First Major Attack by Twenty Bombers Fails Germans Flee But Lose Three Craft London, Feb. 4, GERMAN plane today attacked a trawler and machine-gunned The trawler increased speed immediately" and began, to zigzag, which baffled the raider.
The appearance a few moments later of RAF. fighter planes put-a stop to the attack and the raider made off, pursued by the fighters.
The trawler was not damaged.
One squadron of the Royal Air Force Fighter Command shot down two raiders, crippled a third and drove off a fourth machine, while another squadron so seriously damaged a fifth plane that it probably did not reach home, it is learned here today in connection with yesterday's widespread raids on shipping off the British coast.
About twenty German bombers are estimated to have taken part in the raids, but comparatively little damage has been done in proportion to their size.
The Firth of Tay, particularly, saw considerable aerial activity.
German aircraft were seen well out at sea. During the morning residents heard' machine-gun dre, and it was reported that a vessel was sunk after attack about ten miles from the Reich Mobilizes New Classes Angus coast.
One German raider was shot down near Whitby after an engagement with Royal Air Force fighters, while 2 few minutes before this another RAR. fighter patrol attacked two Hoinkels which were dropping bombs fon merchant ships near the Farne Islands, off the Northumbrian coast.
One of the raiders disappeared into the clouds with one engine out of Immediately the fighters attacked, the bombers raced for home. They climbed steeply into the clouds, but the machine-guns of the Hurricanes had already poured bullets into one, from which a British pilot saw heavy black smoke and pieces of metal com Ing from the starboard engine, The first German mack brought down yesterday was near a Yorkshire town. It was the first German plane to crash on English sell the present war, and the second on British territory-—Reuter,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.