Evening star., 1940-07-08
Britain Claims
Superiority Over
Nazi Air Force
Matches Blow for
Blow With Waves
OF German Planes
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, July 8.-Britain claimed
the upper hand over Nazi air raid
ers today and declared her flyers
were matching blow for blow as
waves Of German planes still poured
over England.
Several persons were believed to
have been killed and some damage
was caused in towns Of Northeast,
Southeast and Southwest England
as the Germans continued the air
forays from which the British have
had but one day of respite since
June 18.
A Home Security Ministry COM
munique said r. A. F. planes brought
down two of the German raiders.
Two Messerschmidt fighters were
believed also to have been shot down
in an air battle over Southeast
England late this afternoon.
New information added an entire
family of five to the toll of dead in
a Western England town last night
All were killed by one bomb. Four
other families, taking shelter in
doors, were buried under their
caved-in homes when bombs fell in
the heart of residential area.
The Air Ministry said Royal Air
Force planes, ip daylight raids
on Germany yesterday, shot down a
Messerschmidt fighter in flames and
wrecked big four-engined airplane
on the ground.
Besides destroying the big German
plane in raid on Eschwege, the
Air Ministry said, British flyers
scored a direct hit on a runway
and are believed to have caused "ex-
tenSive damage" to grounded planes.
Bomber Escapes Planes.
Attacked by five Messerschmidts,
it added, British bomber raiding
German-occupied Northern France.
shot down one in burst of gunfire
and escaped to sea.
Enemy bombers attacked two
coastal towns this morning, but two
were shot down by British fighters,
communique by the Air Ministry
of Home Security announced.
German assertions of British
losses in the air battle over the
English Channel yesterday were
scoffed at in authoritative circles as
"just another case of Nazi multi
plication by TO-"
(The Nazi high command COM
munique reported 10 British Spit
fires shot down over the channel
as part of IA British air losses
to three for Germany yesterday
Against a German loss of three
fighters and bomber, British losses
were, in fact, one only-the second
fighter machine lost in the defense
of Britain since the war began"
these sources retorted.
Claim liz Machines.
The bag" of German planes at
tacking the British Isles, they added,
is "l12 machines certain" and pos
sibly 25 others damaged so badly
they are believed never to have
reached home.
To this, apparently, was added
another bomber today. Witnesses
said one of the southeast raiders
was last seen dropping toward the
sea belching smoke and pursued by
British fighters.
About 100 incendiary and IL ex-
posive bombs were dropped in the
early morning raid on a northeast
town in which several persons were
injured, three houses demolished and
eight others damaged.
Latest reports from the southwest
town raided said one man was
killed and several wounded.
Detailing the air fighting of last
night, the Air Ministry said one
Spitfire pilot shot down two Messer-
schmitt 100 fighters in dogfghts
over the Channel and attacked three
more before returning unscathed to
his base.
Another pilot of the same squad
ron, the announcement said, bagged
another Messerschmitt 100 and dam
aged Messerschmitt 110 which Just
had shot down British Hurricane.
Daylong Raids Yesterday.
The attacks today followed day.
long raids from Southwest England
to Southeast Scotland yesterday, in
which at least five persons were
killed, seven and possibly eight Ger
man planes were shot down and
three British fighters lost.
One store and two houses were
demolished in today's raid. Several
other buildings in the main shop
ping street of the town we're shat
tered. At the same time German
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