SEA AND AIR BATTLE

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXX, Issue 13670, 18 June 1942, Page 5

SEA AND AIR BATTLE

mediterranean ACTION Dogfights Over Malta Sect Hit On Battleship London, June 17. The big sea and air battle in the 1 iditerranean commenced when a | slighter found a Junkers SS at- . Sing a convoy on Sunday evening. During the battle several hundred ■lies were made from Malta by our i'fires and at least 14 Axis planes ;re shot down. Our planes also ito protect the convoy from the tacks of Axis naval forces when it ■;s passing through the Sicilian innel. These forces consisted of o Italian battleships and four defers. A direct hit was obtained : the leading battleship. We lost eight planes, but the pilots :five of them were saved. The Admiralty has, as yet, not red details of our naval losses. According to reports received in ockholm from Italian journalists : Berlin, the entire Italian battle -t sailed from Taranto seeking a ■;isive Mediterranean battle with ; British fleet. They say that Brit- - striking power has been recently merely reduced, presenting an opaunity for the Italian fleet to deal ;:; iish sea power a smashing blow. The Rome radio claims that over Allied ships were bit, some of ; -ch were sunk. The success eerily was not achieved without sac'fe - Each convoy consisted of _° ul "0 ships with urgent reinforce:iats for Libya. One was encound between the Balearics and •■dinia and the other off Sidi Barnear the Egyptian frontier. , A German communique states that ■••nan warships and planes co■’ated with the Italians in the diterranean convoy battle.