ENEMY SCATTERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 76, 31 March 1941, Page 7

ENEMY SCATTERS.

PLANES IN ATTACK. ,large Italian Forces Were Engaged. ' i British Official Wireless. RUGBY, Mar. 30. The Italian navy has been forced to.tttibn.hjr the British Mediter™j*»n Fleet, and .appears to have «erw severe losses, said an earlier ** Admiralty communique states: "It •PPWsthat on Friday our naval forces PiAdmiral Sir Andrew Cunningham &§Bj Italian forces consisting of wUeibing, cruisers and destroyers. The J**? wee scattered, but some units m ken brought to action, and it '{!!*« that'so far at least one battlem«t the Littorio class has been dainW sud two enemy cruisers very ■wwiy damaged. «"U«jl aircraft and units of the Force carried out attacks, the t'fflji of which are not known. Greek *•»'o«es are taking part in these

*j.later Admiralty communique '.*«*« "Further information about the fiction ,is not yet available, but Italian survivors were |3|gS this morning by our aircraft, J* « may therefore be assumed that ifflk?' 0M Ica,ian ship has been -', tiA.F. Communique. cloeely on the Admiralty |§gtt& Royal Air Force headIgffi■"»'.the Middle East issued a - Which described widespread ' %fc£s from southern Ital y t0 PUS? Se *» including heavy attacks on I 'STS. Ps in the lonian Sea - In (o*^ 01 the lonian Sea activities, tho •foTC I l 88y8: " A lar ß e formation * (*&*s f made a heav '7 and euc " imj,, ,r ack on enemy warships in the Pi§p&* Wo warships and one of ft. „* ere hit b y heavy bombs. One "*y e iu Ul9erß sto Pped, emitting black ! fifli";* "TO 01 ". A number of bombs l ff.7* the enemy s hjps." * fcSV° mm,lnlc l ue ' Ba y s: "Italian ; "ikri throughout yesterday \ m&y* n t 3 ~ envoys, naval formaF*m* anchored B U 'P9 in the Aegean *! Ift? nS 0f torpedoes and bombs. and two ! Stetd "T" one cn » sc r must be l^wSa*! ' Somi small merchant *««*t Z -JP"!? Nyny hit ' and one of them ! .;" <m fire.'' ; Lord Speaks. ?•«» the B rightfln war ! HtitJr '.. the First Lord of the s 01164 the Mediterranean ' &C .fomenting on the fact Italian Nay y nad **en ImpHMr. Alexander emphai -iw » vas alw *y* the "Of the Royal Navy.

The First Lord referred to the damage to one Littorio-class battleship and to two cruisers and added, "Maybe they are sunk." Speaking of the enemy's lighter craft, he said, "I do not think there is much left of the destroyers."

When Italy entered the war she possessed six battleships—two of the Littorio class and four of the Cavour class, but two more ships of the Littorio class were under construction. One battleship of the Littorio class and two of the Cavour class were severely damaged by the Fleet Air Arm at Taranto last November. A second ship of the Littorio class was torpedoed and damaged by the Fleet Air Arm a fortnight later, and another vessel of the same class was damaged in yesterday's engagement. Thus out of a possible eight battleships c<hly three have managed to escape damage. The first two of the Littorio battleships—the Littorio and Vittorio Veneto —were completed last year. They have a displacement of 35,000 tons and are armed with nine loin and 12 Gin guns, and 12 3.5 in anti-aircraft guns. They have a speed of 31 knots and a complement of 1600 officers and men.