HIT AND RUN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 172, 22 July 1940, Page 7

HIT AND RUN.

ITALIAN TACTICS. Graphic Stories By Officers Of H.M.A.S. Sydney. DOMINION NAVIES' VICTORIES. United Press Association. —Copyright. (Received noon.) LOXDOX, July 21. "The Times," in a leading article on H.M.A.S. Sydney's triumph, points out that it is symbolic of the British Empire that two actions in which Dominion men-of-war have covered themselves with glory should have been fought thousands of miles from the shores of the Dominions concerned.

The Achilles,, at the River Plate, was the width of the Pacific Ocean from New Zealand, and the Sydney, in the Mediterranean, was 6000 miles from the nearest part of Australia,

Officers of the Sydney, on the ship's return to Alexandria, described the Italians' hit-and-run tactics and the risks British officers and seamen took in order to save the lives of Italian sailors. One of the Sydney's officers said: "We sighted two Italian cruisers and immediately opened fire. One made off, hut the Bartolomeo Colleoni stayed long enough to answer. She fired sporadically, but hit nothing, and then continued her attempt to escape, relying on her superior speed, but we were too close to let her succeed." Cruiser Hit In Boiler-Room. Another officer said: "One of our shells hit the cruiser's boiler-room. We continued shelling her, and then launched torpedoes, one of which hit her squarely a midships and etarted the cruiser on her way to the bottom. The other struck abreast of a magazine and her ammunition began shooting up like a Guy Fawkes display. That was the end of her.

"The Italian commander ordered his crew to abandon ship. We immediately started to rescue the survivors. Every Italian on board leapt into the water, and while our destroyers were busy picking up about 500 men, Italian bomber* arrived and loosed everything they had.

"Bombs dropped all round the ships and fell in the wat.T near the struggling Italians, but we carried on. The bombing continued all day until nightfall." It is officially admitted in Rome that the Bartolomeo Colleoni was sunk by the British cruiser Sydney. Distorted Italian Version. The Rome communique says: "Around the island of Candia a battle took place for three hours yesterday, after dawn, between the Italian light cruisers iovanni Delle Bande Nere and Bartolomoo Colleoni, of 5000 tons each, against British units, comprising two cruisers of 7000 tons, of the H.M.A.S. Sydney type, and four destroyers. "Notwithstanding- the great superiority of the -enemy forces, our cruisers engaged in battle, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. The Bartolomeo Colleoni was hit in a vital spot and sank, fighting fiercely. The majority of the crew are believed to have been saved "Italian bombing units reached she enemy naval forces and repeatedly bombed them, scoring various hits on the cruisers. One enemy ship sank in flames. All our aeroplanes returned to their bases." It is. authoritatively stated in London that the Italian official communique's claim that two cruisers of the Sydney class were engaged in the battle is false. Only the Sydney was present, with destroyers. As far as is known, the Sydney was not hit by bombs. The Italian claim that a British ship was sunk in flames is also untrue.