HOSPITAL SHIP

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24491, 27 December 1940, Page 5

HOSPITAL SHIP

ARRIVAL IN AUSTRALIA' MIDDLE EAST EXPLOITS VIVID STORIES TOLD Vivid stories of exploits in the Mediterranean war zone (states the Sydney Morning Herald) were told by Australian and New Zealand soldiers who arrived at an Australian port recently in a hospital ship. More than 300 men are in the. contingent, which is the first to return to Australia since the war began. Most are walking cases, and nearly all are suffering from stomach complaints, anaemia and accidental injuries. Several are wounded. The men said that the Italians had respected the hospital ship's identity. On the way from El Kantara she passed within a few hundred yards of Italian shore batteries on the Eritrean coast. The Italians stood by their guns and waved to her. On the night before the ship reached Aden a flight of Italian planes flew low over the floodlit deck and roared away into the night. Previously British destroyers had escorted two Italian hospital ships through the battle area. Stuart "Hatches" Submarine Ratings of the destroyer flotilla leader Stuart told how, after they had located an Italian submarine by sounddetection apparatus, the Stuart, with engines shut off, stayed over the submarine all night "hatching her." At dawn the submarine, thinking that the destroyer had gone, broke surface. The Italians came out of the conning tower, gaped at the grinning faces of the Australian sailors only a few feet away, "then dived over the side like frogs." Twenty-seven of them were rescued and taken prisoner. The destroyers were the first active Australian units in the war zone, and they have been busy on convoy work, anti-submarine patrols and battle cooperation. In the first Taranto raid an Australian destroyer led the destroyer flotilla into action. "We sighted the enemy low down between 4 and 5 a.m.," said a rating from the Stuart. "The cruisers went in to take the fire of the Italian fleet and the enemy replied with accurate gunfire. Our fleet included three battleships, five cruisers, and 17 other ships. We closed in to attack at 30 knots. As the Italians sheered off, we could see the shore of Taranto and we were still chasine them when we were told to break off the action, because submarines were coming out" Heroic Ladybird The Australians say that the most heroic naval vessel in the Mediterranean is the British river gunboat Ladybird, known in the service as the "Suicide Ship." She is manned entirely by volunteers and is escorted by destroyers to rivers and inlets on the African coast. Her shallow draft enables her to cross minefields and she is so low that she is beneath the angle of depression of fort guns. She steams into enemy harbours, looses torpedoes, and fires shells until her striking nower is exhausted, and comes out —if she can. Her crew knows that any hitch means death, as the destroyers have been instructed to sink her if she gets Into difficulties. A rating from an Australian warship dismissed the Berbera evacuation with: " It was a bit tough at times." Several New Zealanders arrived at Sidi Barrani with stores, to find the Italians in occupation, After giving action to Italian light tanks the New Zealanders escaped Camp Life Complaints , Many of the Australians were from the first contingent to go abroad. Thev did not paint a rosy picture of camn life in Egypt or Palestine. The climate was bad. they said, and conditions had told particularly on many of the older men. " Some of the disciplinary measures are just stupid." said one man. "We aren't allowed to swear. Fancy an Australian soldier not being able to swear! Gambling games are serious crimes though the authorities have sold concessions to Jews to install noker machines in the camps." The men are also bitter about the exaggerated class distinction between officers and men. Special hotels, they say. are set aside for officers, others for non-commissioned officers and a third group for privates. They say that the latter are in the pig-sty class and many of the men will not go near them.