Air Raids Over Britain
The eighth document in the Gilbert Gray series is a two page article in 'The Aeroplane' publised on October 26, 1939 with the title 'Air Raids Over Britain'. The article provides details of Scotland's suffering Great Britain's first air raid of t he War on 16 October when a about 14 German bombers, Dornier Do 215s and Heinkel HE 111Ks attacked ships of the Royal Navy in the Firth of Forth and attempted to destroy the Forth Bridge. Little damage was done but 3 Naval officers and 12 men were killed and 2 officers abd 42 neb were wounded, eleven seriously. Four civilians were injured, two men by bullets from machine guns and two women by fragments of anti-aircraft shells. Four bombers, two Dornier and 2 Heinkel were shot down, three by defending Supermarine Spitfire and Gloster Gladiator fighters of the Auxiliary Air Force and one by anti-aircraft fire. The article, with three accompanying monochrome photographs, continues with details of further raids and air reconnaissance during the month of October 1939, along the east coast and involving the Orkneys, Firth of Forth, Scapa Flow, Kent and the Pentland Firth.
Dimensions: A4