ENEMY CRUISER TORPEDOED

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 52, 25 November 1941, Page 7

ENEMY CRUISER TORPEDOED

Mediterranean Front

COAST BOMBARDMENT GOES ON

Valuable Work Of Navy

(British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, November 23. Au Admiralty communique states that an enemy cruiser has been torpedoed and possibly sunk by a submarine of the Mediterranean I'leet. When the cruiser was attacked it formed part of a force of three cruisers'and three destroyers. Subsequent air reconnaissance showed that a large area of the sea in the locality where the attack was made was covered witli oil, while only two cruisers were with the enemy force. An enemy destroyer has also ■been hit with two torpedoes and probably sunk, while two enemy supply ships were torpedoed. All these successes were in the central Mediterranean.

Air Torpedo Hits Cruiser.

In the central Mediterranean on the night of November 22-23 Royal Air Force naval aircraft attacked an enemy convoy which was escorted by one cruiser and five destroyers. One torpedo scored a direct hit on the cruiser, causing a large flash and clouds of black smoke. One large merchant vessel’was probably hit, and sticks of bombs straddled the other ships. In a raid on Argostoli Harbour (Greece) on November 22 British aircraft bombed a naval vessel, which was left with a heavy list. Patrol vessels and other craft in the harbour were machinegunned. A force of Maccbi 202’s which approached Malta on November 21 was engaged by British fighters, which damaged a number of enemy machines.

Coastal Watchdog. The work of the navy during the great battle in Libya is described by a special correspondent on board the battleship Barnham off the coast of Cyrenaica, who writes: “Our cruiser squadrons nightly continue to fling six-inch salvoes into the enemy coastal positions and supply dumps. “With our submarines and light units taking care of the central Mediterranean, our powerful eastern Mediterranean Fleet is playing the role of watchdog along the whole coast of Cyrenaica, thus ensuring that the Axis forces shall receive no supplies or reinforcements while General Cunningham’s army thrusts across Libya. “On the evening of November 21 two Junkers 88’s approached the fleet at dusk and circled round, apparently reporting their movements, but they kept at a distance when we opened fire, and were subsequently driven off by naval aircraft. The enemy appeared to be too much occupied ashore to give us much attention, and we have not seen any signs of the Italian navy endeavouring to protect their Libyan sea flank, despite their numerical superiority.” According to a high neutral diplomat at Ankara (says the Press Association), 6000 Axis troops perished in the two Italian convoys which were sunk in the Mediterranean on November 9. Large quantities of ammunition also went down.