RETURN TO PORT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20207, 28 March 1940, Page 13

RETURN TO PORT

“SUNKEN” ARK ROYAL NAZI CLAIMS REFUTED ADVENTURES AT SEA SUBMARINES-PLANES 1 (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Reed. March 28, 9 a.m.) LONDON, March 26. Another "sunken” unit of the Royal Navy has reappeared at an English port to plague whatever conscience the German propagandists possess. The The Ark Royal, whose destruction was exultantly proclaimed from Berlin last year, has returned after five months of service in distant waters in which, while hunting the Admiral Graf Spee and other “suspicious” vessels, her planes surveyed 5,000,000 square miles of the Atlantic. The Ark Royal’s wartime experiences include an escape by 15ft from a 10001 b bomb dropped by one of several Heinkels. A U-boat also fired two torpedoes at the Ark Royal about the time the Courageous was sunk, but missed widely, whereupon the Ark Royal’s destroyer escort dashed up and sank the attacker, rescuing the crew Captain Power described the attack by German bombers on the Ark Royal. Big Bomb Escaped “One pilot, apparently Lieutenant Francke who was awarded the Iron Cross for sinking the aircraft carrier, (lew through the barrage from nearby warships and dived down to 1000 ft and dropped the biggest bomb I have ever seen,” said Captain Power. “The bomb crashed into the sea about 15ft from our bows with a shock to the whole vessel. It lifted the bows a little. The only damage was some crockery smashed. “The other bombers were not so enthusiastic. Their aim was not good.” Before the bombers’ attack three German flying boats circled outside range of the Ark Royal’s guns. The Ark Royal sent up planes which brought down one flying boat and drove off the others.