Evening star., 1940-11-14
British Planes
Renew Raid on
laramie Base
R. A. F. Craft Press
Aerial Offensive
North to Berlin
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, Nov. 14-From hard
hit Taranto, at the tip of Italy, tc
Berlin the. Royal Air Forces bomb
ers struck last night, pressing home
the offensive which the British say
has crippled half of Mussolini's bat
tleships and given the empires
combined sea-air power prestige
throughout the world.
At laramie, where three battle
ships and four other warcraft OF
Italy's hoaded battle fleet were re-
ported crippled by naval torpedo
planes flying in from aircraft car
riers Monday night, planes of the
R. A. F. bomber command followed
up. The Ministry Of Information
said they successfully attacked both
harbor and docks. and that all re-
turned to their base (perhaps Malta
or Crete.
Railway Station Bombed.
In Berlin. British bombs burst In
answer to Hitler's newest stroke of
diplomacy They gave Russia's Pre-
mier Molotoff his first taste of what
an air raid is like Moreover, the Air
Ministry said the raiders bombed a
railway station, freight yards and
other objectives in mid-Berlin, de-
spite miserable flying weather.
There was evidence, too, of ag-
gressive British preparation for de-
fense of Far Eastern bases and pos
sessions.
An air marshal, Sir Robert
Brooke -Popham, was made COM
mander in chief in the Far East,
with headquarters in Singapore, and
it was disclosed that reinforcements
had reached British bastions in the
Orient.
Tribute Paid to Forces.
Something of the nature of the
Monday night raid on laramie was
disclosed last night by First Lord
of the Admiralty A. v. Alexander
when he paid tribute to the forces
Notwithstanding the captains Of
the aircraft carriers Eagle and Illus
trious.
That meant that planes from at
least three British aircraft carriers
now are operating against SoutlBrn
Italy. For the Ark Royal has been
named in accounts of the bombing
of other objectives.
The British aircraft carriers Cour-
ageous and Glorious were sunk
earlier in the war, and the action
against Southern Italy is the first
known instance of the use of this
type of warship in a major action
since the ill-fated Norwegian cam
paign. The Glorious was sunk OF
Norway; the Courageous in the
western part of the English Chan
mel
Mr.. Alexander singled out for spe-
cial tribute Admiral Sir Andrew
Cunningham. commander in chief
of the Mediterranean fleet; Rear
Admiral Arthur Lumley st. George
Lyster, head of the fleet air arm
and Capts. Bridge and Boyd of the
Eagle and Illustrious, respectively.
Ironically, Lyster was appointed
a cavalier of the Italian Order Of
the Crown for World War services.
He commanded the Glorious before
she was lost off Norway.
Fires Started in Berlin.
The attacks on the German capi-
tai were carried out during wide
spread operations" over Germany in
the face of extremely adverse
weather" a communique declared.
Bombs started number of fires, "
the ministry said.
An electrical power station at Co.
logne. inland docks at Duisburg-
Ruhrort, industrial targets at Dort-
mund and Dusseldorf and a bat
terry of coke ovens at Lintfort also
were said to have been attacked and
bursts were observed on all these
targets"
Other objectives, the ministry'S
communique said, were oil plants
at Gelsenkirchen, Hanover and
Leuna, airdromes at Haamstede.
kreuzbruck and Lubbock and a sea-
plane base at Norderney. Docks at
Calais and Wilhelmshaven also were
reported bombed.