SWIFT RETRIBUTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24619, 29 May 1941, Page 6

SWIFT RETRIBUTION

German satisfaction in the sinking of the British battleship Hood has been short-lived. That mighty ship was sent to the bottom by a chance shot from a fleeing enemy in Saturday morning's action off the Greenland coast. Her loss cost the lives of hundreds of . valiant men. It meant, too, in the special circumstances of the engagement, that British prestige was severely damaged, for the chief of Hood's attackers was the new German battleship Bismarck, making virtually her first appearance as an enemy raider in the vital commerce lanes of the North Atlantic. Bismarck was put into commission only last November, and great results were expected from her on account of her speed, heavy armament and the fact that, according to the claims of her designers, she would prove invincible in battle. The heavy tidings of the disaster that had overtaken Hood were followed immediately, however, by an Admiralty announcement that the then victorious enemy was being relentlessly pursued. The rest of the story is now known. Bismarck and her cruiser escort—the battleship in damaged condition as the result of her first encounter with British ships—were again intercepted on Tuesday morning when apparently making for Brest or St,

Nazaire. And this time there was no opportunity for flight. Torpedocarrying planes from the Ark Royal —name of unhappy omen for the Nazi propagandists—crippled her with direct hits that put her steering gear out of action, finally brought her to a standstill and presented her as a target for the heavy guns of the pursuing British ships. So far there is no news of the accompanying German cruiser, but the search for her will go on'remorselessly. It is enough to know in the meantime that Hood has been avenged, and that a dangerous raider has been removed from the seas after having run a brief but dramatic course. This important success comes opportunely at a time when, not unexpectedly, serious losses have been suffered by Admiral Cunningham's sorely tried Mediterranean squadron. For these we can find some compensation in the knowledge that the Battle of the Atlantic is not being waged without success on our own part.