The Bay of Plenty Times WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17th, 1942 AXIS WORSTED IN SEA BATTLES

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXX, Issue 13669, 17 June 1942, Page 2

The Bay of Plenty Times WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17th, 1942 AXIS WORSTED IN SEA BATTLES

Germany. Italy and Japan have suffered severely in sea battles with Britain and the United States, and most of these battles have been outstanding’ and memorable. The first noteworthy encounter was between the British and Germans off the coast of I ruguay, when the Graf Spec was battered by the Exeter carrying 8-ineh guns and the light cruisers. Ajax and Achilles, carrying 0-inch guns. The Graf Spee was forced into Montevideo, and when obliged by international rules to leave port, was taken out and scuttled. It was a great fight and another added to the long list of naval engagements won by the British. Navy. Another remarkable naval episode that stands to the credit of the British is the battle of destroyers fought at Narvik in? Norway. A numerically weaker British flotilla attacked the German destroyers in the port and sunk or seriously damaged most of them. It was a daring adventure, but it was one characteristic of the British Navy. 1 hen there was the chase and eventual sinking of the battleship Bismarck, and the rough handling meted out to the pocket battleships Gneisenau and •Scharnhorst. These are just the outstanding incidents. There have been many minor affairs in which the Germans suffered severe loss. AVe have not been told how the Germans have managed with their submarines, but the losses of this class of vessel must have been very large.

When Italy entered the war she had a powerful navy in the Mediterranean, much superior in strength to the British Fleet in those waters, and Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham had to be very -watchful. The Fleet Air Arm helped to even up things a bit by torpedoing several capital ships in Taranto. The Italian Navy was reduced in strength by the successful attacks of British submarines and aircraft. In practically every convoy in which Italian ships were engaged, the latter were badly mauled. The Battle of Matapan, which was a glorious victory for the British Navy, took much of the sting from the Italian Navy, the navy which which Signor Mussolini hoped to make the Mediterranean an Italian Lake and the centre of a vast Roman Empire. The Japanese Navy held undisputed command over the Pacific until cpiite recently. This superiority on the sea, together with the command of the air, has enabled the Japanese to accomplish a good deal, but now the swing of the pendulum is the other way. The American Navy is dealing with the Japanese in no uncertain way. The battle in the Coral Sea was a definite defeat for the Japanese. Satisfactory and encouraging as was the result of the Coral Sea Battle,_the Midway Island Battle was more so. In this latter engagement the Japanese were soundly defeated and must have lost the greater number of their vessels. That it was a crushing defeat of the Japanese is proved by the fact that they bolted from the scene of action under cover of darkness. Japan’s navy is no longer formidable, and her air strength will soon be equalled, if not .surpassed, by the Allies. When the Allies launch an offensive it will be a bad day for Japan.