Where Were The Italians?

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 245, 15 October 1940, Page 6

Where Were The Italians?

WHITE ENSIGN.

MIDDLE SEA FLEET.

BIG REINFORCEMENTS.

A LIVELY BOMBING ATTACK. (By JAMES ALDRIDGE.) (With British Fleet at sea, via Alexandria.) EGYPT, September 6. For more than a week I have been at sea aboard a British Mediterranean warship successfully crossing the Mediterranean to meet an escort of new naval reinforcement ships for the ieditcrranean Fleet. In a cruiser attached to a battle squadron, besides meeting reinforcements, we were part of | the fleet which, in six days, sailed south I around Sicily, made three trips through the supposedly Italian-controlled Aegean Sea, escorted a merchant convoy ami finally bombed Italian air bases in the Dodecanese Islands. All this was performed without meeting the Italian Fleet or a single craft. The only Italian reply consisted of repeated and unsuccessful bombing attacks, including first a dive-bombing attack. But all were unsuccessful. Only once was the Italian Fleet sighted—just off Italy—by our reconnaissance aeroplane, but as soon as we started steaming toward them tliey scuttled back to their harbour. Under cover of darkness, we sneaked through the Kaso Strait, which is thick with Italian submarines, motor and torpedo boats, but none came to meet us. At the "first degree action station" guns were ready, men handling depth charges . were alert and wearing tin hats. We passed through the channel and steamed north of Crete to the coast of Greece and came out west of Crete to meet other ships, which took a coursc south of Crete. The next day we were in full range of Italian bombers and, if as the Italians claim, they controlled the Aegean, we also were in full range of their fleet.

Italians Torn For Home. j While we were steaming in grand I formation north of Malta a report came I from a reconnaissance plane that the j Italian Fleet had been sighted off the east Italian coast a few miles up. ,We were detailed by the Admiral to go chase it. The bugles blew; the bo'suns' whistles piped; all t'lie crcws were at their gun*, and we started off. But when we got up there a plane reported the fleet had returned to the shore on sighting us. We wanted to know how they had sighted tie. Then again we saw an Italian Cant reconnaissance plane astern. Again the fighters chased it. This time I saw the Cant fire back at our plane, but in two bursts of fire a British plane seat the Cant streaming in a cloud of amoks across the sky; then it dropped into the sea. Our planes circled slowly around it and then returned. Later in the day we contacted for the first time a reinforcement of ships from England. They had just bombed Italian ooast towns and military objectivea; and as we signed them we flocked to the sido of the cruiser to watch. Gradually tin ships came clearly into view. I am allowed to say that nobody is happier t/lian the existing fleet to see these new ships. They're big ships, comparatively new. When we joined them in formation it was astonishing to see so many ships. Everywhere you looked you could see ships. Destroyers racing* in and out, or aircraft overhead, and I can mention that with the arrivals came a fleet of planes which within two hours shot down two Italian planes. Never Have I Seen So Many Ships. Xever have I seen so many ships, and after steaming around looking for the Italian Xavy everybody is saying, "Where's this Italian Xavy? Where are Mussolini's rowboats? If we could only meet them!" It was hopeless, and flic suri set across the Mediterranean on the British ships and British ships only.

At night wc left the main fleet to steam ahead and cover it. We were on the lookout for Italian subs with destroyers especially fitted to detect them, but none was sighted. Early the next morning we saw Italian shadowcrs. These shadowcrs are patrol 'planes, which the Italian* keep flying around tlio coast of Crete. On seeing the British Fleet they fly away behind it and out of range of the "Acac" guns. But they keep it in sight and report it to their home base by wireless. Then the immbciv come out. We met some Italian bombers about II o'clock; but just before they came I watched the crack British fighters go up and casually shoot down some Italian aircraft and return to the ship. Then a flight of three Italian 'planes came over. Flying at an altitude of about 8000 ft they were silver dots in a silver sky. Coming from the direction of the sun they flew over us and dropped heavy bombs. I Watched those bombs coming down and ducked as they landed 100 yards •way in a great curtain of spray. The Italians dropped their bombs hastily and carelessly as about six ships, including ourselves, opened fire with anti-aircraft guns. The noise was terrificj the ikv window, and the antiaircraft shells burst all around the planet. Stood Waiting to be rm+fl. wl 4^ tr * couple of hours of peace, which gave us a chance to eat lunch, I e " k , U P "B» ,n on the admiral's bridge just in time to witness Italy's first divebombing attack. I heard the noise of their engines first and wondered why no alarm had been sounded. But suddown nTh i5 Mt ° th ® BUn ' an<i hurtling down on the ship came the dive-bombed -7T' *, threc — tllc . v dropped a stick of bombs and flew low along the firing To C ° f , tl,e shi P« Jmns'were & tho TmolT' -""Pl*"* attacked' by W S h°l" vel ?'"* c l lt l „ waa T l , hc "dmiral who shouted, •bombs. I looked straight up, and high above the ship, flying in the same direction were five Italian bombers. This time I nv bombs leave the 'planes, and it seemed the bombs were fulling right on top of us. Ten. eleven, fifteen, twenty—they go too fast for tic human eye to sec them.

I stood waiting to be killed, too frightened to lie down because vou always want to sec death. But ax "the terrific burst of bomb* landed off the port aide the captain relied orders to wing the ship. I couldn't otand up under the explosion of the liomlit and the ship's anti-aircraft fire, which was more frightening than the bombs. I wag blown flat, scraping my head on tlio viewAnder and denting my tin lint. The planes disappeared, but a quarter of an hour later they returned. This time I didn't sec them. The first thin? I knew a boy messenger was on the bridge cocking hU head, then yelling. "Bombs! Mil|ion« of them!" I couldn't see. only could licar a. noise like an express train letting out ft cam, and j a rushing sound came nearer. Evcrylx>dy flew in a mass heap under a. splinter-proof covering as bombs flew all around us. Ack-ack crews opened fire. Again the sky was thick with white bursts of smoke and splinters from Ack-ack shells whining off the deck as they came down. Heavy Shall Gets Them. Then a surprising thing happened. A big gun, which normally is used only for lighting naval vessels, was elevated and then fired with a tremendous roar. Through the yellow smoke 1 saw a great flash in the sky among the white bursts. It was a large calibre shell bursting. An Italian planq rocked violently. The planes must have been peppered with shrapnel. One lagged behind, gradually sank lower, and Anally hit the waters below. This was the first time such a large gun had been used against aircraft, and it certainly was effective. By now we were returning. We picked up a convoy of merchant ahips from Oeece. Once again—for we steamed from west to east, then back to the west end of the Aegean Sea—we picked up the convoy and stood by while the other main fleet sailed to the Dodecanese 'wise, successfully shelled Scarpento. the suns of the cruisers and destroyers demolishing part.* of the barracks "and airports while we covered them and at the j-anie time cscortcd the merchant convoy. While the fleet returned to Alexandria wo steamed up and down under Premier Mussolini's nose, escorting the same slow merchant convoy.—X.A.X.A.