NAVY AT WORK IN TRIPOLI

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 13056, 26 January 1943, Page 5

NAVY AT WORK IN TRIPOLI

USE AS ADVANCED STRIKING BASE

Commander's Tribute To Submarines Defeat of Axis Sea Supply Lines London, Jan. 25. The Royal Navy is already busy clearing up the harbour at Tripoli. Admiral Sir Henry Harwood, Com-mander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean, told correspondents that Triopli was being prepared as an advanced naval striking base. He spoke of the work entailed in freeing the entrance of the harbour which was blocked by wrecks. Men of the Royal Navy were now busy blowing up the scattered hulks.

Admiral Harwood made special reference to the amazing work done by British submarines which had, he said, sunk 1,000,000 tons of Axis shipping in the Mediterranean. The one millionth ton had gone down just as our forces were entering Tripoli. These figures did not include enemy ships sunk by our planes and surface vessels.

Our submarines had played a large part in defeating the enemy and all units of the navy had done their job with speed and precision. The navy had also, concluded Admiral Harwood, been responsible for conveying hundreds of tons of supplies and its co-operation with the R.A.F. had been perfect. An Admiralty communique gives details of further successes by our submarines against Axis ships in the Mediterranean.

Several more ships of various sizes have been either sunk or hadly damaged at different points in the western Mediterranean. Five ships were sunk, one probably sunk and another was beached.