Evening star., 1942-08-20
Luftwaffe Smashed
In Dieppe Victory
Eyewitness Asserts.
. Bottle Called Fiercest
And Most Dramatic Air
: And SEQ Clash in West

'@" fDretD Middleton OF the ASSo-
cidted Press, one OF the American
seneDsnaen selected to represent
United States press on The Dieppe
raid, obserped yesterdays opera
tion from one OF the D,Ssels that
lay ofshore. He tDas not per-
n1itted to land
BY DREW MIDDLETON.
Representing the Association, of Amrican
Correspondents in London.
ABOARD A MOTOR. LAUNCH
OF THE ROYAL NAVY RETURN
ING FROM OFF EUROPE, Aug. 10
Delayed II have just watched the
RAF and the Royal Navy smash the
Luftwaffe in the flercest and most
dramatic air and sea battle of the
war in the west.
For seven hours in the blue skies
over Dieppe and on the CLASSY waters
Of the Channel Briton and German.
Airman and seaman, fought for the
lives of thousands of American,
Canadian and British soldiers who
scrambled ashore this morning to
Storm the ancient port of Dieppe.
The result was decisive Allied
victory.
It's full measure is not 81 aircraft
shot down by British pilots and
Sunners but a long line OF landing
craft full of weary but triumphant
fnen now passing our ship.
They are homeward bound be-
cause of the magnificent job done
BY the little ships anc great sea-
men of the Royal Navy and the
headlong assault of pilots OF the
RATS Spitfires, Mustangs and Hur-
ficanes.
German Force Broken.
This combination broke Ger
f,an force of at least 500 aircraft
seeking to blast the Commandos
And infantry into submission and
Sink the armada of landing craft.
Since dawn, when two Focke-
Wulf 1905 darted at us. with ma
chine guns and cannon chattering,
this tiny craft and every other ship
have been bombed and strafed re-
peatedly and have blazed back at
the enemy.
Our motor launch, which is about
100 feet long, left southern port
last night, escorting tank-landing
craft. The moon was sinking to-
ward the horizon us England
dropped astern and the ghostlike
line of ships headed for France
and the enemy.
AS it grew light we discovered
scores of other ships--destroyer
motor gunboats, lighters, assault
craft and chasseurs of the Fighting
French Navy all converging on
Dieppe.
Proudful Sight.
One 24-year -old sub lieutenant
rfistled softly at the sight and
said:
Whats that line in Shakespeare
about Gentlemen of England now
abed?' They ought to see this. 1t
makes you proud
The first Commands landed as
We neared the French coast.
RAF bombers had sneaked across
the Channel to hammer German
gun positions. Ahead anti-aircraft
fire spurted in fountains of red
tracer bullets.
! Across the water we heard the
fumbling crump. crump of big
bombs.
THE well-dressed man will wear
4 tin hat from this point the sub
lieutenant said.
Convoy Attacked.
As the light frightened we saw
pix Spitfres flying high overhead.
We were still admiring them when
there was roar of planes to port
and two Focke-Wulfs attacked our
convoy.
They swept over us with heavy gun
firing and ours answering theirs.
One climbed out of the barrage,
. second wavered and slid into
the sea.
Let's 60 and see the fun said
the captain after the tank trans
ports had run in to landings.
| We steamed through the smoke
and in the early sunlight saw the
burning houses of Dieppe and heard
the rattle of rifle fire and the chat
ter of machine guns.
Shells Begin to Whistle.
Shells from the 4-inch guns of
British destroyers began to whistle
overhead.
Watching through fleldglasses you
could see them smash into a row OF
hotels, once sacred to honeymoon
ing Britons, along one side OF
pieppe's main boulevard
Slowly the British gunners brought
the hotels down around the ears oi
the German machine gunners and
riflemen they sheltered As the
buildings disintegrated under the
shelling you could see Allied troops
moving forward, running and paus.
Ing to fire.
Periodically we were strafed by
Nazi fighters. When we finally cas-
OF, squadrons OF Bostons flying
very low were sweeping inland tt
bomb the second line of German
defenses.
Hard and dangerous in the sum
mer air we heard the broken bea
that characterizes the motor O.
heavy German bombers.
-Four Dornier IT'S fving at abou
5000 feet in echelon, headed towart
the long lines of British ships. Shil
by ship, anti-aircraft guns opene'
fire, and tracer bullets cut shar]
patterns into the blue sky.
Look Big and Black.
The Dorniers looked very big ant
very black as they roared closer
Our little ship jumped under tn
recoil of her oerlichon (anti-air
craft gum and machine guns.
The leading bomber swerve
slightly and out of its belly tumble
four bombs. You could see ther
dropping slowly ahead and to port
They landed with explosions ths
nearly lifted us out Of the waite
The second and third bomber
dropped their loads, but ant
aircraft fire drove off the fourth.
The bombs missed their target
but by now every one was watchin
fhe Dorniers. The first was blaZir