ANOTHER NAVAL SWEEP

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 43, 14 November 1940, Page 9

ANOTHER NAVAL SWEEP

No Enemy Craft Seen

PLANES SHOT DOWN

LONDON, November 12.

The sweep carried out in the Central .Mediterranean by the British Fleet, during which planes from the Ark Royal bombed the Italian base of Cagliari, in Sardinia, has now been described by a correspondent. He reports that in the entire voyage of 2000 miles British ships did not once sight Italian surface craft or make contact with Italian submarines. On the afternoon before Cagliari was attacked the Fleet had its first indication of any Italian activity. An enemy plane appeared, but British fighters were already in the air and soon dispatched a three-word message, “Shallower shot down.” In the darkness bombers left the air-craft-carrier and before dawn they returned and landed safely. A little later a second Italian scouting machine was sighted, and this, too, was shot down. Then two large formations of Italian bombers approached.

The correspondent said lie counted 24 in formations of six, flying at about 16,000 feet. Every ship roared into life. Salvo after salvo of bombs fell down and sent; up great columns of water, but no damage was done to the ships, and there were no casualties. For many hours more the British Fleet continued on within easy range of Italian aircraft and surface vessels, lint neither on that night nor on the following night was there any attack, and the next morning the ships came safely into harbour.