THRILLING SEA BATTLE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 87, 21 February 1941, Page 2

THRILLING SEA BATTLE

An Eye-Witness At Sardinia The work of the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean, such as the attack on Genoa, has since overshadowed the sea battle off Sardinia on November 30, but one of the best eye-witness accounts of sea warfare was that written by the correspondent of the London "Observer" on board a British cruiser on that occasion

electrifying news came from the Ark Royal’s aircraft that a large force of Italian ships had been sighted steaming south-east twenty miles off the south coast of Sardinia and seventy miles away from our position. At this time our main fighting force consisted of cruisers and the battlecruiser Renown with her formidable armament of six 15-inch guns. At full speed ahead we steamed eastward to contact the remainder of our forces, which included a battleship and destroyers. "Hoist Battle Pennants" came the ‘signal from the flagship, the Renown, and a few seconds later the silken ensigns floated proudly from the masts right down our battle lines as we smashed ahead to engage the enemy force. | T was ten in the morning when the Enemy Turns Back It was a perfect day with a brilliant sun and a sky speckled with faint wisps of white cloud, and I found it difficult to realise we were about to plunge into the hell of a naval action. Ploughing along astern of us came the capital ships, while the destroyers were ahead. Smoke fouling the sunlit horizon told us we were nearing the Italian ships, who had apparently turned on their original course, and were steaming back towards Cagliari, Sardinia. We pushed forward at high speed in an endeavour to cut them off. I could feel the tremendous wave of excitement which flowed through the .ship, as-just after noon, the masts of the enemy ships came within vision of the naked eye ahead and slightly to starboard. Breathless seconds passed and then other ominous shapes looked up, the sun reflecting dully on their hulls. They were fifteen miles away. Spurt of Flame Puffs of black smoke appeared in the sky above them as their anti-air-craft fire peppered the torpedo bombers who had taken off from the aircraft carrier to make a preliminary attack, Rapidly the distance narrowed. I glanced astern and saw the battle cruiser well up with us, but the pace was too hot for the battleship, in spite of miracles worked in her engine-room. Although making her best speed, she was too far away to take an effective part in the subsequent engagement, thus giving the enemy a marked superiority. The enemy opened fire first. From my perch on the after bridge I saw at 12.22 an evil spurt of flame come from amid the faint shapes of the enemy craft, and long seconds afterwards water spouts spumed into the air well short of the cruisers in the centre of the line. Dull booms penetrated through the cotton wool stuffed in my ears, and two ; minutes later I saw clouds of orangy smoke billowing from the turrets of two of our cruisers. vate

Suddenly the iron deck beneath my feet seemed to jump, and the whole ship shuddered as the guns of the fore turrets, with a deafening colossal roar, sent shells screeching over the 20,000 yards of water separating us from our foes. The whole cruiser squadron was now in action, and writhing coils of smoke, which almost hid the ships, were diamonded eerily with red flame as their guns sent salvoes roaring over towards the enemy. Gun flashes stabbed out from the Italian squadrons, which were now steaming on the port side on a parallel course to us. Shells plunged into the sea around the cruisers, kicking up vicious columns of water. Barely 30 feet away, below the after bridge, the muzzles of six guns were elevated to their extreme range to pound the Italians, Italian Ship Ablaze We were concentrating our fire on an enemy cruiser, When it was reported that the cruiser was on fire, we concentrated our salvoes on another cruiser for the remainder of the action. They were obviously drawing away before the smoke screen. When for blessed seconds the inferno of our fire ceased, I heard the dull boom of the battle-cruiser’s guns, and could see the vivid flashes of her 15-inch broadsides, The Italian battleships appeared to be firing at the cruiser Berwick. I noticed no shells falling round the battle-cruiser astern, although her guns were still firing. By this time, the Italian Fleet had nearly disappeared over the horizon, running for the shelter of the shore batteries. Our ships were then within a few miles of the enemy coast, and were forced to abandon the pursuit, as the superior speed of the enemy ships had taken them out of range.