THE MALTA BASE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24969, 16 July 1942, Page 4

THE MALTA BASE

DOMINION PILOTS IN ACTION ATTACKS ON ITALIAN SHIPS (N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent) (Rec. 10.30 p.m.) LONDON, July 14. During a stav ol six months at Malta, three New Zealandsrs, who are serving in the Fleet Air Arm. between them 'hit with torpedoes one Italian eightinch cruiser, one Italian destroyer; and three merchantmen carrying supplies to Field Marshal Rommel. The airmen are Lieutenant H. T. Hawken, of Wellington, and Sub-lieutenants C. D. Jacobsen, of Wellington, and J. A. Cramp, of Hamilton, all members of the R.N.V.R. All are now on leave in London.

Cramp had the distinction of leading a flight of four Albacores against the Italian Fleet which attacked the Maltabound convoy from Gibraltar oix June 15.

We did not expect to return from the flight," Cramp said. “We stayed up most of the night, but started the flight at 7 a.m. on a perfect sunny day. We sighted two Italian cruisers of the eight-inch Trento class, four destroyers, and many motor boats. After flying for two hours we dived on them out of the sun and were greeted by a wall of flak. I released a torpedo at one cruiser from a range of 1000 yards. Our commanding officer, who is a lieu-tenant-commander in the Royal Navy, was acting as mv observer, and he saw the torpedo hit the cruiser, causing an explosion and a cloud of smoke. We had orders to clear out as soon as possible, and so made off for our base, skimming the waves. Other Albacores also scored hits, for which they claimed one certainty and two probables.” Once Cramp and Jacobsen flew for four hours seeking a convoy, which turned out to be two destroyers and two merchantmen. Cramp said: “It had been full moonlight, but the moon was down by the time we found the ships, so Jacobsen flew over them and dropped flares so that I could attack. I saw the ships silhouetted against the path of the flares and dropped a torpedo from 500 yards. It hit a merchantman. Jacobsen could not see much because of the flares, but I saw the flash of the explosion, for which reason I claimed a probable. "Another time,” Cramp said, “we sent out a flight of four Albacores seeking a merchantman which was leaving a Sicilian harbour with supplies for Rommel. We got him.” Enemy Ship Beached

Hawken scored a hit on his first operational flight. “Four of us flew for two hours through dirty weather," he said, “ and finally saw a 7000-ton ship in the path of the moon—we did most of our flying at night—about 20 miles from the African coast. 1 attacked first, after which an explosion followed, lighting up the entire aircraft, but I could not hear anything above the noise of the engine. The other boys also scored hits, with the result that the ship was beached. I did not carry torpedoes much after that flight, my role being a spotter, but I had one or two unpleasant moments, one when the engine nearly packed up over Tripoli, and another while flying low when a Junkers 88 chased me and dropped bombs which landed in the sea a quarter of a mile away.” Jacobsen hit a destroyer when it was convoying a tanker. “I was the last out of the three to attack,” he said. " I saw the tanker blow up in flames, so I attacked the destroyer, which 1 saw plainly in the light of the flames and the moon. My observer also spotted the destroyer and saw it hit.” Jacobsen had an unpleasant flight when his engine began to fail 60 miles from Malta. It kept cutting out. as a result of which he had to jettison a torpedo. He returned to his base an hour and three-quarters later and was about to land when the engine finally cut out 300 feet above the aerodrome. It crashed in flames, but both he and his observer got out safely. Admiration for Maltese The New Zealanders who were there when Malta was awarded the George Cross expressed very great admiration for the Maltese for the way they stood up to the bombing. The Germans at one period made throe heavy raids a day—at 10 a.m.. 2 p.m.. and just before dark. During another period six bombers arrived every hour, and later 100 bombers came at regular intervals, attacking the Grand Harbour and aerodromes.

Hawken was once sunbathing in a slit trench when a bomb fell 20 yards away, making a crater 45 feet wide and 20 feet deep. “ Malta’s barrage is terrific.” Hawken said. “ You cannot imagine what it looks like. There are ack-acks everywhere, and they put up a box barrage, causing a solid mass of black smoke where the shells are bursting. You can see Germans flying into the mass and then dribbling down in bits. After a raid the cloud of smoke gradually drifts away to sea.”

The New Zealanders found food fairly scarce, and they all lost at least a stone in weight during their stay. They observed that Malta was “ a thriving ‘ black market ’ for food.”