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North-East Diary
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Incidents6th/7th March 1941 to |
Some minelaying in the North-East, PMs were dropped at two places on land.
20.45.. Northumberland.. West Stobswood.. A PM fell in a field at West Stobswood small holding [NZ225959]. Windows of a cottage broken. UXPM 440 yards away. (Cleared by a bomb disposal squad at 09.00 on 8/3/41). Both fell near the LNER line north of Stobswood.
20.30.. Co Durham.. Fatfield near Birtley.. A UXPM found in the plantation at Biddick Hall, Fatfield. No damage or casualties.
Night 551. All times BST. Blackout begins: 19.21, ends: 07.13
Public Alert: 20.15, All-Clear: 22.38
Industrial Alarm: 20.23, Release: 21.26
Near Cromer, E Boats attacked a coastal convoy, sinking the following cargo ships:- 'SS Kenton' (1,047t) Poole to the Tyne. Four of her crew lost. 'SS Corduff' (2,345t) London to Hull. Seven of her crew lost. 'SS Boulderpool' (4,805t) London to the Tyne.
'SS Flashlight' (934t) cargo ship, Seaham to London with a cargo of coal, was sunk by German aircraft, E of Spurn Point.
Day 552. All times BST. Blackout ends: 07.13, begins: 19.23
E-Boats once again attacked an east coast convoy, again off Cromer.
'SS Togston' (1,547t) cargo ship, Blyth to London, was sunk by an E Boat near Cromer. Eight of her crew were lost.
'SS Hindpool' (4,897t) cargo ship, Pepel to the Tees, was sunk by U 124, N of Cape Verde Islands. Twenty-seven of her crew were killed.
12.37.. Northumberland.. Two HEs (1 UX) 200 yards south of railway bridge at Littlehoughton, 30ft from main line [NU242161]. LNER telephone wires broken. One twin - engined bomber which flew east over Alnwick very low. Enemy plane machine gunned troops between Dunstan Steads and Embleton, also machine gunned goods train. UXB at [NU240162], LNER track closed. Bomb disposal squad made bomb safe at 17.30.
13.05.. Northumberland.. Two HEs (one UX) near Longhoughton Pipe Works. This could possibly be the same incident as the one described above).
Day 553. All times BST. Blackout ends: 07.10, begins: 19.25
4/KG30 Junkers Ju 88A-5 (2220). Shot down by fire from No 158 Light AA Battery during a sortie to Newcastle. Crashed into the sea off Lowestoft 11.20. Hptmn K. Schneider (Staffelkapitn) killed. Fw A. Ewald, Uffz K. Kirchner and Gefr K. Oetsch missing. Aircraft 4D+FM lost.
Night 553. All times BST. Blackout begins: 19.25, ends: 07.08
In the Straits of Dover, three cargo ships, all carrying coal in a coastal convoy, were sunk by mines:- 'SS Corinia' (870t) Blyth to Cowes. Seven of her crew were lost. 'SS Sparta' (708t) Blyth to Southampton. 'SS Waterland' (1,107t) Sunderland to Cowes. Five crew were lost.
Day 555. All times BST. Blackout ends: 07.05, begins: 19.29
Many districts in the North-East suffered bombing during the night. AA Batteries at Acklington, Northumberland, in action.
Night 557. All times BST. Blackout begins: 19.33, ends: 06.57
Public Alert: 22.25, All-Clear: 01.09
Industrial Alarm: 22.19, Release: 22.24
Industrial Alarm: 22.31, Release: 22.40
Industrial Alarm: 23.15, Release: 23.25
22.22.. Northumberland.. German bomber shot down in sheet of flame off Amble, only one body was found.
03.30.. Northumberland.. Ashington.. Four HEs at Coneygarth Farm, Ashington [NZ248874]. Half a mile S of RAF beacon. Extensive damage to farm buildings. Suspected UXB at Horton Grange Farm [NZ202751]. Reported on 31/3/41, thought to have been dropped on 13/14 March. Nothing was found.
AA Batteries at Acklington, Northumberland, in action.
Sunderland.. Only damage was from AA shell on shelter. Four people were killed in an incident centred around Francis Street.
00.44/01.35.. Co Durham.. Eleven IBs fell in Darlington. There was no damage or casualties and all IBs were soon under control.
00.50.. Co Durham.. Six IBs fell in the Lamesley Area. There was no damage and no casualties. All IBs were soon under control.
Hull.. In a raid on Hull, seventy-eight enemy aircraft dropped thirty-nine tonnes of HE and 4,500 IBs between 22.01 and 02.25. The target was the docks and industrial installations on the north side of the river. By the light of the full moon, the bomber crews could not only see the targets clearly, but several of them made multiple runs dropping one bomb at a time, instead of the usual stick or salvo. HEs plus two PMs fell in the areas of 5th Avenue Council School, North Hull and Stoneferry (Bridge Approach), this was a combined weight of eleven tons of bombs. A large fire was started at Sissons paint works, as well as the industrial damage, there was also residential damage. Forty people were killed and seventy-nine seriously injured. Some of the fatalities occurred in Grafton Street, Grange Street, Sixth Avenue and Lime Street. This sustained attack led to the calling in of outside help for the first time. Humber AA Defences fired 1,026 rounds between 21.44 and 03.00.
3/Kstenfliegergruppe 106 Junkers Ju 88A-5 (2234). Believed that shot down by Flight Lieutenant D. Sheen in a Spitfire of No. 72 Squadron. Crashed into the sea off Amble, Northumberland at 22.25. Lt zur See R. Dietze, Obergefr W. Wesseres and Obergefr H. Vandanne missing. Body of Oblt H. Voigtlnder-Tetzner recovered from the sea and buried at Thornaby on Tees under the date April 27, 1941. Aircraft M2+JL sank in sea.
One of the aircraft raiding Hull, a Dornier Do 17Z was shot down by a Beaufighter, it crashed into the sea SE of Skegness Pier at 21.45. Two crew members were killed and two listed as missing.
Night 558. All times BST. Blackout begins: 19.35, ends: 06.55
Public Alert (Newcastle Warning Dist): 20.50, All-Clear: 04.35
Industrial Alarm: 20.58, Release: 21.15
Industrial Alarm: 22.18, Release: 22.46
Public Alert (Hull Warning Dist): 20.56, All Clear: 04.26
The tug 'Bullger' (270t) struck a mine and sank, ½ a mile offshore in Druridge Bay, E of Widdrington at 55°16'03"N - 01°33'06"W.
'SS Artemisia' (6,507t) cargo ship, London to the Tyne, was sunk by German aircraft near Aldeburgh.
New type of IB container found at Melrose, Roxburghshire on 14th March. It is a sheet-metal cigar-shaped container about 10 feet long and with a diameter of 2'4", divided by bulkheads into six compartments, each designed to hold 100-120 1kg IBs. One or more of these compartments can be opened at will through doors operated from an axial spindle.
Day 559. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.55, begins: 19.37
20.22-02.18.. Northumberland.. UX AA shell in roadway at Rosehill, Wallsend [NZ320665].
20.24-02.20.. Northumberland.. A single HE, N of Lysdon Farm, New Hartley [NZ311781].
22.20.. Northumberland.. UX AA shell Bassington Farm [NZ246772].
Sunderland.. Four people were killed, two seriously injured and ten slightly injured when four HE and a suspected UX fell at William Street, Roxburgh Street, Duke Street North, Francis Street and Inverness Street, Fulwell. Approximately nine houses were demolished. Three First Aid Parties and three Rescue Parties were involved.
20.15.. Hull.. One small and one medium sized HE, plus two PMs dropped on the city. The areas affected were Bean Street, St Andrew's Dock and Stoneferry. The mine at Bean Street caused extensive domestic damage. The casualties included nineteen killed and twenty-two seriously injured.
Bombs dropped at Wakefield where five people were killed.
Leeds.. In an air raid on Leeds, sixty-two people were killed, many fires were started, the damage was extensive, approximately 2,000 people were made homeless.
Leeds.. Additional information about the air raid on Leeds is given in Home Security Operations Bulletin No 37. The shopping centre at Leeds suffered considerably, some factories were hit, the damage was caused mainly by fires. Utility services affected, mains and cables were hit. Railway communications were cut in several places and road transport considerably disorganised. The Town Hall, General Infirmary and the City's Museum all sustained damage.
The AA batteries at Acklington in Northumberland, Tyneside, Teesside, Humberside and Leeds in action.
Night 559. All times BST. Blackout begins: 19.37, ends: 06.52
Public Alert (Newcastle Warning Dist): 20.22, All-Clear: 02.20
Industrial Alarm: 20.29, Release: 21.24
Industrial Alarm: 21.37, Release: 00.25
Public Alert (Newcastle Warning Dist): 04.50, All-Clear: 05.53
Industrial Alarm: 04.42, Release: 04.56
Public Alert (Hull Warning Dist): 20.15, All Clear: 03.10
Services Cup Final held at St. James' Park, Newcastle.
Day 560. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.52, begins: 19.39
'SS Rio Dorado' (4,507t) cargo ship, Tyne to Baltimore, was sunk by the German warship 'Gneisenau', E of Newfoundland. All thirty-nine crew were lost.
Day 561. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.50, begins: 19.41
The rationing of jam, treacle, and marmalade begins, 8oz per person per month allowed.
The yacht 'Molusc' (597t) ex 'Medus' was on Admiralty service off Blyth when she was sunk by German aircraft at 55°06'15"N - 01°26'06"W. She now lies upright in 24 metres of water.
Day 562. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.48, begins: 19.43
20.30.. Co Durham.. One HE bomb fell in the gravel tennis court at the Welfare Ground, Easington Colliery, causing a crater 6' wide and 4' deep. No casualties or damage.
20.30.. Co Durham.. Hutton Henry.. Two UXBs in open grounds of Manor Farm Estate, Holding No 16. No damage and no casualties.
20.30.. Co Durham.. Crimdon Dene.. One UXB about 300 yards from the mouth of Crimdon Dene on N side. No damage or casualties.
Night 562. All times BST. Blackout begins: 19.43, ends: 06.45
Public Alert: 20.35, All-Clear: 21.32
'SS Daphne II' (1,970t) on a voyage from London to the Tyne, was sunk by an E Boat off the Humber.
Day 563. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.45, begins: 19.45
Hull.. In an attack on Hull, 378 of the 419 enemy aircraft dispatched, claimed to have reached their primary target. Between 20.40 and 01.55 they delivered 316 tonnes of HE and 77.016 IBs, with the moon not rising until the attack had ended, they also used 189 LC Flares.
A heavy raid on north and central Hull. There was residential and industrial damage and a large fire was started at Sissons varnish works. Chandelier flares were used to illuminate the targets. The first bomb fell on an oil-extracting factory, where three men were killed. Later on a gas works was considerably damaged and had to cease production (see the report below), the electricity generating station was hit by an HE which failed to explode, (see the report below), there was an call for it to be dealt with on priority.
At Beverley Road Hospital, an HE meant that seventy-four beds had to be vacated. More than a hundred HEs were dropped, 700 houses were rendered totally uninhabitable, and another 700 vacated temporarily. Thirty UXBs were reported, roads were blocked or torn up, 700 fires were started (though many were dealt with without the aid of the fire services). Casualties were ninety-four killed and seventy seriously injured. Some of the fatalities occurred in Barmston Street, Fountain Road, Cambourne Grove, Fourth Avenue, Fountain Road, Lake Drive, Cave Street, Clough Terrace, Gardeners Buildings, Lissett Grove, Gladstone Street, Thornton Terrace and Ryde Street.
ELECTRICITY ..... A stick of bombs fell within 150 yards of the engine room, through the cables connecting the station to the grid. Only one turbo-alternator was running, and the shock of the fault on the cables caused the machine to so surge in speed that it became unstable. Despite the bombing and the fact that seemed to be the target for the night, the engineers in charge took suitable action and the system came safely through.
GAS ..... Everything was shut down by headquarters staff. For the first time since the British Gas Light Company began to operate 120 years ago, production was stopped. The decision was taken because of damage to a manufacturing plant, but the supply was restored on March 22nd.
Scarborough.. Was bombed intermittently for about four hours from 21.00 onwards, twenty-five people were killed, including six members of one family in North Marine Road, fatalities also occurred in Commercial Street and Queens Terrace, the Opera House was damaged.
Other areas of Yorkshire also reported bombs; damage and casualties caused by two PMs at Beverley. Four people were killed at Highfield Farm, in the Driffield area. The Humber AA guns fired 2,500 of the 8,500 rounds used by AA Command during the night.
Night 563. All times BST. Blackout begins: 19.45, ends: 06.42
Public Alert (Newcastle Warning Dist): 01.03, All-Clear: 03.29
Public Alert (Hull Warning Dist): 20.11, All Clear: 04.48
Day 565. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.40, begins: 19.48
Public Alert: 11.14, All-Clear: 11.32
Industrial Alarm: 10.55, Release: 11.20
'SS Halo' (2,365t) cargo ship, was sunk by a mine off Beckton Pier, River Thames as she arrived from the Tyne with a cargo of coal - she was later salvaged and on the 22nd January 1945 was torpedoed, W of Flushing, by an E Boat whilst sailing from Caen to Antwerp, she sank in tow the following day.
Day 566. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.38, begins: 19.50
Three different versions of the same action:-
Humber Estuary.. From the HMSO publication 'Roof Over Britain' - "a daylight raider, who had lost his way, came out of low clouds over a well defended area inland, a hot reception drove him back into the clouds unhurt. His next descent from the clouds found him in the very centre of the Humber area with Heaven knows how many fingers itching on their triggers. Light machine gun fire instantly wrecked both engines and killed the observer. The pilot just had time to release his bombs before he hit a tree. Somehow he got out alive. Everyone claimed this plane, but an extremely tough Light AA subaltern got there first and abolished the claim of the Balloon Barrage. It was eventually allotted to his Troop".
Humber Estuary.. While en route to bomb RAF Leeming in Yorkshire on Saturday evening, hoping to catch RAF bombers on the ground, Oberleutnant Fritz Danzenberg and his crew from KG4 at Eindhoven entered the balloon barrage over the Humber Estuary. They then came under fire as the Heinkel swooped low over the 111th Light AA Battery, Gunner Dick Booth being credited with the kill (and rewarded with the gift of a barrel of beer). Having jettisoned its bombs on waste land between Immingham Docks and the loco sheds, the Heinkel skimmed the rooftops, with one of the crewmen wrapped around the tail with his parachute. The aircraft made a wheels up landing in a field beside the Immingham-Halborough road. Two of the crew, Stephan and Heisig, survived the crash although one of them, it is not clear which, had broken both his legs. There was a dance at the local school that evening and, when news arrived of the crash, a crowd of dancers rushed up Pelham Road, tramping through gardens to get to the scene..
Humber Estuary.. 5/KG4 Heinkel He 111P-4 (2938). Hit by AA fire during a sortie to RAF Leeming and then flew into a balloon cable. Force-landed W of Immingham, Lincolnshire at 19.45. Fw W. Kösling attempted to bale out but was killed when his parachute caught on the tail. Oblt F. Danzenberg killed in crash. Fw E. Stephan and Fw H. Heisig taken prisoner. Aircraft 5J+KN destroyed.
Night 567. All times BST. Blackout begins: 19.52, ends: 06.33
Night.. One or two aircraft crossed the north-east coast, where some slight damage was reported.. the intruders were most probably aircraft engaged on armed sea reconnaissance which dumped their bombs on land rather than return to base with them still on board.
Night 568. All times BST. Blackout begins: 19.54, ends: 06.30
Meat ration reduced to 6oz per person per week.
'SS Empire Mermaid' (638t) cargo ship, Portland, Maine. USA to Hull was damaged by a Focke-Wulf Condor aircraft, NW of the Hebrides and sank on the 28th March. Twenty-three of her crew were lost.
'SS Lafonia' was en route from London to Greenock in ballast when she was involved in a collision and sank. Her possible position is off Amble at 55°18'55"N - 01°23'59"W.
Day 571. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.25, begins: 20.00
20.15.. Northumberland.. Two mines dropped in the Felton district [NU190007]. Electricity cables damaged.
Night 571. All times BST. Blackout begins: 20.00, ends: 06.22
Public Alert: 20.25, All-Clear: 20.41
'SS Faraday' (5,533t) a cable ship was ½ a mile off St Abbs Head when she was attacked by German aircraft, she caught fire and sank twelve hours later. Sixteen of her one hundred and twenty-five crew were killed. Ninety miles of cable have been salvaged from the wreck. She was built in 1923.
'SS Isorna' (6,809t) was wrecked on the Collith Hole, north of Beadnell Point.
'SS Somali' (6,809t) was bombed yesterday by German aircraft off Blyth, she was taken in tow by the tug 'Sea Giant', when off Beadnell Point near Seahouses, fire broke out and after a tremendous explosion she sank in 110ft of water. She was located at 55°33'09"N - 01°36'04"W in 1973, her forward section was missing but she was upright, her after gun deck was intact with the deck fittings still in place. Much has been salvaged for souvenirs, including many lead soldiers. It was rumoured that she was carrying explosives, which would then explain the huge -explosion, though her manifest only listed a general cargo of shoes, gas masks and batteries etc. She was built in 1930.
'SS Koranton' (6,695t) cargo ship, Philadelphia to Hull was sunk by U 98 in the North Atlantic.
Day 572. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.22, begins: 20.02
Industrial Alarm: 11.25, Release: 12.12
'SS Hylton' (5,197t) cargo ship, Vancouver to the Tyne with timber, was sunk by U 48, S of Iceland.
Day 574. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.17, begins: 20.06
'SS Coultarn' (3,759t) cargo ship, Hull to Texas sunk by U 69, SW of Iceland.
Day 575. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.15, begins: 20.08
Industrial Alarm: 15.05, Release: 15.15
1(F)/123 Junkers Ju 88A (0115). Shot down by Flight Lieutenant A.D.J. Lovel DFC in a Spitfire of No 41 Squadron during a reconnaissance of Manchester. Aircraft dived into the ground at Wilton Moor, Eston, Yorkshire 15.50 Lt W. Schloth, Lt O. Meinhold, Fw W. Schmigale and Uffz H. Steigerwald all killed. Aircraft 4U+GH destroyed.
Night 575. All times BST. Blackout begins: 20.08, ends: 06.12
20.20.. Co Durham.. Langley Park/Burnhope/Lanchester.. Approximately fifty flares were dropped over this district. A small fire was caused in Moor Leazes Wood, Burnhope, but this was quickly extinguished. No damage or injuries.
Day 576. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.12, begins: 20.10
22.12.. Northumberland.. Six HEs and three UXBs at Bywell, Felton. HEs fell at [NZ165980], UXBs at [NZ175979].
20.45-22.53.. Hull.. By the light of seventy-four parachute flares, forty-seven enemy bombers attacked Hull. They dropped thirty-nine tonnes of HE (forty-three bombs) and 22,688 IBs. The concentration point lay between the City Docks and Alexandra Dock, however damage at the docks was only slight. Police premises and the Infirmary were hit. One large fire was started in the north east of the town besides numerous large and small fires in the docks area. A number of public buildings were destroyed or damaged. HE and PMs fell in almost every section of the city, water mains broken, roads blocked by falling buildings and main streets strewn with glass. 500 houses were made uninhabitable, while another 2,000 were damaged. Several industrial undertakings were also put out of action. Many casualties were reported, forty-four of them fatal and seventy-two seriously injured, many of the fatalities occurred in Alexandra Road, the Ferensway shelter and Freehold Street. East Hull fire station was damaged.
Two small HEs and twelve PMs fell in the Ferensway, Freehold Street, Boulevard, Hedon Road, Prospect Street and Priory Sidings areas. Two of the PMs did not explode. There was damage to industrial, residential and railway property. The Royal Infirmary, had a PM fall on it, near the end of a wing, which damaged wards and made useless 157 beds, a man was killed there. Thirty-one fires were reported. Another PM destroyed the Metropole Hall in West Street, while in the Boulevard district St.Wilfrid's Church, school and presbytery were wiped out. A large HE fell at the rear of the Hull Daily Mail and Times buildings. It demolished the popular Metropole Dance Hall, the Builders' Exchange, a number of shops and two public houses. West Street had suffered badly by the explosion of this bomb. The Mail office also suffered considerably.
The ARP Control buildings, (the site was at the corner of Ferensway and Spring Bank), were badly damaged, causing the destruction of valuable records. Fire watchers on an upper floor were other fatalities. The blast swept the staff in all directions, wounding some, rendering others incapable of action through shock. Ceilings fell, walls caved in, fire broke out. Broken office furniture was piled up everywhere making the vacation of the building difficult. Some of the staff stayed on to fight the smaller fires or to give the layout of the building to the rescue parties. Despite the many problems, ARP Control was functioning before dusk fell the next day.
The following is a condensation of a report of an incident in the raid given in 'The Hull Times' on April 5th : " One of the persons killed was the Deputy Medical Officer of the city Dr David Diamond, he had just finished a successful campaign asking for blood donors, which resulted in many wanting to do so, for the benefit of people injured in air raids. Dr Diamond was in the basement of an ARP post, talking to a councillor and a Dr Wheatley, who had just arrived in Hull to take over as Casualty Officer, when it was demolished by a direct hit. When the bomb exploded Dr Diamond took the full blast and was killed instantly, two soldiers in an adjacent car park and PC Robert Garton who was on duty at the door of the ARP post were killed and no trace of the policeman was ever found". The 'bomb' was in fact a landmine - still forbidden to be mentioned as such It is presumed that the building was the ARP HQ in the Shell Mex building at the corner of Ferensway and Spring Bank.
TELEPHONE DEPARTMENT IN HULL ..... To save time it was the practice for all members to report for duty at the exchange nearest their homes immediately after the All Clear. Thus the men were enabled to repair lines in their immediate neighbourhood almost at once. The first test came on March 31st 1941, when the Civil Defence headquarters in the heart of the city were destroyed, for it became necessary for a new service to be installed at another address immediately. The wisdom and foresight of having stocks of apparatus in several buildings, for even though a building nearest the destroyed ARP HQ had been badly damaged, sufficient equipment was found and made ready for work by daylight the following morning.
RECEPTION CENTRES IN HULL ..... The scheme was administered by the WVS, and so good were the arrangements that when the HQ of this organisation was put out of action by a large HE on March 31st, 1941, the scheme functioned without a hitch..
Home Security Operations Bulletin No 39, states that twelve parachute mines and incendiary bombs were dropped in other districts in the East Riding. Industrial targets in Leeds were attacked.
The auxiliary patrol trawler 'Lord Selborne' was sunk by a mine in the Humber.
Night 576. All times BST. Blackout begins: 20.10, ends: 06.09
Public Alert (Newcastle Warning Dist): 21.31, All-Clear: 22.33
Industrial Alarm: 21.42, Release: 21.56
Public Alert (Hull Warning Dist): 20.22, All Clear: 00.51
14.20.. Northumberland.. Three HEs (two UX) fell at Christon Bank, Alnwick. UXBs at [NU219226] and [NU219222].
Day 577. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.09, begins: 20.12
Railway traffic machine-gunned by enemy aircraft near Berwick, much disruption. It was estimated that by the end of the war, some 10,000 attacks on British Railways had taken place.
Leeming airfield attacked.
Night 577. All times BST. Blackout begins: 20.12, ends: 06.07
08.45.. Northumberland.. Two HEs between Coquet Island and the mainland [NU288041]. No damage.
The boom defence vessel 'Cramond Island' (180t) was attacked and sunk by enemy aircraft off St Abbs Head.
'SS Fermain' (759t) cargo ship, Sunderland to Cowes with a cargo of coal, sunk by German aircraft, near the 'Royal Sovereign Lightvessel'.
Day 578. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.07, begins: 20.14
Public Alert: 08.53, All-Clear: 09.24
Public Alert: 14.16, All-Clear: 14.39
'SS Alderpool' (4,313t) cargo ship, United States to Hull, sunk by U 48. SW of Iceland.
The Harbour Defence Patrol Craft 'Bahram' was mined off the Humber.
A Yorkshire aerodrome was attacked.
Day 579. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.05, begins: 20.15
Public Alert: 10.50, All-Clear: 11.13
Hull.. Between 21.20 and 22.30 nine enemy aircraft attacked Hull, delivering seventeen HEs and 3,672 IBs. Once again the targets were the docks and industrial installations. About seventy fires were started, none of which reached considerable proportions. (An official phrase.) One person was killed.
York. Thirsk, Catfoss.. A single enemy aircraft carried out an attack on Thirsk. Bombs also fell at York and Catfoss.
The auxiliary patrol vessel 'Fortuna' (259t) was also attacked and sunk by enemy aircraft off St Abbs Head. She was built in 1906.
Night 579. All times BST. Blackout begins: 20.15, ends: 06.02
Public Alert (Newcastle Warning Dist): 22.05, All-Clear: 22.50
Industrial Alarm: 22.11, Release: 22.30
Public Alert (Hull Warning Dist): 20.52, All Clear: 01.00
Smoke Generators in use in Newcastle for the next ten days, starting today. Haslar Smoke Generators consumed fuel oil and water at 85 and 70 galls per hour respectively. Countrywide the venture required 500 civilians and 10,000 members of the Army to operate and covered vital points in industrial towns and cities. None of the establishments protected by smoke screens, for example at Billingham, Derby, Newcastle and Nottingham, though the object of attention by the enemy, suffered important damage.
'SS Salvus' (4,815t) cargo ship, London to the Tyne, sunk by German aircraft in the North Sea, S of the Humber. Four of her crew were lost.
Day 580. All times BST. Blackout ends: 06.02, begins: 20.17
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