NINE SHIPS SUNK

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25052, 16 November 1944, Page 5

NINE SHIPS SUNK

NAZI CONVOY CAUGHT LIGHTNING ACTION BRITISH NAVAL SUCCESS (Reed. 8.30 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 15 Nine of eleven enemy ships in a convoy which was attempting to make the northward passage off the coast of Norway were either blown up or sunk and one supply ship or escort vessel was driven ashore in the course of an action by British warships. An eye-witness of the attack says: "Half an hour after our first broadsides we had blazing and sinking ships all round us. It was like a huge untidy funeral pyre." This news is announced by the Admiralty in a communique which says: "An enemy convoy was intercepted on Sunday night by ships of the Home Fleet, under the command of RearAdmiral Rhoderick McGrigor, C.8., D.5.0., who was flying his flag in the cruiser Kent. Taken by Surprise

"The convoy and its escort, including M class mine sweepers, were engaged off Lister Fiord, south of Egersund. The attack took the enemy completely by surprise. His Majesty's ships, in order to carry out the attack, had to sail close inshore, bringing them within range of enemy coastal batteries, whose fire proved to bej ineffective.

"None of His Majesty's ships suffered material damage. Other ships participating, including the cruiser Bellona and the destroyers Myngs, Verulam and Zambesi and the Canadian destroyer Algonquin, all returned safely to harbour, having suffered a small number of casualties." Fierce Engagement "The lightning action was fought out at one point two and a-half miles from the Norwegian coasts says a naval reporter who watched the battle from the bridge of the cruiser Kent. "After a fierce engagement lasting half an hour only, four blazing hulks remained of 11 ships, totalling about 25,000 tons. The rest were sunk, with the possible exception of an escort vessel and a merchantman, which may have escaped in the darkness.

"The convoy was almost dead in our track and spread over a distance of ten miles. As we passed Egersund Fiord at 11 p.m. on Sunday, the night was very dark and perfect for a surprise attack. The enemy, while we ranged our guns, steamed unsuspectedly toward us. Our first Bin broadsides hit the leading escort vessels. One reared out of the water, her screw turning idly before sliding beneath the water. Blazing Holocaust

"The convoy scattered and began to fight back. Coloured tracers, interspersed with green and red distress signals, filled the air. I saw six ships destroyed. One sank,' two exploded and three caught fire. The destrovers Myngs and VeruTam each torpedoed a ship. "As we were withdrawing from the blazing holocaust the admiral saw several ships still afloat and ordered the destroyers to go in and finish them off. Trie battle drifted under the fire of shore batteries, but it was inefficient. The admiral ordered the destroyers to rejoin us. What further damage might have been caused to the enemy was not worth the risk of the possible loss of a destroyer. Two men were killed and seven wounded of the entire British naval force." British Mosquitoes without loss yesterday afternoon damaged two coastal ships off Norway. RUSSIAN WAR AIMS HARDENING OF VIEWS TOTAL DEFEAT OF FASCISM (Reed. G. 30 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 15 Correspondents in Moscow report a marked hardening of Russian war aims since the pursuit of the Germans beyond the Soviet frontier began. Pravda, they 'say, voiced the current attitude when it made the following assertion: "Free-dom-loving peoplo must not only bring about the military defeat of Hitlerite Germany, they must also secure the moral and political defeat of Fascism. "The accomplishment of this task does not permit the tolerance of proFascist countries, oven if they bear the label of 'neutrality' or 'democracy.' " The Times correspondent in Moscow comments: "In the simplest terms the Russian attitudo toward the political aspect of victory, and the problems of peace-making is perhaps best described as a determination not to be fooled. The Russians clearly believe that peace can be won or lost in the first few months of the occupation of Germany. "As far as_ can be ascertained the Russian view is that the economic disarmament of Germany should be no less radical than her military disarmament; and that means both to raise and equip fighting forces should be removed from her power. "The Russians also believe that if such measures are seen in some quarters to connote Germany's inability to make adequate Reparation for war damage and her virtual disappearance as a market, this price would not be too heavy to pay for a long spell of peace in Europe."

CAPTURE OF SKOPLJE (Reed. 0.30 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 15 A Yugoslav communique announces that Skoplje, important railway junction in the Vardar Valley and capital of Macedonia, has been captured after twodaya* street fighting.