Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-08-12
Berlin Sets Britoin's
Air Losses for Day
At71M Machines
~ the Associated Press.

bN me = SSOIldlcu
BERLIN, Aug 12-Germany
turned swarms of swift fighting
planes and bombers loose against
England today in a prolonged attack
which bore evidence that it was the
precursor of the long-eXpected gen.
eral assault on the island kingdom
Bent on destroying Britain's ship
ping and harbor facilities and de-
moralizing her people. the Nazi air
raiders swept over the southern
coast. sending loads of bombs on an
armed convoy of merchant ships of
Margate and hammering away at
the historic naval base of Ports
mouth.
The official German news agency
DNB, declared the invaders started
huge fires at Portsmouth and de-
stroyed an airport at Mansion,
Dorsetshire, almost directly north of
Weymouth and Portland, where the
German attacks centered Sunday.
New Losses Reported Hourly.
Hour by hour, DNB said, news of
fresh British losses poured in from
the fighting forces. The Nazi air
men, the agency said, mad coved
the British fighter crews.
Destruction of II British planes,
with only II German planes miss
ing, was reported by DNB. official
Germans news agency. Earlier a
DNB summary had said 40 British
planes were shot down over Ports
mouth and others wrecked at
Mansion, in the air and on
the ground.
This raised the British losses for
two days to 164. DNB said. COM
pared to only A German planes lost.
One of the British planes shot
down, according to the Germans,
was a Curtiss fighter This was one
of the few times that American
made planes have been reported
shot down in aerial dogfghts over
England.
The Germans. it was reported,
here. were under orders to con-
duct a free chase" which they
interpreted as to 60 where and
when they pleased in pursuit of the
British.
Only a change in the weather
yesterday made the Germans break
off their fierce attacks on Britain,
the Nazis said today.
Today, the Germans asserted, the
British were reluctant to engage in
aerial combat.
Seen Prelude TO Offensive.
Their pursuit planes opened fire
at long range, then withdrew" re-
ported DNB, adding that German
planes then went to work on Ports
mouth and Weymouth. firing tanks
and bombing the harbors and ship
yards and diving low to attack con-
voys.
AS the battle progressed it ap-
peared to be taking the shape ex-
pected by military observers as the
prelude to the general attack.
The high command, however, gave
no hint that the moment had come
for the drive.
So far the wave on wave of
bombers which distinguished the
power attacks against defense posi-
tons on the west front have not
yet developed against any English
port or point in the interior.
In the attack on shipping off
Margate, DNB said, four British
merchant vessels totaling 10000
tons were sunk by dive bombers.
With the attack on Portsmouth,
base for the British home fleet on
the southern coast and several i'm
portant naval schools, the Germans
also launched an attack on ship
ping off Margate, the German radio
said. In this attack, it declared,
German dive bombers sank four
merchantmen of about 10000 tons.
Huge Fires Reported.
DNB, describing the Portsmouth
raid, said about 40 planes took part,
flying from the south over Spit
head and dividing into three groups
just before they reached the big
naval base.
The first group, DNB said, bombed
a munitions and mine depot, the
second hurled its load of explosives
at the docks and ways, while the
third attacked a big oil tank yard.
Fires breaking out reached
size which German flyers until now
Gao pTDrTN Dooo AA