BRITISH SUBMARINE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 23 September 1941, Page 5

BRITISH SUBMARINE

FURTHER SUCCESSFUL ACTIONS; TWO cut; IT AM AN I.INKKS I SUNK VFSSKI.S DKSTKOY lU> TOTAL 10 (lice. I I a.m.) Itnuh.v, Si pi. S’ Further important, successes have been gained hv British submarines in tiie Mediterranean, I it is month, i@t)neteon Italian trier - chant vessels and troop-earrv ini; craft ranmne hom the 2.i 000 ten liner i tuilio to lar "a sclioon rs have boon sunk. This suceossful action is nod inounced in an Admiralty coin-! nutnique which savs that on loth September submarines of the ; Mediterranean Fleet on patrol in the central Mediterranean sneers.dully attacked a fast and j heavily escorted Italian convoy carrying reinforcements to Libya. The convoy consisted of three liners. Two have been dej stroyed and it is probable that i the 1 bird was damaged. One of the liners in this convoy was j similar to the Vulcania of 24,4(10 j tons and the other two were of approximately the same tonnage, IN TRIPOLI REGION It V I IH)MiI 1 \l MY SilirriMt St (11 SSI s ( 1..MM1 I) ■ Rff. Minin) Rugby. Sept An R.A.F. Midrib* End <.nmmnti;qno l report-. a '<fir- of successful attacks ! miidc on enemy •-hipping in the region ,of Tripoli recently. In one of the e ' • ti ried mil by R A F. bombers one | large schooner received several direct ; hits and it:; crew immediately abandoiiied shin which was left in a mass of j tlames. .Another schooner after being hit blew 1 up v. all such terrific force that one of jour aircraft making the attack was be j stroyed by the blast. On 20th Septcrnj her one heavily laden merchant ship till' j Kerkcnna was bombed and set on tire j and left sinking. and an enemy detrover just oIT Tripoli was unsuccess - i fully attacked. Benghazi w.t raided on tin* night of ■ ‘ l oth-21st September by TLA F. heavy bombers, several bits being scored on the central and outer moles. From th-'se operations two of our aircraft are : missing The extraordinary low level from which the attack on enemy shipping in i Tripoli harbour was delivered is revealed in an Air Ministry bulletin. A v. ing commander who led the dawn at i tack returned nt dusk and carried out in daring attack on an enemy war vessel. Both attacks were made from a j few feet. high. The morning attack was ; pressed home through a hail of flak from all angle but direct hits were , I made on a liner of more than 20.0(:(] , tons and an 80i)0-ton supply ship, i The wing commander do - ribmg the e.md raid, -aid "'A'.- flew alor.g the Tripoli coast m t after onset. Twi- ■ 1 igli! had n< ariy gone and we saw about a collide of nob*; off the mole two • warship- one either a small cruiser .r a large de-trover and another a destroyer silhouetted against the skv i The larger vessel was playing seareh!wilt.; on the water on the far sale from 'us as we approached. We flew towards her at less than a thousand feet and dropped our bombs from a short range and the .air gunner sprayed her , decks from -fern to stern. Sparks 'Mew from the deck ns I pulled up I above llie ship’s masts. The whoh i salvo had struck amidships just below I the funnel and as I turned away the ! observer saw bombs bursting in the • ! ship. The destroyer opened fire on u? with light flak immediately after the | attacks. 1 "When we were 300 yards nwav all fills went out on the bombed hip IWe headed homeward; and from ter ; ! miles away flying at sea level we conic; I still see columns of smoke rising from the warship."- 8.0. W. BRITISH PATROLS ACTIVE ; . It, •• il.:!' a in i Rugby. Si.pt 22 ’ A Cairo communique slates that I both at Tobruk and in the frontier - area our patrols have been active.- - 8.0. W.