Evening star., 1941-04-21
Big Cologne Fires
Set in Bombing,
British Claim
Dusseldorf and Docks
At Brest Are Roided,
Air Ministry Suys
BY the Associated Press.

BY ths Associated Press.
LONDON, April 21.-British bomb
ers started large fires In Cologne
last night and also raided Duessel-
dorf and the docks at Brest on the
German-occupied French coast, the
Air Ministry announced today.
Oil stores at Rotterdam and the
docks at Dunkerque and Ostend also
were bombed, the ministry said.
A heavily laden ship of 5000 tons
was hit and left sinking off the
coast of Norway and other shipping
was attacked off the Dutch coast, 1t
declared, and other aircraft bombed
the airdrome near Caen.
Visibility Poor.
Although visibility was poor, the
Air Ministry said, bursts were OBJ
served on the quays and near the
drydock at Brest.
Afraid sirens shrieked q mid
morning alarm in London, but the
all-clear followed 80 minutes later,
(The Germans said light forces
Of the r. A. F. crossed into West
ern Germany during the night,
inflicting slight damage in resi-
Dental sections0
In the only activity over Britain
yesterday, some bombs fell in East
and Southwest England in the night,
the government said, and two Scot
tish towns we're strafed during the
day. A 3-year-old boy was reported
killed by machine-gun bullets In
one Scottish town.
German Shipping Hit.
During the day the r. A. r. struck
at German shipping in the Channel
and at points on the German-held
French coast. A 5,000-ton axis ship
was reported sunk and an 5000 ton
ner damaged. One NaZi plane was
reported destroyed and the Admiralty
reported today that two others had
been shot down by the mine sweeper
Bassett yesterday.
The big German cannon on the
French coast sent a few shells across
Dover Strait yesterday.
The Ministry of Information said
recent anti-aircraft successes OF
British gunners brought the total
of axis planes downed by fire from
the ground to 'over 1000"
Five hundred planes were said to
have been shot down over the Brit
ish Isles, the rest over Malta and
the Middle East.
No Apology for Greece.
In the meantime, First Lord of the
Admiralty A. v. Alexander told a
London audience that regardless OF
armchair critics" the British gov
ernment had no need to apologize
for its decision to send troops to
Greece.
There are some who can be
wise after events and who criticise
strategy and military dispositions, n
he said. II ask them to realize the
vast change in the situation since
last June when France collapsed
.. There were many people
then who doubted our ability to last
many weeks.
ut seems wrong in the circum-
stances for an armchair critic to
tell us we ought not to have risked
our position in Libya to go to the aid
of Greece"
More Sub Sinkings Predicted.
He said the tonnage OF Italian
transports destroyed by the British
Navy ran into six figures" and
predicted that an increasing toll of
German submarines and long
planes would be taken in the battle
of the. Atlantic.
One of the Nazis' best sub COM
manders, Alexander said, is dead,
and another, Comdr. Otto Kretsch-
mer, is prisoner.
The government acknowledged
many casualties and heavy damage
in a Saturday night raid on London
by the Luftwaffe, which was almost
as bad as that of Wednesday night.
The Minister of Public Security
of Northern Ireland yesterday de-
clared nine districts, covering the
whole of Northern Ireland, to be
defense areas. Belfast, capital Of
Northern Ireland, was raided heav-
lily by the Germans last Tuesday
night.
The Duke and Duchess of
Gloucester paid surprise airplane
visit to Northern Ireland today and
saw first hand the damage done in
recent Naz bomb raids.