Premier Tells Story of Epic Raid on Kiel
Title
Premier Tells Story of Epic Raid on Kiel
Description
Three newspaper cuttings.
#1 is a cartoon of the raid.
#2 refers to Jack Hanne being missing presumed dead.
#3 is details about the raid.
#1 is a cartoon of the raid.
#2 refers to Jack Hanne being missing presumed dead.
#3 is details about the raid.
Date
1939-09-08
1939-09-17
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
Three newspaper cuttings
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
SHanneJH564212v10003
Transcription
SEPTEMBER 17, 1939 SUNDAY PICTORIAL PAGE 19
HEROES
EVERY NATION HAS ITS HEROES.
EVERY WAR BREEDS THEM. TO THE ROYAL AIR FORCE FALLS THE HONOUR OF PRODUCING THE FIRST HEROIC FEAT OF THIS WAR.
THE WHOLE WORLD THRILLED AT THE STORY OF THEIR DARING AND SUCCESSFUL RAID ON KIEL AND WILHELMSHAVEN.
HERE, BASED ON THE PILOTS OWN STORY, IS DEPICTED THE OUTSTANDING INCIDENT OF THAT DARING ACHIEVEMENT.
WHILE OUR FIGHTING SERVICES HAVE MEN LIKE THESE WE MAY REST ASSURED OF THE RESULT OF THIS STRUGGLE.
BRITAIN – AND CIVILISATION – OWES THEM A DEEP DEBT OF GRATITUDE.
[cartoon strip]
[page break]
It is with deep sorrow that we heard that Pilot Jack Hanne, R.A.F. was reported missing. Recently, he was presented to H.M. the King, after a very daring raid on enemy bases. We extend to his young wife, his mother, and relatives, our deepest sympathy. He is the first local man to sacrifice his life in this war, – R.I.P.
Just as we were about to post these notes we heard of the death of Mrs. Vincent Llewellyn
[page break]
DAILY SKETCH FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 8 1939 Page 5
Premier Tells Story of Epic Raid On Kiel
THE Premier in his promised statement in Parliament yesterday outlined Britain’s war efforts up to date.
He told of the raid on the Kiel Canal, by the R.A.F., and stated that two direct hits had been made on a German pocket battleship. Kiel, he said, was one of the most strongly defended points in Germany, yet our raiders in in blinding rainstorm gained their objective and did considerable damage.
The Prime Minister said:-
In the East the Poles are fighting hard against a strong and ruthless enemy, who is relying on the weight of numbers and material to crush all opposition.
Out-numbered and out-gunned, the Poles are contesting every yard of the German advance.
In spite of the human and material losses which they have already suffered the morale and courage of the Polish people remains unaffected.
His Majesty’s Government and the French Government have to-day signed an agreement with the Polish Government for the provision of further financial assistance to Poland to enable her to replenish her resources.
In the West, France has, like ourselves, mobilised her forces with complete efficiency and smoothness, and they are now in contact with the enemy on their common frontier.
The understanding between the two countries is complete, and the arrangements which have now been put into force for co-operation in all the activities concerned with the prosecution of the war are working smoothly and well.
The sinking of the Athenia with its scenes of death and terror virtually opened the war, and no denials or inventions on the part of Germany will convince the public of German innocence of this crime which has profoundly shocked and horrified the world.
Apart from the case of the Athenia there had been attacks on other British merchant ships by German U boats, and three or four ships have been sunk.
On our side the Admiralty have taken immediate counter measures. British destroyers and other anti-submarine craft have been very active, and large reinforcements of anti-submarine and escort vessels are rapidly becoming available.
Steps are being taken to establish a convoy system at the earliest possible moment.
While a certain proportion of weekly losses must be expected – and I do not minimise the threat to our shipping – I think the House and the country may rest assured that the Navy with all their wartime experience of handling this problem and with the added advantage of the methods of submarine detection and destruction which have since been developed will increasingly bring the problem under control.
MOST GALLANT EXPLOIT
I SHOULD next like to pay my tribute to the very gallant attack which was made by units of the R.A.F on certain German warships off Wilhelmshaven during which at least two hits were secured on one of the so-called pocket battleships.
IT WILL BE REALISED THAT THE OBJECTIVES ATTACKED NAMELY, THE GERMAN FLEET BASES AT WILHELMSHAVEN AND AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE KIEL CANAL, ARE PROBABLY AMONG THE MOST STRONGLY DEFENDED POINTS IN GERMANY.
THE MANNER IN WHICH THE R.A.F. ATTACKS WERE PRESSED HOME DESPITE THE STRENGTH OF THE DEFENCES IS WORTHY OF THE HIGHEST PRAISE.
I should also mention the weather conditions prevailing on the afternoon of the attack.
Visibility was extremely poor, and the final stages of the attack are stated to have been carried out in a blinding rainstorm.
High degree of navigation skill was thus necessary to enable the attack to reach its objective at all, and the fact that hits were registered demonstrates the ability of the R.A.F to carry out its attacks under conditions of great difficulty.
Finally I think it right to stress the fact that a high proportion of the officers and men in the squadrons concerned have entered the R.A.F. and received their training since expansion began.
The House may also be interested to learn that those who took part in the attack included a number who came from the Dominions.
As the House knows extensive reconnaissance flights have been carried out over Germany on three successive nights during the last week by units of the bomber command.
More than ten million copies of notes to the German people have been distributed over a wide area of northern and western Germany, including the Ruhr.
Although on each occasion the enemy defences were set fully in motion no contact was secured by enemy fighters and all of our aircraft returned safely.
The coastal commands have also been busily engaged in extensive reconnaissance over the surrounding seas in order to locate and destroy enemy submarines.
PREMIER AND NEWS SERVICE
Mr. A. Greenwood asked whether the Prime Minister was aware of the state of the Press on Wednesday evening? If he was aware of the growing uneasiness in that House and outside regarding the lack of information concerning the war?
Mr. Greenwood also asked if he was aware that yesterday they had a situation on a much smaller scale, but very similar in principle to that of last Saturday in the House of Commons, and whether he was aware that wild rumours were flying around of a most fantastic kind?
In order to avoid this kind of condition, and to maintain the spirit of the people which was as brave and keen as that of the Government, would he give them there and now a quite specific pledge that there should be on his side, without revealing statements which would not be in the public interest, and whether the news be good or bad, would he tell the country early?
Mr. Greenwood also asked whether the Prime Minister was not aware that had the magnificent statement been made about the Kiel incident on the day of that achievement it would have heartened our people?
The Prime Minister: I am sure Mr. Greenwood and the House will recognise that when you are bringing into immediate operation a somewhat complicated machine there must be a little creaking at first.
I have had that very subject under discussion this morning at a meeting of the War Cabinet, and we will endeavour to deal with it in exactly the same spirit which he expresses.
I do not want to keep the public in the dark, but I do not want to give them inaccurate information, and it is not always possible immediately to know what the facts are.
We agree that it might have been done better but these things have got to be found out by experience.
[page break]
HOW WE RAIDED KIEL
– By R.A.F. Crews
The first eye-witness account of the daring air raid on Kiel reveals that some of the R.A.F. planes flew so close to one of the two bombed warships that they almost touched her masthead.
The story is obtained from the R.A.F. pilots and navigators who struck this blow at Germany’s naval strength.
Some of the planes flew so close to a warship at Wilhemshaven that the crew of the machine could see in vivid detail what happened on her decks and on the quayside.
CANADIAN NAVIGATOR
The leader of the first flight to reach the objective had as his navigator a Canadian.
“We started for Wilhelmshaven at 4 p.m. on September 4,” said the leader. “It was fine when we left, but we ran into foul weather with heavy, continuous rain. We reached Wilhelmshaven after two hours’ flying. As we turned on our last course, five minutes away from Wilhelmshaven, the weather cleared for a few minutes.
“We could see a German warship taking on stores from two tenders at her stern. We could even see some washing hanging out on a line. Undaunted by the washing we proceeded to bomb the battleship.
“Flying at 100ft. mast heights all three aircraft in the flight converged on her. I flew straight ahead. The pilot of the second aircraft came across from one side, and the third crossed from the other side.
ONE PLANE SEEN
“When we flew on top of the battleship we could see the crews running to their stations. We dropped our bombs. The second pilot flying behind, saw two hits. We came round and the ship’s pom-pom guns began to fire as we headed for home.”
By now the battleship’s crew were all at action stations and the third pilot got, as he said, “some hot stuff.”
During the whole action only one German aircraft was seen. This was a biplane which flew past and disappeared. It is described as a “very poor-looking machine.”
By 7.30 p.m. the flights were back at their stations.
Another vivid account was given by the officers and crew of aircraft from another squadron which took part in the raid in the Kiel area.
“HIDE AND SEEK“
One of the planes was hit several times by shells and bullets, but returned home safely, although two of the petrol tanks were punctured. The other bombers were not hit.
The leader of this attack said: “We were flying at 2,000ft., but soon ran into a belt of cloud and came down to 300ft. In the thick mist one pilot became separated from the others, but he took up station again after ten minutes or so.
“We were near the German coast when half a dozen enemy fighters came out to engage us. A game of hide and seek in the clouds followed and our craft was successful in eluding the pursuers.
“We made our landfall accurately and flew up the Elbe estuary until we sighted a number of German naval vessels. We were then flying at 6,000ft. under a thin layer of cloud.
“TERRIFIC FIRE“
“The enemy held his fire until we were almost over our target. Then suddenly he opened with every gun he could bring to bear on us.
“It was terrific, especially the firing from the big ships which seemed to carry seven anti-aircraft guns on either beam. You could watch the tracer shells rising after the flash of the gun.”
HEROES
EVERY NATION HAS ITS HEROES.
EVERY WAR BREEDS THEM. TO THE ROYAL AIR FORCE FALLS THE HONOUR OF PRODUCING THE FIRST HEROIC FEAT OF THIS WAR.
THE WHOLE WORLD THRILLED AT THE STORY OF THEIR DARING AND SUCCESSFUL RAID ON KIEL AND WILHELMSHAVEN.
HERE, BASED ON THE PILOTS OWN STORY, IS DEPICTED THE OUTSTANDING INCIDENT OF THAT DARING ACHIEVEMENT.
WHILE OUR FIGHTING SERVICES HAVE MEN LIKE THESE WE MAY REST ASSURED OF THE RESULT OF THIS STRUGGLE.
BRITAIN – AND CIVILISATION – OWES THEM A DEEP DEBT OF GRATITUDE.
[cartoon strip]
[page break]
It is with deep sorrow that we heard that Pilot Jack Hanne, R.A.F. was reported missing. Recently, he was presented to H.M. the King, after a very daring raid on enemy bases. We extend to his young wife, his mother, and relatives, our deepest sympathy. He is the first local man to sacrifice his life in this war, – R.I.P.
Just as we were about to post these notes we heard of the death of Mrs. Vincent Llewellyn
[page break]
DAILY SKETCH FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 8 1939 Page 5
Premier Tells Story of Epic Raid On Kiel
THE Premier in his promised statement in Parliament yesterday outlined Britain’s war efforts up to date.
He told of the raid on the Kiel Canal, by the R.A.F., and stated that two direct hits had been made on a German pocket battleship. Kiel, he said, was one of the most strongly defended points in Germany, yet our raiders in in blinding rainstorm gained their objective and did considerable damage.
The Prime Minister said:-
In the East the Poles are fighting hard against a strong and ruthless enemy, who is relying on the weight of numbers and material to crush all opposition.
Out-numbered and out-gunned, the Poles are contesting every yard of the German advance.
In spite of the human and material losses which they have already suffered the morale and courage of the Polish people remains unaffected.
His Majesty’s Government and the French Government have to-day signed an agreement with the Polish Government for the provision of further financial assistance to Poland to enable her to replenish her resources.
In the West, France has, like ourselves, mobilised her forces with complete efficiency and smoothness, and they are now in contact with the enemy on their common frontier.
The understanding between the two countries is complete, and the arrangements which have now been put into force for co-operation in all the activities concerned with the prosecution of the war are working smoothly and well.
The sinking of the Athenia with its scenes of death and terror virtually opened the war, and no denials or inventions on the part of Germany will convince the public of German innocence of this crime which has profoundly shocked and horrified the world.
Apart from the case of the Athenia there had been attacks on other British merchant ships by German U boats, and three or four ships have been sunk.
On our side the Admiralty have taken immediate counter measures. British destroyers and other anti-submarine craft have been very active, and large reinforcements of anti-submarine and escort vessels are rapidly becoming available.
Steps are being taken to establish a convoy system at the earliest possible moment.
While a certain proportion of weekly losses must be expected – and I do not minimise the threat to our shipping – I think the House and the country may rest assured that the Navy with all their wartime experience of handling this problem and with the added advantage of the methods of submarine detection and destruction which have since been developed will increasingly bring the problem under control.
MOST GALLANT EXPLOIT
I SHOULD next like to pay my tribute to the very gallant attack which was made by units of the R.A.F on certain German warships off Wilhelmshaven during which at least two hits were secured on one of the so-called pocket battleships.
IT WILL BE REALISED THAT THE OBJECTIVES ATTACKED NAMELY, THE GERMAN FLEET BASES AT WILHELMSHAVEN AND AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE KIEL CANAL, ARE PROBABLY AMONG THE MOST STRONGLY DEFENDED POINTS IN GERMANY.
THE MANNER IN WHICH THE R.A.F. ATTACKS WERE PRESSED HOME DESPITE THE STRENGTH OF THE DEFENCES IS WORTHY OF THE HIGHEST PRAISE.
I should also mention the weather conditions prevailing on the afternoon of the attack.
Visibility was extremely poor, and the final stages of the attack are stated to have been carried out in a blinding rainstorm.
High degree of navigation skill was thus necessary to enable the attack to reach its objective at all, and the fact that hits were registered demonstrates the ability of the R.A.F to carry out its attacks under conditions of great difficulty.
Finally I think it right to stress the fact that a high proportion of the officers and men in the squadrons concerned have entered the R.A.F. and received their training since expansion began.
The House may also be interested to learn that those who took part in the attack included a number who came from the Dominions.
As the House knows extensive reconnaissance flights have been carried out over Germany on three successive nights during the last week by units of the bomber command.
More than ten million copies of notes to the German people have been distributed over a wide area of northern and western Germany, including the Ruhr.
Although on each occasion the enemy defences were set fully in motion no contact was secured by enemy fighters and all of our aircraft returned safely.
The coastal commands have also been busily engaged in extensive reconnaissance over the surrounding seas in order to locate and destroy enemy submarines.
PREMIER AND NEWS SERVICE
Mr. A. Greenwood asked whether the Prime Minister was aware of the state of the Press on Wednesday evening? If he was aware of the growing uneasiness in that House and outside regarding the lack of information concerning the war?
Mr. Greenwood also asked if he was aware that yesterday they had a situation on a much smaller scale, but very similar in principle to that of last Saturday in the House of Commons, and whether he was aware that wild rumours were flying around of a most fantastic kind?
In order to avoid this kind of condition, and to maintain the spirit of the people which was as brave and keen as that of the Government, would he give them there and now a quite specific pledge that there should be on his side, without revealing statements which would not be in the public interest, and whether the news be good or bad, would he tell the country early?
Mr. Greenwood also asked whether the Prime Minister was not aware that had the magnificent statement been made about the Kiel incident on the day of that achievement it would have heartened our people?
The Prime Minister: I am sure Mr. Greenwood and the House will recognise that when you are bringing into immediate operation a somewhat complicated machine there must be a little creaking at first.
I have had that very subject under discussion this morning at a meeting of the War Cabinet, and we will endeavour to deal with it in exactly the same spirit which he expresses.
I do not want to keep the public in the dark, but I do not want to give them inaccurate information, and it is not always possible immediately to know what the facts are.
We agree that it might have been done better but these things have got to be found out by experience.
[page break]
HOW WE RAIDED KIEL
– By R.A.F. Crews
The first eye-witness account of the daring air raid on Kiel reveals that some of the R.A.F. planes flew so close to one of the two bombed warships that they almost touched her masthead.
The story is obtained from the R.A.F. pilots and navigators who struck this blow at Germany’s naval strength.
Some of the planes flew so close to a warship at Wilhemshaven that the crew of the machine could see in vivid detail what happened on her decks and on the quayside.
CANADIAN NAVIGATOR
The leader of the first flight to reach the objective had as his navigator a Canadian.
“We started for Wilhelmshaven at 4 p.m. on September 4,” said the leader. “It was fine when we left, but we ran into foul weather with heavy, continuous rain. We reached Wilhelmshaven after two hours’ flying. As we turned on our last course, five minutes away from Wilhelmshaven, the weather cleared for a few minutes.
“We could see a German warship taking on stores from two tenders at her stern. We could even see some washing hanging out on a line. Undaunted by the washing we proceeded to bomb the battleship.
“Flying at 100ft. mast heights all three aircraft in the flight converged on her. I flew straight ahead. The pilot of the second aircraft came across from one side, and the third crossed from the other side.
ONE PLANE SEEN
“When we flew on top of the battleship we could see the crews running to their stations. We dropped our bombs. The second pilot flying behind, saw two hits. We came round and the ship’s pom-pom guns began to fire as we headed for home.”
By now the battleship’s crew were all at action stations and the third pilot got, as he said, “some hot stuff.”
During the whole action only one German aircraft was seen. This was a biplane which flew past and disappeared. It is described as a “very poor-looking machine.”
By 7.30 p.m. the flights were back at their stations.
Another vivid account was given by the officers and crew of aircraft from another squadron which took part in the raid in the Kiel area.
“HIDE AND SEEK“
One of the planes was hit several times by shells and bullets, but returned home safely, although two of the petrol tanks were punctured. The other bombers were not hit.
The leader of this attack said: “We were flying at 2,000ft., but soon ran into a belt of cloud and came down to 300ft. In the thick mist one pilot became separated from the others, but he took up station again after ten minutes or so.
“We were near the German coast when half a dozen enemy fighters came out to engage us. A game of hide and seek in the clouds followed and our craft was successful in eluding the pursuers.
“We made our landfall accurately and flew up the Elbe estuary until we sighted a number of German naval vessels. We were then flying at 6,000ft. under a thin layer of cloud.
“TERRIFIC FIRE“
“The enemy held his fire until we were almost over our target. Then suddenly he opened with every gun he could bring to bear on us.
“It was terrific, especially the firing from the big ships which seemed to carry seven anti-aircraft guns on either beam. You could watch the tracer shells rising after the flash of the gun.”
Collection
Citation
Sunday Pictorial and Daily Sketch, “Premier Tells Story of Epic Raid on Kiel,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed June 14, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/37376.