HOW THE LADYBIRD FOUGHT LAST FIGHT

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 138, 13 June 1941, Page 7

HOW THE LADYBIRD FOUGHT LAST FIGHT

RINGED WITH FIRE JVouncle.i Helped To Feed Guns In Tobruk Epic Tnifcrt i' r- --• \-"-r;ation.— Copyright. }ec. 1-30 p.m. I.(.'NOON, June 12. The H: ' i ."unboat Ladybird, amed | " l,r ! ,;| rt i" 'be incident at Shanghai w'"--;- Japanese planes atacked and • m k the American riverjoat Pain. 1 , ■ 1 m 11 has tirelessly jattercrl tin- ccir.y on the Libyan •oast, foutilu. until the last of her juns slipped below the waters of fobruk hat t >: tr. Forty-sc\i'ii dice-bombers- attaeked ier and oilier objectives for over an lour. -V bomb exploded aft and mother cut ;<• the boiler-room and he bow v,as lifted out of the water.

Flames ami smoke ringed the ship. Jailors and gmmers shouted to the lommander: "Carry on, Sir, please." The commander, a Yorkshircman, japtain Blackburn, said it was one >f the mo.-l magnificent displays of lcvotion to dmy be had ever seen. Six near mioses shook the gunboat, n addition lo two hits in the maga:ine. The ship was likely to blow up at my moment, but men dashed into [he inferno raging in the boilerroom to re cur disabled comrades, ivhile the guns were kept liring with the injured helping to pass up the ammunition. Rescue boats arrived from the shore just as the gunboat claimed a second victim from among the swarm of raiders. Commander Blackburn estimated the casualties were four killed and 11 wounded. An Admiralty communique, quoted by British Official Wireless message, says: "The Board of Admiralty regrets to announce that H.M.S. Terror and Ladybird were lost as the result of enemy action during operations off the Libyan coast. Terror was a monitor of 7200 tons, built in 191f>. and Ladybird was a river gunboat, of G25 tons, built in 1915." Terror's Great Fight. An Alexandria message says a squadron of German dive-bombers swooped on Terror at dusk and dropped 5001b bombs. Terror's guns nut up such a terrific barrage that the bombs missed, but the blast and near misses caused Terror to crumble amidships. Gunners continued to fire, forcing the planes to sheer off, but Terror rapidly broke to pieces. The captain ordered the ship to be abandoned. Only one member of the crew was seriously wounded. A warship picked up the remainder. Terror's hulk was later sunk by gunfire.