Evening star., 1940-10-12
Naval Battle
Reported Off
Isle Of Wight
Torpedoboot Fleet
Engages British,
Germans Assert
~ the Associated Press.

BERLIN, Oct. ia German
torpedo boat fotilla was reported
today to have sailed out of a con-
tinental port and fought a sea en-
gagement off the Isle of Wight
with British light naval forces.
The result of the engagement was
not known Immediately. The Isle
Of Wight is off Southampton, on
the southeast coast of England.
Informed sources said the Ger
man fotilla had encountered Brit
ish submarines, destroyers and tor
pedo boats.
The high command reported one
convoy off Dover was broken up by
German "long-distance artillery of
the navy and army" and two others
were attacked by dive bombers of
Scotland and near the Hebrides.
Three ships were halted by bomb
hits, the high command said.
$3.50 Planes Claimed.
DNB, the official German news
agency, said today it had learned
from the best Uniformed German
sources that the exact British air
losses from July to the present day
comprised $3.50 planes, of which
1900 were fighters and the re-
mainder light and heavy bombers.
During yesterday German planes
were reported to have unloaded
$4,000 Kilograms (26,520 pounds) of
bombs on England, and during the
night 100000 GAG, APO pounds kilo-
grams more
Submarines were described as
especially active One U-boat re-
ported sinking $1,000 tons of ship
ping.
New waves of German war planes,
meanwhile, were reported carrying
the 2-months- air siege to Lon
don, and DBN quoted returning
flyers as saying great clouds of
smoke hoated over the city after
bombs were dropped this morning.
Numerous bombs of medium and
heavy caliber caused great fires be-
tween Thames Bend and Leyton,"
the agency said. Furthermore, nu-
merous hits could be observed in the
neighborhood of Battersea Park on
the south bank of the Thames
(where London's greatest power sta
ton is located"
Troop Centers Attacked.
Seven British fighters were shot
down in air fights over South Eng
land, DNB reported, after German
planes attacked troop concentra-
tions with bombs and machine guns.
Two German planes are missing so
far, the agency continued.
These attacks succeeded a series
Of great" night raids on London,
Liverpool, Birkenhead and Man
chester.
At Liverpool "a great fire broke
out in the refrigeration houses
around Alexandra Harbor and east
wards to the Canadian docks, which
quickly spread" a communique said.
Likewise, several great fires be-
tween Stanley Harbor and the Ca
madam docks were observed.
Dock facilities at Liverpool
Bootle likewise received several full
hits and went up in flames"
Many single attacks also were
directed against railroad facilities
and armament plants in South Eng
land and in Scotland, the COM
munique added.
An important" armament plant
on the east coast was declared to
have been burned to the ground.
Attacks on Holland Reported.
The British air force committed
acts of terror against numerous
Dutch localities during which more
or less heavy damage was done to
persons and property" said the
high command.
A few British planes were said to
have flown over Western Germany
during the night but were reported
driven off by aircraft fire after
dropping bombs on a single un-
named town without causing mate
rial damage.
At Manchester Nazi bombers were
reported to have damaged railway
tracks, gas works and a nearby
army encampment.