MISTS AND STORMS SAVE NAZI SHIPS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 87, 12 April 1940, Page 7

MISTS AND STORMS SAVE NAZI SHIPS.

STORY OF BATTLE.

Graphic Description By

First Lord.

BIG WARSHIPS CLASH.

British Official Wireless.

(Received 1 p m.) RUGBY, April 11. The House of Commons listened with deep attention to the details Mr. Churchill was able to give of the events since Sunday night, when, on the news that German battle-cruisers with a number of other .cruisers, vessels and destroyers were out in the North Sea, moving: northwards, the Comniander-in-Chief put to sea to bring them to action.

At the same time, independently, a strong Biiti*h naval force was approaching Narvik to lay a minefield off the Norwegian coast. It was laid according to plan at daylight on Monday morn-

Mr. ChmvliiU then told the Hoiwc of* tlie presumed loss of the Glowworm, p destroyer which hud been detained throujrh waiting to pick up a man overboard—how on proceeding to rejoin her force she first saw one enemy destroyer at S o'clock on Monday and then two, how she engaged them, how later she reported an unkno-.vn ei.emy ship before her and how her last message ended abruptly, and the Admiralty could only conclude she had been sunk by superior forces. During Monday morning it looked as 5f these enemy forces, which contained a German battle, cruiser and other important ships, would be caught between the British naval forces iu the north and the main Home Fleet, both of which were superior, but in the mists and storms the German forces got away.

On Tue?day the Fleet was cruising to the south about, the level of Bergen, when, during the afternoon, it was attacked continuously by German aircraft. The tales had l>een put out by the German wireless of several battleships and cruisere being sunk or seriously damaged.

Actually, two crullers wore slightly damaged by air missiles, but that did not interfere at all with their work, and they were still with the Fleet. One very heavy bomb hit tho flagship Rodney, but her very strong <leck armour resisted the impact successfully—a eatisfactory commentary on the structure of British men-o-war. Four officers and three men were injured.

The cruiser Aurora, which was joining the fleet* was subjected to five diving attacks, which were pressed with courage, but which all failed. The destroyer Gurkha, which was escorting Aurora, wns hit. She listed very heavily and sank after four or live hours, but all her crew except fourteen were rescued.

On the same afternoon the destroyer Zulu sank a German U-boat off the Orkneys. Scharnhorst Engaged. > Meanwhile, far to the north, off Narvik, at daybreak today, the Renown perceived the SHiarnhoist'and a 10,000ton Hipper-class cruiser, which had evidently gone up with the German force just before. After an exchange of fire at 18,000 yards the Renown observed hits forward on the superstructure of the German batt!e-crui<ser.

Thereafter her whole armoury stopped firing, but later, after having turned, she bejraii tiring under local control. The speed which the battle-cruiser maintained was very great, and the Renown had to push to 24 knots through very heavy seas which were breaking over her forward gun turrets, and, after a further two minutes of firing, a vertical column of smoke from what they called a possible second hit was observed in the Scharnhorst, which then turned away and fled at high speed, without hampering herself by further tiring. Mr. Churrhil! related that an unexplnded shell passed through the Renown about water level, and another carried away her main aerial, but there v.ere no casualties.

The First Lord then reported on the attack on Narvik, announced hy Mr Chamberlain yesterday. He added the information that from all they heard at the Admiralty late on Tuesday ni"ht they thought the operation so "hazardous that at 1 o'clock they told the captain of the destroyer .flotilla that he must be the sole judge whether to attack. Captain Wafiburton Lee attacked.

"In the beginning all they told us was what they had lost. They" said nothing more, and I let it go out because I do not think we want to have any kind of mealy mouth to the public. Therefore I put .it out, although there wae nothing to relieve it.

"The moment we get any news—be it bad or good—once we can rely upon it we shall present it to Parliament, to be broadcast and to the Press. lam all for propaganda and publi? : ty, but the beet propaganda is results, and I must eay these are coming to hand in no unsatisfactory manner.

Reverting to the Renown's action Mr. Churchill said: "A ten-tlioueand ton cruieer of the Hipper class now tried to cross the Scharnhorst. This, ship and the Gneisenau are Germany's most modern and most formidable * vessels. The Hipper then threw a smoke screen to cover the Seharnhorst. and the Renown opened fire upon the Hipper, which turned away, and both ships retired at high speed, the Hipper dodging the fire, which became intermittent. In the end they succeeded in getting away, and firing ceased at 29.000 yarde, when they became invisible.