NAVAL EPIC

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 April 1940, Page 8

NAVAL EPIC

FIRST BRITISH ATTACK ON NARVIK VALIANT EFFORT BY HARDY AND HER CONSORTS. BATTLE AT DESPERATE ODDS. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received This Day, 9.50 a.m.) LONDON. April 23. The thrilling' story of the grpalost sea bailie of modern limes can now he told from authorised sources —the story of Hie Hallie of Narvik on April 10. 11 adds a glowing page to British naval history and is based on preliminary reiioi’ts to the Admiralty of the surviving officers of ir.Af.S. Hardy, which led a flotilla consisting of herself, the Hotspur, Hostile. Ilavoc and Hunter, in an attack on (I erm an forces.

At 4 p.m. on April 9, the Hardy landed two officers at the Norwegian pilot station of Tranoy, near the head of the West Fiord. They learnt that Narvik was strongly held and that in the Ofoten Fiord there were at least six German destroyers, larger and more powerful than the Hardy and her consorts. This intelligence was communicated to the Admiralty, who thought an attack in face of these strong German forces so hazardous that at 1 a.m. on April 10. Commander Warburton Lee was told that he must be the sole judge of whether to attack or not and that the Admiralty would support him whatever happened. Commander Warburton Leo replied that he intended to attack al dawn al high water. THE OPENING MOVE. At. 3 a.m. the five destroyers proceeded into a narrow channel loading into the Ofoten Fiord. There was a slight east wind and it was misty and snowing heavily. Visibility was so low that fog lights had to be used to enable the ships io keep in touch. The Hardy led the flotilla. The narrative of one of her officers states: “We never saw either side of the fiord, except early when wc nearly hit it once." The passage was however, successfully accomplished, and about 4.30 a.m. the flotilla was off Narvik. The Hardy entered the Narvik Harbour alone. At first nothing but a merchant ship near the entrance could be seen.

id MASS OF SHIPPING SEEN. When the Hardy had passed the ship however, a mass of other shipping io came into view, including a large Gerr- man destroyer. The Hardy at once >e turned to port and fired torpedoes, at ig the same time increasing her speed to 1- 20 knots. As the Hardy was swinging ie under her helm, two more large Ger- ■ io man destroyers came into view. Tor-j d pedoes were fired at them, and the n Hardy opened fire with her guns. At that moment there was a loud explosion and a sheet of red (lame from the first, German destroyer, and thousands cf rounds of tracer ammunition began to go off in the air, looking like bright stars. One of the Hardy’s torpedoes had found its mark and one of the enemy ships had been accounted for.

Hotly engaged by two German ships of superior gunpower, and also by guns E mounted ashore, and having fired her torpedoes, the Hardy withdrew, and other British destroyers wont into the d attack. Their torpedoes made havoc / among the Gorman supply ships and i transports, and German destroyers a I were hit by gunfire. r REPEATED BRITISH ATTACKS, f Then the Hardy attacked again. She i was immediately heavily engaged by j| shore batteries and lhe heavy guns of p | the two remaining German destroyers >■ I in lhe harbour. Again lhe Hardy with’t drew, and other British destroyers ati j tacked in turn, hammering at the Ger-i-1 man destroyers and batteries., which I quickly ceased fire, so that it was ] though! all opposition had been brok- . en. This time, as the Hardy withdrew. . six torpedoes passed close to her. The Hardy led a third attack, but as i she withdrew from this she sighted ; three largo German destroyers steaming towards her from the direction of , Rombaks Fiord. The signal to with- • draw was immediately given and speed , increased to 30 knots. At the same ! time, the Hardy opened fire on leading German ships, which wore firing ' at her. As the Hardy, loading the ' flotilla, turned down the fiiovd, two . more large German destroyers were ; ; sighted ahead. Action was at once joined. The Hardy was hit almost immediately by the heavier shells of the * German ships. (German destroyers of the Roeder class mount five five-inch guns against the five 4.7-inch guns of the Hardy and the four 4.7 inch guns | of the other British destroyers in the

flotilla engaged). BRIDGE A SHAMBLES. The Hardy's bridge was hit and reduced to a shambles. Commander I Warburton Lee was mortally wounded. The only man on the bridge not killed or rendered unconscious was the captain’s secretary. Paymaster-Lieu-tenant Stunning. and his left foot was useless. Aft. the First Lieutenant, Commander Mansell, was keeping the remaining guns in action. Realising that the ship was still steaming fast and without anybody at the helm. Lieutenant Stanning dragged himself to the wheelhouse. Il was a shambles and there was nobody alive, so Lieutenant Stanning took the wheel himself and steered the ship, looking through a shell holo. Soon afterwards, an ab le seaman appeared and Lieu tenant Stanning turned the wheel over to him and made his way back to the bridge, where he look charge of the ship. He had no idea what was happening aft. but ho has reported that he had a vague idea of ramming an enemy ship now abreast of the Hardy and firing almost point blank. At that moment, however, a shell struck the Hardy in the engine-room. Steam escaped and the vessel immediately began to lose-way. Lieutenant Stanning pul ihe helm over to beach the ship in order to save life. One gun was still in action and the ship was under heavy fire at short range. Meantime the Hunter had boon sunk and the Hotspur and the Hostile had suffered damage. The Gormans, however. were by no moans unscathed. In addition to six supply ships in Narvik Harbour and the German destroyer torpedoed by the Hardy, three of the other German destroyers had boon heavily hit and were seriously on lire. NO PURSUIT ATTEMPTED. The enemy made no attempt to I pursue the remaining British destroyers olid those sank the German am-1 mtmilion ship Ravensfold on their way 1

.town the fiord. The ships company of the Hardy, under Commander Mansell, were endeavouring; to abandon ship under fire. This was no easy matter, as the only remaining boat proved to be imseaworthy and there were many badly wounded. The German destroyers. however, soon drew oil. Commander Warburton Lee was lashed in a stretcher, lowered into the water and towed ashore by Mr McCracken, Gunner, and eno rating, but he was dead when they reached the shore. Ihere were several wooden houses about half a mile from the shore and the survivors distributed themselves among these for warmth and shelter. A majority went to the house of Mrs Christansen, where about eighty men huddled together, trying to restore their circulation. Mrs Christansen and her daughter distributed food and all the clothes they had. COURAGE OF THE WOUNDED. Surgeon-Lieutenant Waind, himself wounded, did what he could for the wounded, the bearing of whom was very courageous. Particularly was this so of Abie-Seaman Bailey, who. half-frozen with cold and with one hand shot off. sat for 11 hours and never once murmured. A Norwegian succeeded in getting an ambulance | from Ballanger, a small town fifteen miles away, which took some of the wounded. Others were lashed to a sledge and dragged to Ballanger, over a track full of holes. It must have caused great pain to the wounded, but they bore their .sufferings with the greatest fortitude. On their way. the survivors fell in with British merchant seamen from the North Cornwall, capturoct by the Germans on (ho day before and released during the action, when the supply ship on which they had been prisoners was among others su,nk. At Ballanger the British survivors made contact with the Norwegians, reorganised and consolidated. They were taken off' b.y H.M.S. Ivanhoe on April 13. after H.M.S. Warspile and other British naval forces,had accounted for the whole of the German naval forces at Narvik and Rombaks Fiord.

HARDY REFLOATED

NOW UNDERGOING REPAIR. (Received This Dav. 9.20 a.m.) STOCKHOLM. April 23. H.M.S. Hardy is reported to have been refloated. She is being repaired in a shipyard at the Lofoten islands.