Evening star., 1940-03-01
German Planes Resume Raids
On Ships as Britain Reports
Widespread Flights Over Reich
Convoy Attacked;
Several Vessels
Hit, Says Berlin

Hit, Says Berlin
KERMIT ROOSEVELT AWAITING
o. K. on heading Finn volunteers;
only Kings signing Of resignation
holds up departure. Page Az
PROHIBITION DAYS" thrice
weekly are decreed for France:
alcoholic drinks banned on Tues
days, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Page AS
1000 RUMANIANS answer call to
join defense force; army is in
creased to 100000 against war
spread. Page AS
BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, March britain and
Germany fought bitter give-and-
take air and sea warfare today, in
which neutral vessels went down
with those of the belligerents.
While Britain was announcing
that her big reconnaissance planes
had flown over Berlin and other
German cities during the night in
the most extensive scouting flight
of the war. German bombers at
tackled shipping off Britain's east
coast from Yorkshire to the Thames
estuary.
An authoritative source said
convoy had been attacked, but mo
l. nrcfn
the attack took place "some way
OUT over the sea-too far for
British fighters to 60 into action
effectively.
Anti-aircraft batteries in the
Amsterdam and Utrecht areas flred
today at unidentified foreign planes,
Dutch dispatches said.
7,4l8-Ton Liner Sunk.
The British liner Pyrrhus, 7,418
tons, was reported sunk "by enemy
action" off the west coast OF Eng
land with eight men lost.
A lifeboat which had put out from
the Yorkshire coast returned late
today after an unsuccessful search
3.2O6 tons, which had reported that
she was being bombed and machine
gunned by two German planes.
THE official German news
agency, DNB, asserted that Ger
man bombers had attacked
numerous" British warships,
conveys and armed merchant
men today. dispensing convoy
and sinking several large ships)
Caught in the bomb and machine
gun attacks on trawlers which the
British said were fishing craft was
the Norwegian steamer Brott, 1888
tons. bombed from the air and es-
corted listing badly into an east
coast port. Six of her men were
adrift on a raft, and two others
were picked up.
Norwegian Foreign Minister
Halvdan Koht said only yesterday
that Norway was protesting against
German attacks on Norgegian
vessels.
The 5,340-ton Italian steamer
Mirella, plying normally between
Rotterdam and Italy, sank within
two minutes after striking mine
IA miles off the Suffolk coast last
night, and today two of her life
boats reached the coast, bearing IA
men suffering from exposure and
the body of one of their mates who
had died. Eleven other members OF
the crew were missing.
Thames Batteries in Action.
The NaZi raids on the coast
brought anti-aircraft guns on the
Thames estuary into action, but at
the moment that headlines in all
evening newspapers were telling of
attacks there the air ministry de-
MED there had been enemy activity
in that region today.
An officially approved statement
said of the flights over Germany
that they were the longest of the
war, ranging from to 10 hours.
All craft returned safely without en-
countering enemy opposition either
in the air or on the ground" the
statement said.
The captain of one plane reported
that he had identified an important
railway junction" south of Berlin
and dropped flares before continuing
on to the capital.
Nazi planes attacked several boats
described as fishing trawlers off the
coast of Yorkshire.
France was disclosed today to have
lost two cargo boats by German
action in February. They were
the 3,754-ton P. L. NJ. torpedoed
with loss of Is lives, and the 5,391-
ton P. L. NJ, which sank with four
men after striking a mine.
Planes Driven OFF.
A British pursuit plane drove off
planes which bombed and machine
gunned the fishing boat Courage,
British reports said.
A trawler and a drifter went to
the aid of q vessel which sent an
sos and a Norwegian ship, badly
damaged and listing heavily, man.
aged to reach an east coast port
after sending distress signals. She
was believed damaged by German
air attack.
The attacks off Yorkshire came at
daybreak.
The skipper of one boat said
plane fred burst while flying at
so feet and later dropped a bomb
which lifted the small craft out of
the water, although not damaging
her.
A distress call was picked up from
another vessel eight miles offshore,
and fishermen began a search for
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