been sent from Rangoon to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund. It comes from Lady Booth-Gravely and Mrs. Luin Ure, 0.8.E., joint honorary organisers of the 1940 Carnival in Rangoon, and is only one of many donations from Overseas recently received by the Fund. These include £320 from the B±itish 'Women’s Patriotic Committee in the Argentine Republic; £B5 from the Culture Inglesa Guild, Calle Florida, Argentina; £3OO from the British War Charities Fund, Lourenco Karques, Portuguese East Africa; £5O from the Witbank and District War Fund, Transvaal, South Africa, and £46 from the Fildbusi Branch of the Women’s National Service League of Southern Rhodesia. Among other recent contributions are £350 from the Flying Services Fund by courtesy of the committee of the Royal Aero Club, £lOO from the Anglo-American Oil Company and £lOO from the executors of the late Major B.H. Archer. As will be realised, the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund has many urgent calls upon its resources at the present time, and further donations, both great and small, will be very thankfully Admiration and gratitude for the splendid services which are daily being rendered to the nation by the officers and men of all ranks of the Air Force can be fittingly shown by offerings to the Fund. They can be sent to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, Eaton House, 14 Eaton Road, Hove, Sussex. The Patron of the Fund is H.M, the King and its President H.R.H. the Duke of Gloucester, K.G-. WEATHER NO OBSTACLE, Although weather reports are no longer published official bulletins have occasionally spoken of adverse weather conditions hampering bombing operations of the R.A.F. What these patches of bad weather have meant can be realised from reports some of pilots of Bomber Command returning from the forays against enemy aircraft regular factories, oil refineries and similar military objectives. One pilot, flying in weather which would keep most people and half the target to make indoors, spent an hour a searching over area sure of the allotted objective before he attacked it. Another flew for hours through severe icing conditions to make a successful raid. A third encountered a violent electrical storm, was struck by lightning -- so that it seemed as though”a ball of fire had hit the wing” —* and still finished the run according to plan. Several attacking an important military objective in aircraft, Germany, were hampered by low visibility, which prevented their observers from recording the precise results of the attack. Following pilots, however, found the already well alight, and target were able to bomb accurately by the illumination gratuitously provided. another pilot, whose machine had been damaged, On occasion, a was caught in a heavy storm. With one engine failing, he piloted his NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL FRIDAY, 2ND AUGUST, 1940. 7 aircraft back by dead reckoning. He reached the coast of England with only a 3 mile margin of error, after a total flight of 900 miles. LEAP-FROGGING OVER SHELLS, Playing leap-frog overtheir shells, the pilot of a Coastal Command aircraft dodged two cannon-firing Messerschmitts for half an hour. By that time, he had led them so far from land that they had to give the chase. up The British aircraft, a Hudson, was on reconnaissance in Norwegian waters when two Messerschmitt 109’s dived to the attack. They had the advantage of speed, and the pilot of the Uudson decided that his best tactics were to lead them a running chase out to sea until petrol shortage compelled them to return. His strategy succeeded. ”1 flew low over the sea doing sharp turns from side to side”, said the pilot. ’’Puffs of smoke from the noses of the Messerschmitts warned me that they were pumping their cannons at us. The shells went harmlessly underneath, and we could see them exploding on the sea. My gunner got in some good bursts and eventually the Germans decided they were getting too far from home, and turned back”. Two of the British crew were slightly wounded by splinters, but no serious damage was done to the aircraft, which got home without further difficulty. TAILPIECE. True story from Yorkshire: A small boy woke one night saying, "Mum! Wake up, there’s a Jerry!” A few minutes later he added, "O.K, Mum, you can go to sleep again - there go the Spitfires’” NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL FRIDAY, 2ND AUGUST, 1940. AIR MINISTRY BULLETIN No. 1241. 28/7/40 - No. 7. Air Ministry News Service. HUDSONS HARASS ENELJI SHIPPING American-built Hudson aircraft of the Coastal Command severely damaged two German supply ships last night (Saturday), and bombed others. A Messerschmitt which attempted to interfere was shot down. The first attack was made off the Norwegian coast by a pilot who comes from Stellarton, Nova Scotia, and the bomb aimer, who,: now a pilot officer, formerly a sergeant-pilot-holder of the D.F.M. The Hudson was patrolling near Stavanger, usually a hot spot for enemy fighters, when the pilot saw in the distance a German supply ship. He dived on it and dropped his bombs. "As we turned away after our dive”, he said, "three Me,lo9*s came for us, A few of their shots went into our tail and damaged the starboard rudder, to allow "I turned my rear gunner to get one of the Messerschmitts into his sights. He let fly a good burst and we saw the tracer bullets striking home. "The Me, fell away, out of control, and crashed into the sea, "We were into the clouds before the other two Me’s had time to open their attack. We didn’t see them again but we got back home with some difficulty as one rudder was completely useless,” An hour later, off the Dutch coast, another Hudson saw three armed supply ships, He scored a direct hit on the stern of one of them with a heavy bomb, and the ship appeared to be sinking. 28/7/40. - No. 9. PRESS NOTICE The Admiralty announce that in order to provide facilities by which private telegrams of ah urgent"nature may be sent to H.M.ships whether at hbme or abroad, a scheme will be introduced on Monday, the 29th July, by which the officially nominated nearest relative or friend of Officers and Men of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines (including reserves) will be allowed to send certain concession telegrams, which will be sent by telegraphic means throughout to the bases from which H.M. Ships operate, whence they will be passed to the ship concerned at the first available opportunity* 2. These concession telegrams will be limited to not more than two per month to any one applicant, and must be handed in at a Post Office in the United Kingdom on a telegram form special which can be obtained on preferably in writing to the application Secretary of the Admiralty (C.W*Branch) for Officers and to the appropriate Naval or Marine Depot in the case of men. Applicants for Voucher forms must quote the following particulars of the officer or man with whom they wish to communicate•- Surname and full Christian names. Rank or rating. Official number, if known, (except for Officers) Name of ship on which serving, also their relationship. ' 3. The telegrams will have to be addressed in the normal manner, i*e* Name of addressee, rank or rating, H.M.S* (name of ship), London and paid for at the normal inland rate of Id a word when handed in at the Post Office, and the Admiralty will arrange for their onward transmission by telegraph without further cost to the senders* 4* Delivery will be effected as quickly as circumstances permit, but pending further experience of theworking of the scheme it cannot be guaranteed within any specified time* A very considerable saving in time the present postal facilities over is, however, to be expected* 5. The use of the special concession telegrams forms is to be limited to messages of an urgent and private nature only, and the text of each message should not normally exceed 12 words. Birthday or similar greetings should not be sent by this means* Telgrams in code will not be accepted* 6, The Admiralty wish to emphasise that any Naval casualties are notified to the next-of-kin as soon as possible, and therefore these concession telegrams should not be used for the purpose of making enquiries immediately a Naval action is announced, 7* The present arrangements whereby messages for H*M. Ships may be sent by telegraph to London on the understanding that'if the ship is in home waters they will be sent on by telegraph, but if the ship is abroad, they will have to be sent on by post, available for general, use, without the use of a special concession form. ADMIRALTY, S.W.l. 28.7.40. No 10. RESIGNATION OF LORD PERTH The Earl of Perth, who has been chief adviser on foreign publicity to the Ministry of Information since the earliest months of the war, has resigned consequent upon certain changes in the organisation of the higher staff of the Ministry MINISTRY OF INFORMATION Air Ministry No. 1242 28.7.40 No.ll. AIR MINISTRY COMMUNIQUE Included among the objectives of our bomber aircraft yesterday and last night were the Nordsee Canal in North Holland, barges at Stavoren in Friesland, oil depots at Hamburg and Amsterdam, docks and. wharves at Wilhelmshaven and and eight enemy aerodromes in Holland and Germany. All our aircraft returned. An enemy fighter is now known to have been shot down in the course of yesterday’s operation off the Norwegian coast when an enemy supply ship was bombed. Another enemy supply ship was bombed off the Dut*h coast yesterday and left in a sinking condition. AIR MINISTRY BULLETIN No. 12430 28/7/40. - No. 12. Air Ministry News Service,; POLISH AIRMAN PLIES WITH R.A.F. RAIDERS. ’’This was the first time I had seen the R o A. F. in action, and I am full of admiration for what I saw” o In these words a high Polish Air Force officer, visitingnow one of the stations in the R,A.F O Bomber Command, summed up his impression after being taken as a member of the crew on an operation flight over Germany. The aircraft in which he was flying was one which successfully attacked the aircraft factory at Gotha. These works are engaged in assembling Messerschmitt fighters and training types of aircraft, as well as in the production of heavy tanks. ’’The impression that is most strong in my mind is the perfect collaboration of the crew”, said the Polish officer. ”1 have never imagined that it could reach such a high standard. Every man was quiet and confident-. Each of them knew what his task was . and did it without fuss or bother”. He was full of praise, too, for the navigation. ”It was very exact” he said, ’T'e were over the target practically to the minute on the estimated time of arrival, which had been set in advance. I was astonished at that because the weather conditions were poor. Most of the time we were flying in cloud”. On the way out the bomber shot down a Me 109» ”1 was o sitting in the second pilot’s seat, so I could not s&e the engagement”, said the Polish officer, ”It lasted only one minute or so. First I heard the sound of firing from an attacking aircraft, then right after that I heard firing from our own rear gtins. Then a minute later pilot said the Me, reported down, to mo ’one very * good, We passed north of the Ruhr., The anti-aircraft fire and searchlights there were very strong, but the pilot was all the time varying his course and speed and height, so we were not hit. ’’After we had bombed the aircraft factory he turned to observe the effect of the attack, I saw several bright fires which we had started. The preceding bomber also had started two or three fires the buildings. to have the among I was very glad opportunity of taking part in this raid* for I have seen something of what the Germans have done to us in my own country. ’’Coming back* we met more anti-aircraft fir© and searchlights hut the captain merely laughed. He was a very fine young man”. AIR MINISTRY No.l244. 28.7.40 - No.13. AIR MINISTRY COMMUNIQUE. During this afternoon (Sunday) forces of enemy aircraft were intercepted and engaged by our fighters off the south east coast of England. In the combat which followed, five enemy fighters were shot down. Later this afternoon our fighters shot down two more enemy aircraft in the Channel. These additions bring the total number of enemy aircraft destroyed today to nine. Two of our fighter aircraft were lost in today’s operations but the pilot of one of them, though wounded, is known to be safe. The total of our fighter losses yesterday (Saturday) was two. AIR MINISTRY.