TRIUMPH'S TRIUMPH.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 70, 23 March 1915, Page 9

TRIUMPH'S TRIUMPH.

GREAT WORK IN DARDANELLES

EECORD IX SHELL-FIRING,

LONDON. March 16. The "Daily Mail's" correspondent has '■, furnished th c firet detailed description of ~"tfie operations at the Dardanelles.

He praises the splendid conduct of E.M.S. Triumph, which came from Tsing- ' to taxe part in the attack on the , forte. "We first observed her with a shell-hole through her funnel," the correspondent writes, "and the muzzles of her 14 7.5 guns stained and blackened with much firing. She steamed out, sig- < nailing to a big collier which came alongiide and proceeded to coal her.

"It was a breather for the Triumph, : which has had more fighting than any vessel of the British Fleet. She has fired more heavy shells than any other ship in the history Of the British ' JTavy. She hae been in action seventeen • times. "I wish a few millions of the British taxpayers could have spent a couple of .ioirrs among those coal-grimed Jack Tars. They would then have appreciated the splendid reality of the Navy tad its unquestionable courage and efficiency. "The Triumph first took part in the ettack on the Dardanelles on February , 17. The destroyers made dashes to • -within 1,000 yards of the batteries at , the entrance, but the TuTks did not fire. ■ Then H-M-s. Albion commenced the bom- : hardment, and quickly destroyed a bat*tery. "The Triumph then opened a slow, deliberate and indirect fire with her 10-inch guns, at 7.700 yards, while the Queen Elizabeth, lying further off. sent in 15----inch shells. 'But the enemy did not reply. FEELDWORES DAMAGED. ■ Waterplanes returntng to : the Ark Royal reported that one battery could not be discovered, but that trenches and iarbed wir e entanglements to oppose the landing of the troops could be seen, and that there were also troops on the top of the cliffs. " During the afternoon the Triumph reconnoitred the shore northward of Cape 'Hellas, firing into and greatly damaging the trenches and field-tvorks. She fleet prese nteddaladwp( moayn rejoined the other vessels, "and the ■Fleet presented a majestic eight. The French ships were maintaining b furious fire against the ports on the Asiatic side. The Vengeance and Cornwallis steamed up and down, firing salvos at the forts on the European side. The latter proved a tough nut to crack. A glorious sunset flaming across the sky behind the ships, and the blaze of the gunfire showing out over the smooth water and the high barren hill could not attract the eye from the great ships and their thundering guns. The scene was one of grim and unforgettable impressiveness. "Bad -weather from February 19 to February 25 compelled the fleet to confine itself to merely patrol work. "February 25 was the Triumph's big day. She pounded one of the batteries to pieces. A gunnery lieutenant, who is considered one of the most accommasters of_jhis_ craft, remarked that never before had he realised so vividly the enormous force of heavy . _. •."Thrice warships ran into the straits. The Vengeance, Cornwallis. Gaulois (French), Bouvet (French). Albion, and Triumph remained in the straits a distance of 3,000 yards from the entrance under a tornado of shells for 45 minutes, picikng out and wrecking gu-n after gun, ■which, it is believed, were manned by Germans, because they were co well laid.

"H.M.s. Albion and H.M.s. Triumph opened fire against Fort Dardanus, and were soon under hearv fire and deluged with a spray of shells falling around them. Two shells fell on the quarterdeck of the Triumph, and a third bruised her armour-plating. A shell buret in the captain's cabin, and another fell in the jtunroom. ' "At nightfall a paTty landed, dismantled the guns and blew up the battlements.

"The Triumph has had some brisk moments since, but her crew were never more cheerful, and they always give a hurrah when they so under fire. Only once were they volubly indignant, and that was when the enemy started pumping shells in at dinner-time!"