HIT BY TORPEDO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24634, 16 June 1941, Page 6

HIT BY TORPEDO

POCKET BATTLESHIP ; ATTACKED FROM THE AIR 'GERMANS TAKEN BY SURPRISE v • ' — \ — ' ' ■ LONDON, June 14. One of Germany's two ... remaining pocket battleship has been damaged in an attack made upon it by torpedo bombers of the R.A.F., The battleship iwas first sighted last night being escorted by destroyers off the southern Norwegian coast, where it appeared to be evading the shipping lanes. The torpedo bombers attacked, a '! direct hit was made amidships, and clouds of white smoke were feeen to arise. The attack was made from a night of only 100 ft, and the German convoy was taken by surpriseAfter the attack the pocket battleship was seen to be motionless, but ' later on the entire convoy was seen to be retiring at greatly reduced speed to- ',- wards the Skaggerak'. The Air Ministry gives further details of the attack, The Blenheim pilot who first spotted the battleship found her after following a Heinkel floatplane to clouds. / emerging '"' from which he saw the battleship heading \north, screened, by five" destroyers. When the force of * Beauforts arrived one scored a direct hit amidships, causing a mass of smoke to billow from the battleship. Another "launched ■ a v torpedo into the smoke, : The Beaufort which attacked first' was piloted by, a flight sergeant from.. Coventry and the navigator was' a sergeant from Saskatchewan.- -' • '.r~ll*. Screen 'of Destroyers;-';-

The pilot of one of the Beauforts which attacked and hit the pocket battleship, giving his account of the said: "The enemy force was in a^clear^patch of weather, ; The pocket battleship was. in She' 1 middle, with one destroyer immediately ahead and two others:, oh ieither side. They f- formed a prefty effective screen from torpedo '■■/, It was ,fairly light—you could see for 'several miles—and we flew ift at right angles across the stern bfVthe battleship.. Then we 'made- a- right-about' turn •• and came back at 'her broadside less than lOQft hig'b^ v 'l: had to guide the aircraft round the stern of- one of the destroyed to'getit into position to drop a "torpedo.! The destroyer was very close, and j,we cpuld;see; its .camuoflage in detail., I let the torpedo go: just after we passed'the,: destroyer'; and then sheared off to the leftr crossing immediately ■mtroiit of the battleship's-bows —within" about; 100 I yards. £ few secohds, later-my, rear-gunner yelled, 'There'si.a--column of water.' As I turned the aircraft jtb'lbokback I could see a great patch of white foam against the ship and" a dense cloud : of dirty white 'smoke amidships. We got away without a shot'being fired. They must have been taken completely by sur- '■ prise.", - '..' ..■.-'.■■