Evening star., 1940-07-26

By the Associated Press.
LONDON, July 26. - German
bombers made a daring thrust at
Eritain's back door today by at
tacking a convoy off the North Irish
Coasts. Others kept up the continu-
al battle for control of the English
Channel by striking again at the
southeast coastal towns.
Observers heard heavy gunfire
and saw flashes of ships guns as the
British replied to the attack on the
convoy off the North Irish Coast
the first made in that area since
the start of the war.
British planes streaked out to en-
gage the Germans. and soon one
bomber was seen to fall.
Early reports indicated the South
east Coast attacks were not as Sc
we're as yesterday when Britain
fought off combined plane and tor
pedo boat raids.
Claim 28 Planes Felled.
The British reported shooting
down % raiders and driving off a
feet of nine German mosquito boats
which attacked a 21-boat convoy
just off the mouth of the Thames.
Her own losses, Britain said. were
five small merchant ships. totallng
5,104 tons. In addition, five other
small boats totaling 5.i33 tons, and
two destrovers, were damaged.
German claims of $4,000 tons of
boats sunk by aircraft in this raid
we're called grossly exaggerated
The German high command also
announced IN special communique
that her speedboats sank three other
merchantships totaling $4,000 tons
in an attack off Brighton.
The planes attacked the convoy in
successive waves of 80 planes each.
the Admiralty said. but were driven
off with great losses.
The speedboat f1otilla, which also
sought to attack the convoy, was put
to flight behind smoke screen by
two destroyers and two British
motorboats.
The destroyers we're damaged, the
Admiralty added, when dive bombers
attacked them twice as they re-
turned from chasing mosquito boats.
The British also announced the
loss of trawler. the Fleming, when
it and another trawler were at
tackled by four dive bombers.
The Flening's companion traWler
the Berberis. made direct hit on
one of the planes bomb racks. eX-
ploding it in the air. the Admiralty
said, so that only pieces of a rubber
boat and bits of wood could be re-
covered. The Fleming's crew was
rescued by another traWler.
Bomber Jettisons Load.
One German bomber, hotly pur-
sued by British fighters, jettisoned
its bomb load over Southeast Eng
land town today. The explosives
caused some casualties and damaged
several houses.
In Southwest England this morn
ing a German bomber was shot
down and three creWmen killed. An
English farmer dashed out and cap
tured the pilot.
British pursuit planes chased of
flight of Nazi raiders Winging over
a southeast English area.
German planes were reported over
various Southwest England locali-
ties and a town in Wales reported
the drone of enemy planes overhead
but no bombs were dropped there.
The Air Ministry and the Ministry
of Home Security issued COM
munique saying that lin an attack
on a town on the southeast coast
this morning enemy aircraft de-
stroyed some houses and damaged
others. The casualties were small.
One person was killed"
Record Days Bag.
The % German Warplanes shot
down by Royal Air Force fighters
and anti-aircraft batteries in yes
terday's British Isles were a record
days bag" for r. A. F. operations
from Britain.
After these losses, only a few Nazi
planes ventured over the islands
Qurlng tne nlenJ.
Slight enemy activity" was re-
ported last night over Southeast and
Southwest England and Wales and
some bombs were dropped near a
town in East Anglia, but no damage
was reported from any area, the All
Ministry of Home Security said.
1t was the second successive night
of lulls in aerial activity-attr.buted
the previous night to unfavorable
weather-and the third since Ger
many began large-scale daily bomb
ings June l8
Until twilight, however, nassed
Nazi air raiders thundered over the
English Channel in repeated waves
yesterday, striking at British ship
conveys
2 TrawlerS Are Lost.
The British admiralty acknowl-
edged loss of two naval trawlers-
the Kingston Galena and the Ro.
dino-but did not say where they
were sunk or give any casualty