ITALIANS ENGAGED.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 4, 16 October 1940, Page 5

ITALIANS ENGAGED.

THREE DESTROYERS SUNK.

SHARP ACTION NEAR SICILY.

MAIN FORCES FAIL TO APPEAR. H.M.S. AJAX HAS SUCCESS. (United Press Association—Copyright.) (Aeceived This Day, 1.50 p.m.) LONDON, October 15. After 4 waiting for full reports from the ships engaged, the Admiralty made public this evening the facts of tlie. recent naval actions in the Mediterranean regarding which an Italian account was put into circulation op Sunday. The communique states: “The com-mander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet reports that his Majesty’s ships under his command carried: out an extensive sweep in the eastern and central Mediterranean. No contact was made between our main forces and the main forces of the enemy,, and there was no indication that the enemy main force had proceeded to sea. “During these operations, however, H.M.S. Ajax made contact with three Italian, destroyers of 679 tons of the Airone class, about 80 miles south-east of Sicily, at 2.30 a.m. on October 12. Ajax at once engaged, and two of the Italian‘destroyers were sunk outright. Shortly after this encounter, Ajax sighted an enemy force comprised of one heavy cruiser and four destroyers. Ajax again engaged and succeeded in crippling an enemy destroyer. The remainder of the force escaped in the darkness. .

“Believing that Ajax was in touch with considerable enemy forces, H.M.S. York came up in support, but no further contact was made with the enemy that night. With the assistance of aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm, the damaged enemy destroyer was located at dawn, in the tow of another Italian destroyer, which had gallantly come to her assistance. On the arrival of Ajax the towing destroyer slipped the tow and made off at high speed toward Sicily under cover of a smoke screen. It was then ascertained that the damaged destroyer was the 1620-ton Artagliere, of the latest class of large Italian destroyers. The York soon came on the scene and the crew of the Artagliere at once began to abandon ship. Our forces allowed them half an hour for abandoning ship and then sank the enemy destroyer by gunfire. The York dropped rafts to supplement the boats and rafts for the survivors.” “A wireless message was broadcast on a commercial wave-length of an Italian station giving the position of the survivors. This was done in spite' of tho fact that such a signal comprised tho position of the British forces. The weather was fine and Sicily was at no greatdistance. The experience at the sinking of the Italian cruiser, Bartolomeo Colleoni on July 19, when our rescuing destroyers were bombed by Italian aircraft, made it impossible for our ships to take any further measures for the safety of the survivors of the Italian destroyer.

“It was known, moreover, that an Italian air concentration and an Italian submarine were in the vicinity.

“During these spirited and successful actions the Ajax had only a few casualties and the only damage suffered by the Ajax was superficial and in no way impaired her fighting efficiency. No casualties or damage were suffered by the York in these actions, in which the Italian High Command communique, while admitting the loss of two small and one large destroyers, claimed that a British cruiser, probably of the Neptune class, was sunk. .“Following on these contacts between our light forces and those of the enemy, our Fleet was attacked by enemy aircraft over a pei'iod of four hours. The Italian. High Command communique claimed that one of our aircraft carriers and one of our heavy cruisers suffered damage as a result of these attacks. In fact, none of our ships suffered either damage or casualties, while four enemy aircraft were certainly shot down by fighters of tho Fleet Air Arm and the anti-aircraft fire of our ships, and two more were probably destroyed. All our aircraft returned safely.

“On the night of October. 13 aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm attacked the port of Lago, in the ' Dodecanese Islands, achieving a complete surprise. Barracks, workshops, hangars and a petrol tank were hit and set on fire. From this attack all our aircraft returned safely.”