Evening star., 1941-01-05
West England Town
Major Target Again
For Nazi Raiders
Objective Is Showered
With Incendiories;
London Has Alarm
By the Associated Press.

GOuuOH lIbS Nl0Iih
By the Associated Press
LONDON, Jan. 5 Sunday "A
West England town previously
blasted by German raiders again
vas their major target last night and
early today during widespread but
spasmodic raiding over Britain.
London itself ratified with gun
fire for some time before an air raid
alarm was sounded in the early
morning hours but no incidents
were reported in the capital.
The raids over Britain followed
the Royal Air Forces third success
sive night attack on the German sea
port of Bremen, counted by the Brit
lSh as the Reich's worst bombed city.
Fire Bombs Rain on Town.
The Germans ShoWeIed with fire
bombs the West England town ap-
parently picked as the main target.
Then they hurled explosives, but the
desperately efficient work by air raid
precautions workers was said to have
kept casualties down.
IIt LuIlNdlIC dAoO lIdlu fIollo W
northwest and Midland areas, scat
tering fire and destruction but re-
ports indicated the attacks were not
on the same proportions with the
raiders heaviest blows.
In the R. A. F. raids on Bremen
Friday night fire so fierce and wide
spread that finally nothing could be
seen below but "a swirling mass of
fame" was reported by the British.
Factories, dock and railroad yards,
the naval base and shipbuilding
yards, warehouses and railroads,
they said, were blasted with high
explosives and engulfed in flames
kindled by thousands of ncen-
diaries.
Germans Blast Bristol.
Again, however, it was a case
of air blows traded through Friday
night While British planes were
sWooping on the German port, Nazl
planes were ShoWering the British
port of Bristol with bombs and the
British acknowledged casualties and
considerable damage
The west coast port was the Ger
mans main target. but the govern
ment reported "a small number Of
persons killed and others injured"
also by bombs which fell at one
point in the London area"
Raiders had the benefit of good
weather Friday night. but yesterday
was intensely cold, with heavy snow
and a wind-whipped sea in the
Dover Strait, and the Nazis made
only isolated lone raider stabS at
the south and southeast coast in
daylight. Some casualties and dam
age, however, we're reported in
Kent coast town
SIS Visits by Bombers.
Other raiders dropped flares and
Bremen have been bombed three
nights running by the British, but
the series begun on the Nazi port
and manufacturing center Wednes-
day raised its total of bomber visits
to 55 and. in the British estimation,
& is now the heaviest and most Sc
verely bombed German city.
The Air Ministry news service said
tie Friday night raid-No. 3 of the
week-Was very destructive" and
quoted one bomber pilot as saying
that fires lit up Bremen and showed
he shape of the whole town"
After the three-hour attack be-
ginning at pm, it said one of the
largest factory buildings In Ger
many's great seaport was "ablaze
from end to end"
Returning flyers distinguished be-
tween what they called innumer-
able newly set white fires and red
fires" which they described as real
infernos" where fire bombs and high
explosives turned buildings girders
and bricks red hot.
Fires TOO Many to Count"
One flyer said he counted 30 very
big fires within l square mile and
others said smoke rose to 5000 feet
from fires too many to count
Declaring that the weather was
perfect" over Bremen, the Air Min
istry said it was only when dense
black smoke began rolling over the
town and spreading fires began to
blur the outline of factories and
dockyards that our pilots had any
difficulty recognizing their objec-
tive"
'Dockyards, the naval base and
shipbuilding yards" it said, "once
again were attacked and our bomb
ers also hit factories, warehouses,
railways and goodSyardS.
"As we'll as incendiarieS, they
dropped many of the larger high
explosive bombs which are so de-
structive in their effects even the
crews of aircraft flying high could
see debris flung up by the explo-
sions.''
Blasts on Freight Yard.
Distinct from the bomb bursts,
the Air Ministry added. there were
violent explosions on freight yard
and it said fire ran along a main
rail line spreading toward the river.
In some industrial districts, it
said, a general confagration
finally obscured all detail and
nothing could be seen but swirl
ing mass of flame"
This blow followed rain of 10000
fire bombs and many high explo-
sives Wednesday night on targets
including submarine and shipyards
and lighter Thursday night raid
In less favorable weather.
The raid on Bristol also was pro-
1onged, the government said, but
1t declared that casualties are not
expected to be high. All the fires,
set by hundreds of incendiary
bombs, were reported extinguished
or controlled by early morning.