EVENTFUL DAYS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 6 September 1940, Page 6

EVENTFUL DAYS

BRITISH OPERATIONS IN MEDITERRANEAN ITALIAN FLEET REFUSES BATTLE. SOME SUCCESSFUL ATTACKS BY SEA AND AIR. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 12.55 p.m.) RUGBY, September 5. An Admiralty communique states: “Extensive operations have been carried out by our naval forces in both the Western and Eastern Mediterranean over a period of six days. These operations have been entirely successful, except that no contact was made between our main forces and enemy warships. “During these operations the opportunity has been taken of sending strong reinforcements to our naval forces in the Eastern Mediterranean. On August 31, in the Eastern Mediterranean, one enemy aircraft which was attempting to shadow our forces was shot down by Fleet Air Arm fighters. On that day it was learnt from reports of submarines that some enemy units were at s?a in the Central Mediterranean. His Majesty’s submarine Parthian attacked an enemy force of cruisers and destroyers and obtained two hits with torpedoes. Meanwhile air reconnaissance reported that the enemy main fleet, consisting of battleships, cruisers and destroyers, was at sea. It was then about 150 miles from our forces. Efforts were made to make contact, but reconnaissance aircraft reported that the enemy fleet had turned back immediately on receipt of reports indicating that British forces were in the vicinity and was heading for its base at Taranto at high speed. “Another British force was at this time operating to the westward of Sardinia and Sicily. Fleet Air Arm aircraft attached to this force shot down an enemy low-wing aircraft. On the morning of September 1, Swordfish aircraft of the Air Arm from this western force attacked the aerodrome at Elma, in Sardinia. They were not able to observe the damage caused, but an Italian broadcast admitted that one wing of the military headquarters was destroyed, as well as two aircraft on the ground. While returning from this attack, one of ’our aircraft sighted an Italian U-boat on the surface. Having, no bombs remaining, the aircraft machine-gunned the conning tower of the submarine as it dived,.’ From this operation all our aircraft returned safely. “On the morning of September 2, Swordfish aircraft from the same force attacked the aerodrome at Cagliari, in Sicily. Bad visibility hampered the attack, but it has been reported that enemy searchlights at Scaffa were successfully bombed and put out of action. All our aircraft returned safely from this operation. ITALIAN FALSEHOODS. “On September 2 our force in the Eastern Mediterranean was attacked by enemy aircraft when south-west of Malta. It is presumably of this attack that an Italian communique stated: ‘A bold onslaught of Italian dive-bombing planes managed to achieve notable results. One enemy aircraft-carrier was seriously hit astern. In addition, one battleship, one cruiser and one destroyer received it squarely amidships, and were damaged.’ In fact this action resulted in no damage or casualties to any of our ships, while five enemy aircraft were shot down by Fulmar and Gladiator fighters of the ’Fleet Air Arm and the gunfire of the Fleet. Four others were chased almost to Sicily and probably were damaged. Nor were these aircraft Italian. They were German dive-bombers of the Junkers 87 type. “The whole main part of the Mediterranean having been swept without enemy warships being encountered, the eastern force proceeded to the eastward in the hope of finding enemy forces in the vicinity of his Dodecanese bases. "On September 4 enemy aerodromes at Maritza and Calato were simultaneously attacked by Swordfish of the Fleet Air Arm. At Calato a number of aircraft on the aerodrome were destroyed. Loud explosions were heard, probably from ammunition clumps, and fires were observed in barracks and other buildings. At Maritza direct hits were scored on two main hangars and petrol dumps; workshops and barracks were set on fire. • ISLANDS BOMBARDED. “In these operations off the Dodecanese Islands, eight enemy aircraft were shot down and six damaged, apart from those destroyed on the Calato aerodrome. Foul’ of our aircraft are missing. An Italian communique states that the crews of three of these are prisoners of war. Following upon the attacks of our Air Arm on enemy aerodromes in Rhodes, some of our naval forces, including H.M.A.S. Sydney and H.M.S. Orion, bombarded military objectives in the Italian Dodecanese Islands. An aerodrome and surrounding buildings at Makri Yalo and Pegadia in the island of Scarpanto, were bombarded. The aerodrome at Makrai Yalo was’ plastered with six-inch shells and none of the surrounding buildings were left intact. Pegadia is the seat of the Italian Government on Scarpanto Island. Of five enemy motor torpedoboats which emerged from the harbour, H.M.S. Ilex intercepted three which tried to attack it. Two of these were sunk and a third damaged. The remaining two boats returned without attacking. "Our forces in the Dodecanese area were later unsuccessfully attacked by enemy aircraft. One Caproni 133 and one 579 were shot down into the sea and at least three other enemy aircraft were damaged.” ENEMY CLAIMS (Received This Day, 11.55 a.m.) ROME, September 5. A communique states: “Italian planes violently bombed three British cruisers and two destroyers cruising off the Algerian coast. Large calibre bombs hit two cruisers and a sheet of flame was observed on the deck of one. Recon- 1 noitring planes spotted a large enemy convoy escorted by warships in the Aegean Sea on September 3. With the object of defending the convoys the British attempted to attack by sea and air Italian bases in the Aegean, starting at dawn on September 4. ’1 wo air formations attacked the airfields at Dadurra and Maritza. where two Italian planes were hit on the ground. "A naval formation shelled Scarpanto, causing slight damage to buildings and inflicting a few civilian casualties.

The prompt intervention of Italian fighters, together witii that of anti-air-craft defences, which shot down seven enemy planes, repelled the attack. The crews of three planes numbering eight men, were taken prisoner. The Italians counter-attacked from 7 a.m. until 5.30 p.m. “Five mass attacks were carried out against an enemy convoy. British fighters and anti-aircraft,'fire intervened, but four enemy vessels were seriously damaged and five enemy fighters were shot down. Two Italian planes failed to return. There were a few casualties aboard others. "Italian motor torpedo-boats simultaneously attacked enemy naval forces and successfully directed fire against a British cruiser and two destroyers. One Italian -motor-boat failed to return. “Intense activity by the air forces on both sides is reported from North Africa. Enemy raids caused only slight damage. One person was killed and eleven were wounded. Four enemy planes were shot down. All the . Italian planes returned. A British machine was shot down. All the Italian planes returned. A British machine was shot down and another probably was shot down during an enemy raid on the airfield of Giavello, in East Africa. An Italian bomber formation seriously damaged an enemy vessel in the Red Sea."