Nine German fighters were destroyed when the Royal Air Force car-Fled out its frst big offensive sweep During the engagement, the trawler Nogi (200 tons) was damaged by a bomb and taken in tow by the Solon and another trawler, but subsequent sank.
During the operations over north ern France last night, the British bombers attacked a target near Lille, a centre of France's heavy industries.
In the eight days ending on Monday, the Fighter Command of the Royal Air Force carried out ten offensive operations in daylight over northern "France. In these opera tions, 112 enemy fighters were shot down against the loss of 26 British aircraft. Nine British pilots are safe. These figures do not include the destruction of five day raiders by British fighter patrols around—the coasts of Britai The Air Minisiry recal'e that when the enemy was conducting offensive operations with fighters against, Britain last year, the enemy loss of alr-craft was more qhan_ three to one. In France during the fast few days. not only has the position of attacker and defender been reversed, but the Germans have lost about five fighters to every one of the British pilots who have not returned.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.