DESTRUCTIVE BLOWS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 September 1941, Page 5

DESTRUCTIVE BLOWS

AT ENEMY SHIPS & PORTS IN MEDITERRANEAN TRIPOLI AGAIN HEAVILY BOMBED. NIGHT RAIDERS SHOT DOWN AT SUEZ. LONDON, September 7. Another swoop on enemy shipping in Tripoli has been made by the R.A.F. The quay and a merchant ship at anchor were hit repeatedly by heavy bombs. The enemy is trying to maintain a ferry service between Sicily and North Africa, but in the last three days alone eleven Italian ships have been sunk or damaged. Raids have also been carried out on enemy planes on the ground at Derna and on a motor transport concentration south of the town. Enemy planes attempting to raid the Suez Canal last night were attacked by night fighters, which shot down two and damaged others. From all these operations one of our planes is missing.

OTHER SUCCESSES SUBMARINES AND FLEET AIR ARM. SEVERAL VESSELS SUNK. RUGBY, September 6. The Italian liner Especial (11,398 tons) was torpedoed and sunk off Tripoli by one of our submarines. The Especial was in an exceptionally strongly escorted convoy. The escorts consisted of destroyers, torpedo-boats, motor torpedo-boats and flying-boats. Liners of this type are used by the enemy as troopships. A British submarine in the central Mediterranean carried out a successful attack on a south-bound enemy convoy between Taranto and Benghazi. A ship of the Ramb class was torpedoed and sunk. Ramb class ships are fast vessels of just under 4000 tons and capable of 18J knots. One was sunk by the New Zealand cruiser Leander six months ago when acting as a commerce raider in the Indian Ocean. Among the telling blows delivered on the enemy in Sicily and North Africa by the Fleet Air Arm on Wednesday night was the blowing up of a destroyer off Tripoli. How this was done has been related by the pilot. “I was looking for tankers," he said. “Though it was as bright as daylight I could see no sign of my principal objectives. After looking round for three-quarters of an hour I thought we might have a crack at a destroyer, though they are so short that they are difficult to hit. “There were two destroyers, and they could see us O.K. We let go from short range, but a torpedo seems to take a long time, and I had got back to my ship when it blew up.” The pilot of another aircraft which was in the air at the same time and who saw the destroyer, did a good piece of work on his own account. The pilot sighted an enemy vessel outside the harbour and dropped two heavy bombs on it. At least one, and probably both, found their mark.

R.A.F. REPORT (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.45 a.m.) RUGBY. September 7. A R.A.F. Middle East communique states: “Heavy bombers of the R.A.F.' attacked shipping alongside the Spanish Quay at Tripoli during the night of September 5. A medium-sized merchantman was hit by bombs and many direct hits were obtained on the quay. Other R.A.F. bombers raided a number of objectives in Cyrenaica. At Derna, large fires broke out, and in one of these explosions took place, followed by showers of sparks.. A number of enemy aircraft on the ground are believed to have been destroyed. A motor transport camp south of Derna was also attacked and fires resulted from our bombing. At Matruh, bombs fell among dispersed aircraft and motor transport and the glow of fires could be seen all over the target area. Other attackswere made on Bardia and on aerodromes at El Adem. “During the night of September 6. enemy aircraft attempted to raid the Suez Canal area. Our night fighters shot down two raiders and damaged others. “From all these operations, one of our planes is missing."