“OPERATIONS COMPLETED”

Evening Star, Issue 25776, 26 April 1946, Page 11

“OPERATIONS COMPLETED”

BLACK PRINCE'S RECORD TALLY BOARD KEEPS SCORE Since she was commissioned in October, 1943, H.M.S. Black Prince has had a very full programme of opera-' tions, which have been graphically illustrated by an artistically-minded member of the crew on the superstruo--' ture of the ship, beneath the bridge. Although the list tells a story in itself, Lieutenant P. H. Harris, public relations officer on the ship, gave some enlightening details to-day. In February, 1944, the ship- saw her first duty, when she flew the Vice-Ad-miral destroyer's flag on convoy duty to the Russian port of Murmansk. In April, of the same year, -acoempanied by four Tribal class destroyers, she engaged four German Elbing class de-i stroyers, and, as the operations board shows, sank two of them. The three shells represent 150 rounds fired. In;

June she was part of an American task force which took part in the opening of the second front, and operated near Cherbourg. As her contribution in covering the troop landings, the Black Prince fired no fewer than 1,250 shells. By August she was operating in the South of France, covering troop landings, and in September she bombarded the German-held island of Syros. During the same month the Malene aerodrome on Crete, which had been defended earlier in'the war by the New Zealand Division, was subjected to a bombardment of 200 shells from the Black Prince. Thus the ship has played her part in revenging the subjection o£ the New Zealand Division on Crete. A painting of two ships with their bows sliding into the water, beside the words Oct., Salonika Gulf, represents the part the Black Prince took in sinking a small German' convoy. In thjs action she was accompanied by two destroyers. The island of Milos came under fire from the ship's gunsjn the same month. This bombardment was part of a covering action for marines who had landed on the island. Before the end of October the ship had been a unit of a small fleet of ships which landed troops and equipment at Salonika and returned the Greek Government to Athens. The illustration which accompanied the words Scarparto and Athens represents a jeep going ashore. In December the Black Prince acted as anti-aircraft ship during the carrierborne attack on Medan and Palembang, and in January, 1945, she was part of the British Pacific Fleet which covered the Okinawa operation. She bombarded an island called Miyako, and also gave support to carriers. She also bombarded Sakishima and Gunto. The illustration at the bottom of the operations board represents the Black Prince towing a destroyer. The destroyer had rammed another ship, with the 'result that most of the bows were missing. She was towed to Leyte. One more addition, that of the and Japanese coast bombardment, has yet to be made.