LANDING AT BOUGIE

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23799, 19 November 1942, Page 5

LANDING AT BOUGIE

INCESSANT AXIS AIR ATTACK (8.0. W.) , RUGBY, Nov. 17. A correspondent aboard a troopship describes the successful landing of the British Ist Army at Bougie at dawn on November 11. "For 24 hours the convoy was incessantly attacked by German dive-bomb-ers," the correspondent states. “Our liner was the main target in the last all-out attack, when more than fid German dive-bombers rained 21 near misses round the ship in 65 minutes, The gun crews maintained an Unbelievable barrage. "There was no .opposition from the French authorities when our detachment landed, but within two hours of the London radio announcement that the port had been occupied three Italian bombers roared over in a highlevel attack. They were driven off by Intense anti-aircraft fire. "Then 20 or 30 Junkers dived from low clouds on to the shipping scattered about Bougie Bay. One bomb smashed through a lifeboat hanging on one of the ship's davits, and destroyed a motor landing craft alongside, the crew of this craft being killed. There were other casualties among small craft moving between the ships. At dusk, 50 Junkers, in relays of five, came over. As the raid opened, a ship put to sea, but for an hour the Junkers bombers trailed her remorselessly, hammering her with bombs and torpedoes. Hit by heavy bombs, she Mnk a short distance off shore, but not before all on board had been taken off. Three hundred were transferred to our liner. When the fierce attack ended we could see British fighters streaking out to sea after the retiring enemy. Waves of Enemy, Bombers "We returned to the bay and again •tarted to unload Army transport Vehicles. After three hours of peace the attack was renewed, with waves of three or four enemy bombers every few minutes, For an hour that fleet of at least 50 aircraft pounded at the shipping, with three-quarters of the bombs directed at us, but we were never hit. Round the decks were a small transport complement of light anti-aircraft guns and two heavier ones, manned by the Army and Navy and Dutch members of the crew. At the height of the attack I saw the ship’s barber and his assistant banging away at the diving bombers as though they had been gunners all their lives. "Time after time, at the exact moment before the Nazis released their bombs, devastating anti-aircraft fire made the reckless airmen waver, and their bombs screeched into the water anything from 15 to 100 yards from the ship, Every time the ship shuddered with the shock of nearby explosions everyone asked, ‘How long can we stand it?’ Sometimes the enemy made two runs across the ship to straddle us with bombs. Again and again the gunners made them falter at that final second. "It seemed that no ship could hope fo stand up to such punishment and escape every time. Four bombers straddled us. Two of the bombs screamed over the wireless aerial to plunge 20 yards to the port side. For more than an hour new we had endured this rain of high explosives. With a fatalistic shrug of their shoulders, the resolute officers on the bridge raised their glasses to watch for the next wave. It did - not come. “From the shore came the signal, Proceed to base.’ As we rounded the Point, another alarm sounded, but we escaped the bombers’ notice. Determined to save the hundreds of men on board if we were hit, our Dutch captain kept close inshore and decided to run aground if we were bombed and set ablaze. For three hours we tore Biong the Algerian coast. “Far away we spotted a machine approaching. but it was an Allied torpedo bomber taking up position. The gun crews raised their still hot guns wid cheered. Chugging towards us was o Fleet Air Arm Walrus, looking for all the world like a tramcar adrift in the sky. It kept a watchful eye on our ship and on its escort for some time. "Gradually Bougie, with its terrible memories, slipped behind. Front then Until darkness several hours later small groups of fighters shepherded us every