Evening star., 1940-10-04
London Gas Works
And Arms Plants
Bombed, Nazis Say
Bod Weather CurtuiIs
Attacks on Britain; One
Plane Roids Germany
BY the Associated Press.


BERLIN, Oct. 4.-Bombings Of a
gas works in Northwestern London,
armament plants in Coventry and
Chester in England's industrial
Midlands and of British aviation
camps were reported by the Ger
man high command today.
A communique said the air war
against Britain was carried out yes
terday despite bad weather, but in
formed sources said the attacks
were materially reduced from their
previous scale.
Only one British plane was able
to penetrate Western German ter
ritory because Of the unfavorable
weather and its attack resulted in
no noteworthy damage, the high
command said, but it was admitted
that attacks had been made on the
Norwegian coast.
High flames shot from the gas
works attacked in Northwestern
London, the communique said, and
direct hits were registered on as
sembly shops and machine shops
of two armament works at Chester,
south of Liverpool, and Coventry
rs miles northwest of London.
Hangers. barracks, runways and
airplanes were reported destroyed in
attacks on an airport in Cornwall.
In raid on a flyers camp at Sheer
ness, on the south side of the
Thames estuary, direct hits were re-
ported on troops and barracks.
Columns of trucks transporting
troops north of London were de-
clared to have been scattered by at
tacks by single planes.
Only three British planes and four
German planes were reported lost.
British Bombing Minimized.
Authorized Nazis minimized the
military effectiveness of British
bombing attacks on Germany dur
ing September, claimed new sue
! cesses for their own air arm and
reported British shipping losses
since the war started now totaled
100000 tons.
Berliners, meanwhile, enjoyed a
respite from air raid alarms-getting
their first uninterrupted sleep in six
nights.
Recapitulating the heightened
aerial warfare for September, Ger
man informants said the British
dropped 1912 bombs on German
territory but that only l.6 per cent
of these hit military targets.
Forty-eight per cent of the Brit
ish bombs fell on open fields, it was
claimed, while 50.4 per cent fell on
civilian objectives, such as workers
settlements, schools, hospitals and
churches. The report was based
only on bombings of Germany
proper.
British Plane Losses put at 2,474.
British plane losses during August
and September were put at 2,474,
against only 706 for Germany.
OF the losses reported inflicted
on British shipping, Nazi sub
marines accounted for 100000 tons
and the air force for 100000 tons.
the semi official Dienst aus Deutsch-
land said. The total does not in
clude vessels of less than 1000 tons
it was explained.
b. Gloyd's Register of Shipping
lists 2l,O01 ,925 tons of shipping
in the hands OF the British En-
pire. including vessels of 100 tons
or more)
The latest German figures would
indicate that British shipping losses
have averaged nearly 100000 tons
a month since July l. Up to that
time Germany claimed to have de-
stroyed 1929 .213 tons.
100 Planes Raid London.
British have declared their ship
ping losses to be far less than
claimed by Germany and to have
been more than offset by tonnage
acquired from Norway, Denmark,
Belgium, Holland and France and
by new construction.
More than 100 German planes
few over London yesterday and
dropped 300, 900 pounds of bombs on
the British capital causing great
destruction" and setting many fires.
DNB, official news agency, reported.
Authorized sources declared one
Nazi warplane dropped a bomb Of
heaviest caliber directly in front Of
a Oscar British troop train, creating
"a unique picture of destruction"