ENEMY TRANSPORTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 March 1941, Page 5

ENEMY TRANSPORTS

FIVE ALMOST CERTAINLY SUNK BY BRITISH SUBMARINES. HEAVY BLOWS AT ITALY’S COMMUNICATIONS. Three British submarines, the Utmost, Unique and Triumph, have almost certainly sunk five Italian troop transports and supply ships and have demonstrated once again the insecurity of Italy’s communications by sea, states a 8.8. C. broadcast. One crowded troopship of 6000 tons and two deeply laden supply ships of 2500 were sunk and almost certainly another troopship of 4000 tons and a fully laden ship of 3000 tons were also sunk. The Utmost accounted for the 6000 ton troopship, which was in a convoy and also attacked the other 4000 ton troopship. The supply ship of 3000 tons, also in a convoy, was attacked by the Unique and the two 2500 ton supply ships were sunk by the Triumph, a vessel of 1095 tons and launched in 1938. She is a sister ship to the Thetis, which sank on trials in 1938, was refloated and recommissioned as the Thunder. The Utmost and Unique are of a later class. ADMIRALTY REPORT (Received This Day, 10.11 a.m.) RUGBY, March 20. An Admiralty communique states: “Further success is reported by our submarines operating against Italy’s sea communications with her army overseas. “H.M. submarine Utmost carried out a successful attack on an escorted convoy of two deeply-laden Italian transport's, of about 6000 and 4000 tons, and seen to be crowded with troops. The explosion of the torpedoes was followed by very violent explosions and it is considered certain that at least one transport was destroyed. “H.M. submarine Unique hit with torpedoes a fully-laden Italian supply ship of about 3,000 tons, which was proceeding in an escorted convoy. This ship was almost certainly sunk. “H.M. submarine Triumph sunk two deeply-laden Italian supply ships, each of about 2500 tons.”