ARK ROYAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 March 1940, Page 5

ARK ROYAL

IN PORT AFTER OVERSEAS SERVICE DETAILS OF ADVENTUROUS VOYAGE. CREW LISTEN IN TO “LORD HAW HAW.” By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. LONDON, March 26. Another “sunken” unit of the Royal Navy has reappeared at an English port to plague whatever conscience German propagandists may possess. The Ark Royal, whose destruction was exultantly proclaimed from Berlin last year, has returned after five month**' service in distant waters, in which, while hunting the Admiral Graf Spee and other “suspicious” vessels, her planes surveyed 5,000.000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Ark Royal’s war time experiences include her escape by 15ft from a 10001 b bomb dropped by one of several Heinkel planes. A U-boat also fired two torpedoes at the Ark Royal about the time H.M.S. Courageous was sunk, but missed by a wide margin, whereupon the Ark Royal’s destroyer escort dashed up and sank the attacker, rescuing the crew. Captain Power described the attack by German bombers on the Ark Royal. “One pilot, apparently Lieutenant Francke, who was awarded the Iron Cross for sinking the aircraft-carrier,” said Captain Power, “flew through the barrage from nearby warships, dived down to 1000 feet, and dropped the biggest bomb I have ever seen, which crashed into the sea about 15ft from our bows. The explosion shook the whole vessel and lifted her bows a little. The only damage was that some crockery was smashed. The other bombers were not so enthusiastic and their aim was not good.

“Before the bombers attacked three German flying-boats circled outside the range of the Ark Royal’s guns. The Ark Royal sent up planes which brought down one flying-boat and drove off the others.” It is estimated that the Ark Royal’s aircraft reconnoitred Some 5,000,000 suare miles of ocean.

It is reported that the crew gained great amusement from listening to “Lord Haw Haw’s” broadcasts demanding to know where the ship was and claiming that she had been sunk. To his rhetorical question. “Where is the Ark Royal?” the crew would answer in unison, “Here.”