Imperial Valley press., 1940-08-12

BERLIN, Aug. IL. CUP) German
warplanes smashed at British chan
mel shipping and naval objectives
today and claimed a bag" of 90
British fighters in renewal of mass
air raids which informed sources
said were "only the beginning" of
what would become a progressively
fiercer aerial offensive against the
British Isles.
The official German news agency,
DNB, asserting that British fight
:. er resistance had been "broken" on
y the south coast of England, said
the raiders wreaked havoc on the
great British naval base of Ports
mouth, sank four merchantmen
tOtaling about 10000 tons in the
channel, set other ships on fire
and destroyed % British planes
while losing only six of their own.
Large German formations at
tackled air bases along the south
coast of England, it was claimed
and destroyed" the important
Mansion airfield "among others" :"
The raids described by DNB were
the third series of large scale mass
assaults on Britain since last Thurs
day and they appeared to be ap-
preaching the proportions of yes
terday's attacks in which, the high
command claimed, SO planes were
shot down.
While one large formation was
attacking Portsmouth and another
was shooting down numerous" ball
looms of the channel ballon barrage,
another group of dive bomberS at
tackled a convoy off Margate, be-
tween IL a. m. and noon sinking
four ships and damaging many
others, DNB said.
The bombers dived on the convoy
through intense anti-aircraft fire,
the news agency said, and shot
down three British hurricanes and
two spitfires in this engagement
without any German losses.
British resistance was much more
feeble than yesterday, DNB said,
indicating that the British were
unable to keep an unbroken bar
rage of defense planes in the air
over the south coast
DNB listed the % British planes
shot down as IL Spitfires, seven
Hurricanes, three Defiance and one
Curtiss. German losses, the news
agency said, included two bombers
two dive bOmberS, one destroyer
plane and one fighter.
"The low number of British planes
shot down was due to the fact
that the British did not attack
but were shot down as they fled"
DNB said.
+ DNB said about 40 bombers,"
protected by fighter and destroyer
planes, carried out an hour long
raid on Portsmouth unhindered by
British fighters.
"The Germans" DNB said, "lei-
surely dropped well aimed bombs
unhindered by British fighters or
by the poorly aimed anti aircraft
guns"
The high command previously
had claimed that British aircraft
factories, harbor works and anti
aircraft defenses had been hit yes
terday in the third intensive, wide
spread air attack on Britain since
last Thursday.
In other attacks today, German
planes shot down numerous bal
looms" of the channel convoy de-
fense and destroyed five British
fighters in air battles with a loss
of only one German plane, ac-
cOrding to DNB.
Describing the attack on Ports
mouth DNB said the Germans
flew in over the Spithead, divided
into three groups before reaching
their objective and dropping bombs
which started numerous fires.
One group bombed a munitions
government wharves and oil tanks.
DNB said, while others attacked
and mine depot at Prisdy's Head,
Explosions and heavy smoke were
observed at several points after
the bombs hit, the news agency said,
and fires spread until they as
sumed proportions "such as Ger
man fliers had not before seen on
British SOIL"
English fighters head at a dis