RAIDERS WARMLY MET

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 91, 14 October 1940, Page 7

RAIDERS WARMLY MET

A NAVAL SKIRMISH?

ITALIAN COMMUNIQUE

(U.P.A. and Official Wireless.) (Received October 14, 12.30 p.m.) LONDON, October 13. According to agency messages Italian aircraft attempted unsuccessfully to raid Malta today. R.A.F. fighters went up to drive them off but the Italians did not want to be engaged. They seem to have found their reception altogether too hot, because reports speak of the interception of a wireless message from one Italian pilot to his base in which he described the conditions as "hell." j A message from Cadiz states that after an attack by an unidentified plane i four seamen were killed and seven injured and their ship damaged. Italian planes raided Aden for the eighteenth time since the outbreak \ of the war. There were no casual- | ties and no damage. An Italian communique states: "Italian destroyers attacked British naval forces from Malta on the night of October 11 and sank an enemy cruiser, j probably of the Neptune class, and damaged British units; which made off. The Italian losses were two torpedoboats and a destroyer. A great part of the Italian crews was saved. "In the early hours of the following morning Italian air formations intensely bombarded enemy units, achieving notable results in spite of violent antiaircraft fire from British ships and the intervention of British fighters which took off from a British aircraft- i carrier. The latter was hit near the i stern and a British heavy cruiser was damaged. Two British fighters andi one Italian fighter were shot down.

"In North Africa light Italian columns, having advanced 23 miles east of Sidi Barrani, clashed with small British armoured-car tank unite and repulsed them. British air raids on Bardia and the ports of Derna and Tobruk caused slight damage.

"In East Africa Italian patrols repulsed enemy motorised units making for the frontier of Eritrea."