The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-09-05
BRITISH DRIVE
 BACK GERMANS

(Continued from Page D for a few minutes and the British planes, coming down, could be seen lazily resuming their patrol. The Germans had gone home.
 A few bombs had dropped on the outskirts of London, but it was re- ported that four German planes had been shot down. Most of the Ger man planes, it was reported, did not even have time to drop their bombs.
 The "all clear" signal was sounded at 10:56 a. m. in the London area.
 During the night people along the southeast coast were startled from sleep by explosions from the French side of the English channel as Royal Air Force planes blasted German ob- jectives. So great were the explo- sions that houses were rocked in a southeast town. Bursting bombs, ani-aircraft fire and searchlights liglf9d up the channel. Strong fumes of oil, blown across the chan nel, caused belief that the British planes had blown up big German oil depot.
 German planes in the night had followed through on Adolf Hitler's threat to utterly erase" British cities.
 100 Bombs In One Spot
 More than 100 bombs were drop- ped on one greater London area alone and United Press corre- spondent heard 50 bombs strike with in 10 minutes in a southeast inland town within the greater London de- fense area.
 But the German raiders, as they suddenly intensified their attacks, met suddenly intensified defense.
 Hundreds of anti-aircraft guns in the London area alone, long held immobile in concealed emplace- ments, sent up blast of fire which witnesses asserted formed a wall of flame in the sky.
 Unofficial reports were that six raiding planes were shot down over greater London, to make the 24- hour total of German planes des- troyed 50 against Il British fighter planes, the pilots of five of which landed safe.
 There was furious activity by air. planes, anti-aircraft guns and searchlights throughout the night all over the southeastern area of England.
 Nazi planes singly and in fleets ranged over the entire country, however, dropping bombs on towns and farmlands and sleepy country villages.
 Incendiary Bombs
 For days past the Germans had used incendiary bombs preponder- antly. In the new raids, however, they used mostly high explosive bombs.
 Official reports were that dam age was remarkably slight, but these reports emphasized that later reports might show much heavier damage. Early reports were that ruined roofs, broken windows ana homes damaged by fire accounted for most damage.
 On the southeast coast, awed watchers saw a gigantic gothic arcl. made across the channel by search light beam as British batteries sought arriving German planes and German batteries on the French coast tried to pick up British planes which bombed the area heavily for hours.
 London's anti-aircraft barlAge, during an 89-minute alarm period which ended at 10:43 last night, was so intense that air raid wardens In one area advised people in theaters not to try to go to shelters because the danger from falling shrapnel fragments would be greater than that from bombs.
 The great barage continued from the southeastern area Of greater long after the "all clear" signal had been sounded and Londoners went to sleep for quiet night.