Convoy Operations ENEMY HARD HIT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 28 October 1941, Page 7

Convoy Operations ENEMY HARD HIT

There arc many signs of inn-easing activity in the Mediterranean which point to an early British offensive on the North African front, where tin* weather conditions are rapidly becoming more favourable. No discussion of British military preparations is possible, and it is sufficient to say that during the last six months there lias boon a vast accession to the strength of air forces in the Middle East in men, equipment, and supplies of all kinds. The enemy has not been idle cither, and despite the great havoc wrought among bis transports and supply ships, he has, doubtless, twen able to add considerably to his forces. Nevertheless, without command of the sea, the enemy’s lines of communication across the Mediterranean and along the shores of North Africa are constantly threatened by British naval and air forces. Italy’s Heavy Losses During the last few months, and particularly in recent weeks, the central and eastern Mediterranean hasbeen a theatre of intense activity. If convoys are the best protection for British and Allied merchant shipping in the Atlantic, they are certainly not the safest method of transporting enemy reinforcements and supplies from Italy to North Africa. Enemy convoys and single ships are continually being harried on the short ; sea route across the Mediterranean, by submarine attack and by bombing and torpedo attacks from the air. The ships that escape attack at sea are not safe in port. Tripoli and Benghazi and minor ports on the African coast are bombarded from the air almost daily. The enemy’s losses of ships in the Mediterranean have been enormous. i Several months ago they were reckoned jat 20 per cent, of tlie sailings and more i recently the proportion of sinkings has | been much higher. As Admiral Sir Ani drew Cunningham, Uomimrnder-in-Chief, Mediterranean, said the other |! day, “it. is a wonder that Italian mer- ; chant ships are st.ill willing to go to i seu, in view of the extraordinary losses they have sustained, hut probably they j are driven to it.” Brave Seamen | Doubtless Admiral Cunningham ! would freely admit that Italy’s mer- '! bravery and devotion to duty in taking their ships to sea mid attempting the hazardous crossing of the Mediterran- ; can. Italy’s destroyers which act as escorts are bearing the brunt of the war at tea. The remainder of the i enemy's fleet appears to l>e leading a furtive kind of existence, since it makes I no attempt to contest the passage of ; the central Mediterranean. [ Italy’s losses of merchant shipping j during the last 12 months have run into ! hundreds of thousands of tons. Apart | from the destruction of the ships there ! is the loss of many thousands of troops ! and cargoes of valuable arid vital rnuri'i- : tions and equipment. Every ship lost or damaged on passage means the de- ! nial of supplies to the enemy’s troops on the Libyan front. Not only are the enemy’s shi|>s tuning attacked but increasingly heavy air raids are carried out on Italian ports. Last week Naples was heavily attacked for four nights in succession. Naples, of course, is one of Italy’s principal seaports, hut it is also an imi portant railway centre; and the R.A.F. .' attacks there are an essential part of I the operations for dislocating the I Italian transjxert system Battle Of The Atlantic 'I While Italian convoys are suffering i l in the Mediterranean, the German campaign against British and Allied 1 shipping in the Atlantic appears to have received a considerable set-back in recent months. The last available information was that British and Al- • lied shipping losses in the July-Aug--1 ust-September quarter were only orie- ’ third of those for the preceding three months. There is no indication of any less favourable trend in recent weeks. J A German broadcast makes some • significant admissions regarding the j difficulties of the Battle of the Atlan- , tic from the enemy’s point of view. I The cable message makes no reference to any German comment on U-boat , operations, but the broadcast insists - | on the strength of the British defence ! against air attacks on convoys. ■ [ Undoubtedly, there has been a very . j considerable strengthening in recent I I months of the cruiser, destroyer and 1 j corvette-escort forces; and the losses l! of German U-boats have increased. The •i anti-aircraft defence measures for the r j protection of convoys have been vastly j improved and means of offence against 1 ! enemy aircraft have been developed. Air Defence Of Convoys . As is now well known, fast fighter ? aircraft are put up from convoys to r deal with enemy bombing attacks. i Catapults are fitted in suitable ships - sailing in tlie convoys and whenever an ■ j attack by German bombers is imminent - the fighter is put into the air to deal il with it. This offensive defence of con--1 j voys by fighter aircraft has undoubtedr I ly been an unpleasant surprise to the ■ enemy. J After action with enemy aircraft, i the catapulted fighter lands at a shore ■ base, if within range, or, if this is im- : possible, the fighter has to come down j as close to a ship as possible, and is ! picked up. ! These fighters are flown by pilots ! of the Fleet Air Arm, or fighter pilots i of the R.A.F., who have volunteered j for this special duty. Once he has • ' been catapulted, a pilot knows he has ' j no chance of landing on the freighter’s I , deck, which is too small and too couI I gested. 1 i If the pilot is not within sure disJ tance of laud, he must bale out, or J attempt to land the aircraft in, the ■ water. When the pilot is in the water, ! he is kept atloat by an inflated life- . jacket. This is bright yellow-, which - enables him to be easily discerned if near the ships. Generally, a lifeboat 1 carrying hot rum and blankets puts out i to the rescue. One pilot said: “I circled over the 1 convoy to choose a convenient spot, and decided :o alight on the water. ; When the aircraft first touched the ?! sea the engine and airseoops filled with j water, and the fighter went down 35 I feet under the water. 1 managed to ! scramble out of the cockpit, but before ! I got away the aircraft was so far j down that I was in inky blackness. I I came to the surface with my lungs ! bursting. The lifeboat was alongside me .| in an incredibly short time.”. — (S.D.W.).