ADVENTUROUS DAYS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 July 1942, Page 3

ADVENTUROUS DAYS

NEW ZEALAND IN FLEET AIR ARM RAIDS ON ITALIAN WARSHIPS & CONVOYS. THE MEDITERRANEAN (HUNT. (Special P.A. Correspondent.) LONDON, June 14. Three New Zealanders serving in the Fleet Air Arm hit by torpedo between them one Italian Bin. cruiser, one Italian destroyer and three merchantmen carrying supplies to FieldMarshal Rommel during their six months’ stay in Malta. They are Lieutenant H. T. Hawken, Wellington, and Sub-Lieutenants C. D. Jacobsen, Wellington, and J. A. Cramp, Hamilton, all members of the R.N.V.R. All. are now on leave in London. Cramp had the distinction of leading a flight of four Albacores against the Italian Fleet attacking a Malta-bound convoy from Gibraltar on June 15. They did not expect to return from the flight. Cramp said: “We stayed up most of the night, but started the flight at 7 a.m. on a perfect, sunny day. We sighted two Italian cruisers of the Bin. Trento class, four destroyers and many motor-boats. After flying for two hours, we dived on them out of the sun, to be greeted by a wall of flak. I released a torpedo at one cruiser from a range of 1000 yards. Our commanding officer, a lieutenant commander of the Royal Navy, who was acting as my observer, saw it hit the cruiser aftmidships, causing an explosion and a cloud of smoke. “We had orders to clear out as soon as possible, so made off for the base, skimming the waves. The other Albacores also had hits, for which they claimed one certainty and two probables.”

MOONLIGHT & FLARES. Once Cramp and Jacobsen flew for four hours seeking a convoy which turned out to be two destroyers and two merchantmen. Cramp said: “It had been full moonlight, but the moon had sunk by the time we found the ships. Jacobsen flew over them and dropped flares so I could attack. I saw the ships silhouetted in the path of the flares and dropped a torpedo from 500 yards. It hit a merchantman. Jacobsen could not see much because of the flares, but I saw the flash of the explosion, for which reason I claimed a probable. “Another time we sent out a flight of four seeking a merchantman leaving a Sicilian harbour with supplies for Rommel. We got him. Hawken scored a hit on his very first operational flight.

“Four of us flew for two hours through dirty weather and finally saw a 7000-ton ship in the path of the moon —we did most of our flying at night —about 20 miles from the African coast. I attacked first, after which an explosion followed, lighting up the entire aircraft, but I could not hear anything above the engine. The other boys also scored a hit, with the result that the ship w’as beached. “I did not carry torpedoes much after that flight, my role being that of spotter—but I had one or two unpleasant moments, one when my engine nearly packed up over Tripoli, and another while flying low when a Junkers 88 chased me and dropped bombs which landed in the sea a quarter of a mile away.

TANKER BLOWN UP. “Jacobsen hit a destroyer when it was convoying a tanker. He said: “I was the last out of three to attack and saw the tanker blow up in flames, so attacked the destroyer, which I saw plainly in the light of the flames and the moon. My observer also spotted the destroyer and saw it hit.” Jacobsen had an unpleasant flight when his engine began to fail 60 miles from Malta. It kept cutting out, with the result that he had to jettison a torpedo and returned to the base an hour and three-quarters later. He was about to land when the engine finally cut out 300 ft. above the aerodrome. The plane crashed in flames, but both Jacobsen and the observer got out safely.

GALLANT MALTA. New Zealanders who were there when Malta was awarded the George Cross expressed very great admiration for the Maltese in the way they stood up to the bombing. The Germans at one period made three heavy raids daily —at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and just before dark. At another period, some six bombers arrived hourly, and later 100 bombers came at regular intervals, attacking the Grand Harbour and aerodromes. ‘ Hawken was once sun-bathing in a slit trench when a bomb fell 20 yards away, causing a crater 45ft. wide and 25ft. deep. Hawken said: “Malta’s barrage is terrific. You cannot imagine what it looks like. There are ack-acks everywhere.’ They put up a box barrage, causing a solid mass of black smoke where the shells are bursting.’ You could see the Germans flying into the masses and then dribbling down in bits. After a raid, a cloud of smoke would gradually drift away to sea.” The New Zealanders found food fairly scarce. They all lost at least a stone in weight during their stay. They observed that Malta had a “thriving black market for food.”