Evening star., 1940-12-27
London
Continued From First Page)

patrol vessel miles off shore.
A low mist hung over d-Channel
all day, reducing visibility to 3 or
miles
A joint Air and Home Security
Ministries communique said AN
enemy aircraft dropped bombs this
morning on town in southeast
England, causing some damage and
few minor casualties"
The official announcement of
Britain's air offensive operations,
coupled with yesterdays announce
ment of the Isle of Sheppey bombing,
disclosed that both sides ended the
b unofficial Christmas truce yesterday,
but there was no indication here
which dropped the first bomb.
The British offensive blows were
announced in the following state
ment issued at the Ministry of In
formation:
Small forces of R. A. F. aircraft
last night bombed targets in Bor-
deaux and during daylight yesterday
several airdromes in enemy-occu-
pied territory"
A later communique from the Air
Ministry said:
yesterday aircraft of the coastal
command attacked several airdromes
in Brittany and shipping at LIE Ire
port. During last night small
force of bombers attacked the air.
drome at Bordeaux. One of our
aircraft is missing
| LIE Treport is on the French coast
of the English Channel, near Dieppe.
/ No Activity Over England.
On the defensive side in the air
war there was a night-long lull.
| A government communique issued
after daylight said:
There was no enemy activity over
this country last night"
The last pre-Christmas alert
sounded in England at 1:20 am.
Monday G:20 pm, E. S. T., Sum-
day..
German long-range guns at Cap
! Girls Nez, France, were reported in
action during the early morning.
The big-gun bombardment of the
Dover area. said to have been fairly
intense, began at 4:30 am. 10:30
pm. Thursday, E. S. TD and lasted
two and one-half hours.
lie Havre Bombing Severe.
The Air Ministry news service
quoted what it called a statement
| from LIE Havre" today that British
| bombing of the French Channel
port has been far worse than the
bombardment there by the Ger
mans last June.
"On one night in particular it
was terrific" the statement said.
Before the British finished coming
over we had spent eight hours in
| the cellar under an incessant bomb
! ing"
The statement said the bombs
fell like mama. Fires spread to
half the hangers at Heroult. There
was a gigantic conflagration lasting
five hours. Now, as soon as night
falls, people all 60 below ground.
even the German soldiers"
An Air Ministry bulletin report
ing on fresh and heartening evil
dence of damage done in Germany
and German-occupied territory by
aircraft of the bomber command"
said there was mot the slightest
doubt" that considerable damage
was done to refineries and factories
in Gelsenkirchen.
Oil Refinery Damaged.
The bulletin said an old refinery
at Great Politz and 3,000-horse-
power dynamo, petrol tanks and
gasometer near Stettin, on the Bal
tic, were hit and damaged.
A factory at Hamm which report
edily produced a large proportion
of Germany's welding electrodes was
said to have been damaged so Sc
verely that production had ceased
altogether. The bulletin also said
that damage to docks and ware
houses at Hamburg was so "enor-
nous" that there was virtually no
movement of goods at this largest
German seaport.
Destroyer Acher0n Sunk.
The 1,350-ton British destroyer
Acheron, called hush hush" YES
sci when she was built in 1880 be-
cause she was fitted with extraordi-
nary high-pressure boilers, has been
sunk, the Admiralty announced last
night.
On trial run the Acheron estab-
lished a record of fuel economy.
Her boiler pressure of 500 pounds
per square inch was said at the time
to be 66 per cent greater than any
thing previously attained.
No details of the action were
given, nor was the date mentioned.
The loss of the Acheron brought
to SO the aggregate number of Brit
ish destroyers officially acknowledged
to have been lost since the war
started.
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