DEFENDING CONVOYS

Evening Star, Issue 24288, 1 September 1942, Page 3

DEFENDING CONVOYS

WORK OF FLEET AIR ARM ENEMY LOSSES HEAVY (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, August 30. One of the biggest hidings suffered by the combined German and Italian air forces over the Mediterranean was inflicted by the pilots of carrierbased Fleet Air Arm planes escorting the recent convoy to Malta, An agency correspondent says the pilots' achievement makes one of the most thrilling stories of the war. The fight opened when a shadowing aircraft was shot down from 22,000 ft by a naval fighter—first blood to us. An officer on board one of the aircraft carriers continues the story from the point where the main battle was imminent. “ Suddenly there was an explosion which shook the ship,” he said. “It canto from another carrier —the Eagle—which had been torpedoed .by a U-boat. While she was being attacked from underwater our aircraft routed the first wave of raiders approaching the convoy. Then the captain received an emergency landing signal and turned the ship to receive fighters coming in to land. They included machines from the Eaglevaluable aircraft which would be needed before the battle was done. The last to land was the pilot who made the emergency signal. He waited in his crazy, rickety plane lest he should crash and block the flight deck for the other fellows. “After this attack came a lull until the next phase of the action. Our planes took off again, and disappeared into the darkening sky. Then a warning was given that a strong enemy force of 35 Junkers 88’s was only seven miles from the convoy, and the sky was red with flying metal as the enemy dived and twisted in an effort to evade anti-aircraft fire. They were split into small groups. Two Junkers crashed in flames. Behind 'this terrific barrage the Germans knew our fighters were waiting to get at them as they came out, if they came out. The barrage lasted half an hour, and then ceased as abruptly as it began. “ Remnants of the enemy sneaked away, but up in the sky were the carrier’s fighters waiting to land, their petrol running low. The first pilot to land had only five gallons of petrol left. He could not afford to circle while the ship manoeuvred into position, so he touched down, with the deck slewing beneath him. The machine, crashed into an obstruction and burst into flames, but the pilot escaped unhurt. The crash was cleared in six minutes. A volunteer party dashed to the burning plane and extracted the ammunition before it could explode and sweep death across the flight deck. ,“ The following day there were further mass attacks on the convoy. Of the first large group of Junkers 88’s, only five escaped to describe the mauling they suffered. All day our planes tirelessly gave combat, refuelled, took off again, and tore into the enemy until dusk, when Maltabased planes took over the escort.” EAST BOMBERS SCORE SUCCESSES (British Official Wireless.) (Rec. 9.45 a.m.)' RUGBY, Aug. 31. A Cairo communique reports; Our patrols engaged enemy working parties on Saturday night. Yesterday there was nothing to report from our land forces. On Saturday night our medium bombers, light bombers, and naval aircraft continued their raids over the battle area and on Tobruk, and on the same night our bombers and torpedo-carrying aircraft successfully attacked shipping off the Cyrenaican coast. Three ships were hit, two being left ablaze. In combats over the El Alamein area yesterday our fighters destroyed at least three Messersoinnitts and damaged others. An enemy tanker in the Mediterranean was left blazing from stem to stern, and two enemy planes were destroyed' last night during small-scale activity over our base landing grounds. U.S. BOMBERS PARTICIPATE (British Official Wireless.) (Rec. 10.15 a.m.) RUGBY, Aug. 31. American medium and heavy bombers participated in Saturday night’s raid on Tobruk. They also started several fires and observed large explosions on an enemy landing ground eastward of Mersa Matruh. Anti-aircraft fire was moderate, and there were no night fighters. All onr planes returned safely. RECORD ATLANTIC FLIGHT (Rec. 8 a.m.) NEW YORK. August 31. A new transatlantic speed record has been established, this being made known shortly after the announcement of the transpacific record by General Brett’s Flying Fortress. The American flying ace arrived here from Europe in 19h 54min actual flying time. The total transit time was 21h ofinin, also a new, record.