ILLUSTRIOUS V. GERMAN BOMBERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 14, 17 January 1941, Page 8

ILLUSTRIOUS V. GERMAN BOMBERS

MAY BE HISTORIC TEST

(British Official Wireless.)

[(Received January 17, 10 a.m.)

- The correspondents agree that the: „ German air force, in its first appearance in "the Mediterranean, gave the >: ■ Illustrious one of the severest pound-j ings ever delivered from the air against - a single ship. The Illustrious never * ceased to fight back, and the corres- , ..pondents cannot find words to express _. their admiration for the coolness and discipline of the entire crew. I • The first attack occurred soon after noon, when two torpedo-carrying aircraft appeared, but their torpedoes "' \ passed harmlessly. astern. Somewhat later the main assault developed. Three "Junkers 87's were soon approaching out of the clouds and the guns of all : ■ the ships opened up. a terrific barrage. « "Four more planes joined the first three. • The sky seemed filled with bursting shells and twisting planes and the noise "was appalling. - As the leading plane dhred, it released I' a single 10001b bomb, which fell in v the sea slightly astern. , / : HALF-TON BOMB ON THE DECK. The first hit was scored by, a German bomber soon after the last of the Fleet Air Arm machines had taken off from " the flight deck to engage the enemy. A tremendous explosion shook the ship ■* "as a 10001b bomb burst below the * 1 bridge, but fortunately the damage was slight. , - One correspondent describes how the /' next thing he saw. was the wing of a * • German plane drop from the sky and fall across the after lift of the Illus- " trious. "The air was filled with al'J'f most overpowering flames. j;" "The guns of the Illustrious conT -;; tinued to roar, the clatter of pompoms mingling with the harsher crack of ■ -- the heavier armaments. The planes i continued to dive so low that they —:.. sounded as though they were almost •^ landing on the flight deck. At inter:~c;; vals the ship continued to shudder .»::•: from near misses." DARING GERMAN PILOTS. All the correspondents comment on the daring of the German pilots. The dive-bombers, it is said, appeared to ■ converge from all sides, and then dive in rapid succession. ...Meeting the full * r'. strength of the terrific barrage, they ":'- nevertheless held their bombs for re°"l'. lease at the very last moment. .As I v the last attack came, to an end the ~.,,.,',' correspondents, to whom : the short time seemed an eternity, were, naturally comforted to hear the Admiral -..;, remark, as he descended from the bridge to examine the damage: "That »"was the longest five minutes I have £?-".; had ••in my: life." v : rein- Splinters and riddled steel struts .. and .wires sprawled where a few mm,- --; utes* before they had stood trim and /solid, cascades of water escaped from T'^ holed pipes, and the flight deck was from end to end with debris ~~1~~- from the; bomb explosion. Further TrC^ forward was a wrecked crane. " The wounded were tended as fast as possible, but the respite was only temporary. • . . * j ATTACKS RENEWED. ■^ Eleven high-level planes drew anOi"/ other tremendous barrage of fire from ~<SX the guns of the Illustrious. This ,atX".. tack did not result in any further hits, '..;// and was apparently part1 of an attack J, against the fleet -in general, distinct „ from the concentrated fury of the dive~n bombers against the most vulnerable target 'in the whole escort, the Illus- *'*';: trious, herself. *"-".' The' high-level attack was followed T. by the second appearance of the dive- .:;;■;. bombers. In this onslaught the Illus"tl'. trious received a few "near misses," j;" causing many perforations above and • ;' f below the waterline. The afternoon °j'" dragged slowly on, with further interV'V" mittent bombing. At dusk the enemy again tried aerial torpedo attacks. "V. Once more the barrage went up, only Oi- ' two of the guns having been put out of action. Then darkness brought an 2^ end to the story. On reaching port the wounded were quickly removed to hospital.

RUGBY, January 16,

Correspondents of news agencies who were on board the Illustrious during the attack by German dive-bombers give remarkable accounts of the episode, which will find a place in naval history as an example of fortitude and devotion to duty of officers and men under the severest bombardment, and may prove to have been one of the historic tests of the effectiveness of the air weapon against warships at sea! These stories were written as the battle continued. The Illustrious made port under her own steam. She had fought off waves' of German dive-bombers at intervals for seven hours. - v