ENEMY SHIPPING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 September 1941, Page 6

ENEMY SHIPPING

___4. UNCEASING ATTACKS BEING CONTINUED SUCCESSFUL BRITISH OPERATIONS. LARGE VESSEL DISABLED. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 12.5 p.m.) RUGBY. September 12. Unceasing British attacks on enemy shipping was continued today when bombers damaged one of the larger ships in a convoy off the Dutch coast. An Air‘Ministry communique states: "Early this afternoon Blenheim aircraft of the Bobiber Command, escorted by fighters, attacked an enemy convoy off the Dutch coast. One of the larger ships, which was- hit and set on fire, was left with a heavy list to port. “Aircraft of the Fighter Command this afternoon carried out offensive operations over the North Sea and the coast of Holland. In the course of these offensives one enemy fighter was destroyed. One of our planes is missing.”

NAZI CLAIMS BRITISH ADMIRALTY’S REPLY. GERMAN STATEMENTS WILDLY EXAGGERATED. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 12.5 p.m.) RUGBY, September 12. Wildly exaggerated Nazi claims of the results of an air attack on a British North Sea convoy are disposed of in an Admiralty communique, which states: “It is now known that in addition to an enemy bomber shot down by H.M.S. Vimiera in an air attack on one of our convoys in the North Sea last night, a second enemy aircraft was damaged. One small merchant ship was damaged but it is now safely in harbour and one man lost his life in another merchant ship. Several attacks were made by the enemy but the majority were driven off by the fire of the escorts and the defensive armament of the merchant ships in the convoy. A German High Command communique today claims that the German Air Force last night sank three freighters, totalling 21,000 tons out of a strongly protected convoy south-east of Yarmouth, whereas in fact no ship was sunk and the ship damaged was under 3000 tons.”