ABSURD' CLAIMS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 70, 23 March 1940, Page 5

ABSURD' CLAIMS.

NAZI AIR ATTACKS.

" Nine British Merchantmen And Warships." NEUTRAL VESSELS SUFFER. United Press Association.—Copyright. LOXDOX, March 22. Following a raid by German aircraft, on a. shipping convoy off iScapa Flow on Wednesday, in which three neutral ships were damaged, and the sinking of four other neutrals by submarine or mine, intense air activity was reported oil' the south coast of England during Wednesday night. German aeroplanes appeared near the coast and British lighters and reconnaissance machines were observed Hying over the coast to the sea. British lighter patrols were active along it wide .stretch of the coast.

One enemy aeroplane was seen over the Shollands. Another aeroplane, believed to have been a German bomber, appeared over the south-east coast on Wednesday night and dropped a number of (hires. It also bred what appeared to lie Vcrcy lights.

A German aeroplane bombed a British vessel oH the south coast on Wednesday night, and four of the complement were killed. One (lied later. The dead include the cbier officer, the third olllcer and the chief engineer.

A communique issued in Berlin cluiiiis that (iprmnn aircraft operating oft" Scupa Flow on Wednesday sank nine Hriii.-h nierehnntmcii and warships, totalling 42,000 Ions: damaged two merchant ships, totalling 11,000 Ions; and shot down one British aeroplane. They also attacked armed merchantmen in the English Channel. One German aeroplane failed to return. Admiralty's Report. Referring lo (lie incident, a British Admiralty communique staled that three small neutral ships were slightly damaged ill a German raid on a convoy. His Majesty's .-hips and aircraft were not damaged.

The escorting! warships and naval and Coastal Command aeroplanes engaged the enemy. Two naval aeroplanes on one occasion dispersed 10 Heinkel bombers.

One Tleinkel was damaged by antiaircraft fire from the escorting warships, said the cnminunir)ue, and several others were hit by lire from the two naval aeroplanes.

The neutral ships damaged were the Norwegian steamer Svinta. of 1207 tons. which was abandoned and her crew rescued; the Swedish steamer L'tklippan. of 1.-.fin tons, which was hit by an incendiary bomb.

It was later learned that the Norwegian vessel Failing Lindoe, of 12S1 tons, suffered damage

Ollicinl circles say that Nazi airmen have not sunk a single ship in convov during the war. In spite of repeated fantastic claims by the Hermans, (he total damage done' to British warships as a result of air nttacks is as follows:—

The Mohawk, damaged liv splinters on OctobeT 10; tin; Iron Duke, damaged by a bomb on October 10: one cruiser. which suffered vcrv slight snperfieial damage by a bomb, which did not explode, on October l(i: and one warship, which is not a capital .-hip. which was slightly dnniagNl by n bomb in Sea pa Flow on March 10. * Convoy Not Scattered. An Admiralty cominunhjue. commenting on the.German claim to have sunk warships and merchantmen fntnllili" 42,000 ton*, says the facts are that the convoy, which consisted almost cnlirelv of neutral ships, was hot dispersed, and is proceeding safely upon its voyage, says a Uritish oflicial wireless message. None of the escorting warships was hit or damaged, and no ship was sunk.

The raiders were driven oil", one nf Hie Gormnn aeroplanes being destroyed mid others hit.

In addition to the three neutral merchantmen already announced as damaged, the British steamship Northern Coast (1211 tons) and the Norwegian steamer Karling Lindoc (1281 tons) reported on arrival in harbour that they had suffered damage.

The British ship Bnrnliill (.->-l3!) tons), which was unarmed and not in the convoy, was set on lire by an incendiary bomb, but the fire was extinguished and the ship is now in (safely.

Thus the German ninim that -12.000 tons of shipping were sunk is 42.(11)0 tons in excess of Die actual facts. This considerable error is, perhaps, due to the agitated mentality canned by the raid on Sylt, tor which agitation every allowance should be made.

The German statement that 11,000 tons of shipping was damaged is not so far out—the actual ligure being 11,318 tons—the Danish steamers Viking and Bothal being torpedoed or mined in Scottish waters.

Xazi wrath was thus vented almost entirely upon neutrals, who. being unarmed, present a peculiar temptation to Nazi prowess when out of convoy.

The experience so far gained in the present war in no way justifies the predictions that air power would prove a decisive factor at sea. The. onlv air attacks; which have yielded the slightest success to the German air force have been attacks on defenceless merchantmen sailing independently, fishing vessels, lightships and lightship tenders. Even so, the losses due to air attack have been exceedingly small in proportion to the effort expended.