DARING OPERATION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 July 1940, Page 5

DARING OPERATION

FIRST LORD’S STATEMENT MOTOR-BOAT PENETRATES HARBOUR. FATE OF THE FRENCH FLEET. .7"'' (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10.35 a.m.) RUGBY, July 9. The First Lord of the Admiralty (Mr A. V. Alexander), made a statement on the action at Dakar against the French 35,000 ton battleship Richelieu, which he described as “one of the most modern and most formidable capital ships in the world immediately available for active operation.” In accordance with the decision announced by Mr Churchill on July 4, the Government decided that steps must also be taken to ensure that this vessel would not fall into enemy hands in a condition in which it could be used against Britain. A force accordingly •was dispatched to Dakar, with orders to present to the French admiral proposals similar to those offered to the French admiral at Oran. In view of misrepresentations from Vichy, Mr Alexander reiterated the four conditions, namely:— (1) That the French ships should sail with reduced crews and under escort to a British port, with a guarantee that the crews would at once be J repatriated, and that at the end of the war the ships would be returned to: France. (2) That they should sail with reduced crews to a French port in the West Indies, where they would be demilitarised, or perhaps entrusted to the United States for safe keeping. (3) That the ships should be demilitarised in Dakar within 12 hours. (4) That they should be sunk within a time limit. When it became clear that the French authorities at Dakar would not accede to any of the four British suggestions, the flag officer had no alternative but to carry out his painful duty in the early hours of Monday. The operations were twofold. A ship's Aioat under a commander and lieuten-ant-commander was sent into the harbour carrying depth charges. With great daring, it successfully passed the boom defences and went alongside the port quarter of the Richelieu. Depth charges were, at the right moment, dropped close under the warship’s stern as she lay at anchor in shallow water, in order to damage her propellers and steering gear. The motorboat began to withdraw immediately after dropping the depth charges, but while still in the harbour broke down and lay helpless for a time. PURSUERS FOILED The crew, however, succeeded in getting one engine running just as they were discovered, and the boat, which was pursued, managed to escape by crossing defence nets, which foiled its pursuers. The main attack was entrusted to the Fleet Air Arm and took place after the attack by the motor-boat. These aircraft were successful with their torpedoes, a number of which hit the Richelieu. The motor-boat, which was still in the harbour, witnessed the aircraft attack and heard five explosions and then saw smoke issuing from the battleship. Air reconnaissances carried out after the completion of the operations established that the Richelieu had a list to port and was down by the stern. A large quantity of oil fuel covered the water round the ship. The British, motor-boat and aircraft which carried out the operations returned undamaged. gratitude to navy Having described the operations, Mr Alexander said: “The House will permit me to add a word of thanks to the Naval staff which had to plan this and the recent operations immediate-

ly following the evacuation, in face of the enemy, of troops and refugees totalling not fewer than 600,000 —the greatest achievement of its kind in the history of naval operations. It is a remarkable tribute to the value of our seapower —a power we do not intend to lose. Rather do we intend to prevent a seaborne invasion of these islands or the escape of any marauders who otherwise dare set to foot here. “Of course,” added Mr Alexander, “there is no member of the Government and certainly no officer or man in the British Fleet, who does not regret to the utmost that this action has been necessary. The commanding officer in charge of these operations, after they were over, sent a personal signal to the French admiral expressing regret at having had to carry out this painful duty and hoping that there had been no casualties.” SURVEY OF RESULTS Reviewing the results of the operations, which had had unhappily to be undertaken against the French ships which Marshal Petain had agreed to put within the control of the enemy, Mr Alexander said that when the armistice was signed, France had eight capital ships fit to form a line of battle. Of these three of the Bretagne class had now passed into British control, one had been sunk and one badly damaged and immobilised. Of two modern battle-cruisers one was driven ashore at Oran and would be out of action for a long time, if not permanently, and the other had managed to escape and was presumed to have reached Toulon, but only after having been hit by a torpedo which would immobilise her for some time. The state of the Richelieu he had already described. As ro the sister ship of the Richelieu, the Jean Bart, it would not be completed for operational service for some months. Mr Alexander added: “I need not emphasise that the transfer of this modern, powerful, capital fleet to the enemy would have altered the whole balance of naval strength, with incalculable results to our cause. As a result of the measures we have taken, this anxiety is now removed.