WIPING-OUT OF CONVOY

Evening Star, Issue 23864, 19 April 1941, Page 10

WIPING-OUT OF CONVOY

VALUABLE CARGOES GO DOWN BRITISH HAVY WAS OH THE SPOT (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 18. (Received April 19, at 1.30 p.m.) In regard to the Italian convoy of live ships sunk in its entirety with all three destroyer escorts between Sicily and Tripoli on the night of April 16, it is learned in London that the ships were laden with motor transport. One had ammunition, while two almost certainly carried troops. The Italian,claim that they lost only one “ torpedo boat ” and two ships is unlikely to carry weight in view of the fact that they gave an inaccurate date (April 17) of the action. It is pointed out here that the British Navy was on the spot to meet the convoy on the night of April 16 and that, in spite of the uncertainty of making contact at night, did in fact meet it, with the result described in the Admiralty communique.

MR ANTHONY EDEN INTERVIEW WITH SOVIET AMBASSADOR (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 18. (Received April 19, at 1 p.m.) Mr Anthony Eden received the Soviet Ambassador earlier this week. This was the first interview they have had since Mr Eden returned from his visit to the Middle East.

STANDARD MERCHANT SHIPS CONSTRUCTION IN AUSTRALIA MELBOURNE, April 18. The keel of the first of a series of standard 9,000-ton merchant vessels will be laid down in a shin yard in New South Wales within the next few weeks. The design is a modification of the standard adopted in Britain and the United States. The vessel will probably take nearly a year to complete.