GALLANT FIGHT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20824, 1 July 1942, Page 3

GALLANT FIGHT

H.M.A.S. NESTOR’S END HOLED BY BOMB BLAST MISSILE HITS MAST (9 4° a-m-) CAIRO, June 30. Holed in the engine-room by a bomb blast after a gallant fight against uerman aircraft which overwhelmed her in the Mediterranean, H.M.A.S. Nestor, joined the list of other Australian fighting ships which have gone down battling to the bitter end, says the Australian official war correspondent, Mr. Kenneth Slessor. The Nestor was escorting a convoy when she was struck, and although another destroyer promptly took her in tow and all hands worked throughout the night pumping and repairing in face of vicious attacks by planes and E-boats she had to be abandoned and sunk by depth charges. Only three men were killed. The fact that the bomb struck the mast-top and thus was deflected into the sea undoubtedly saved the lives of scores of men. Had it not done so, it would have plunged into the engineroom and blown the ship to pieces. As it was, the blast of the bomb exploding near the side holed the engineroom and half lifted the ship from the water. During her obscure but busy life, the Nestor was credited with the destruction of two U-boats, three aircraft and a share of an E-boat,