"German motorized units on coastal roads near Boulogne were located and heavily bombed throughout Friday by Blenheim bombers which kept up almost continuous offensive patrols from the early morning unti nightfall. Several raiding aircraft were hit by anti-aircraft fire from batteries and mobile-, guns, but no casualties were suffered by crews. Photographs of a bombed transport were secured. In the evening, an important canal bridge was attacked and destroyed by a strong force of bombers, under heavy fire from pom-poms. Nearly 300 bombs were dropped. All aircraft engaged in these operations returned safely, only one of our airmen was wounded and only slightly."
Revealing details of the raids, the Air Ministry states: "On the first sortie, 40 motor vehicles standing in a field were attacked by nine Blenhelms, and salvoes were seen to burst among the massed vehicles. Soon afterwards, a force of Blenheims attacked another column of small armoured fighting vehicles and supply lorries. A formation of fifteen enemy biplanes attacked the nearest bomber, but hurriedly broke off the engagement on sighting British fighters diving to support the Blenheims. "The same enemy column was attacked later by a still stronger force which dropped 150 bombs and scored numerous hits. Later on Friday, antiaircraft batteries, some distance from the coast, were heavily attacked and many other armoured vehicles Glorious Work on May 10 Told London, May 26.
The story of two Royal Air Force fighter squadrons, which met the full force of the German air attack on the first day of the "all-in" war, which Hitler started on May 10, has now been made public. It is an astonishing and glorious record.
All that day enemy bombers, with strong fighter protection, attacked over the Allied front, Often the odds were five to one, and even ten to one. It made no difference, however. These pilots welcomed everything that came. Actions they fought that day have seldom been equalled in air warfare. From darkness before sunrise, to darkness again, fighter pilots made one sortie after another, stopping on ground only long enough to refuel and reload with ammunition.
Some of them went up seven times; two were shot down in flames, baled out and then went up again as soon as they got back to the squadron.
Forty-nine enemy aircraft were shot down in the day's fighting and were seen to crash. Probably another score, riddled with bullets, failed to get home. In that day's fighting, these squadrons did not lose one pilot. Their skill was only matched by their courage. That is the most outstanding fact in a day which will ever be remembered by the R.A.F. But even such a day was only a prelude. For a week, every one of these pilots fought at least five hours a day in the air—a record for air fighting unlikely to be surpassed.—British Official Wireless.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.