SHIPPING ATTACKED IN MEDITERRANEAN

Southland Times, Issue 24548, 24 September 1941, Page 5

SHIPPING ATTACKED IN MEDITERRANEAN

LONDON, September 22.

A Royal Air Force Middle East Command communique reports a series of successful attacks on enemy shipping in the region of Tripoli recently. In one of these, carried out by Royal Air Force bombers, one large schooner received several direct hits and the crew immediately abandoned the ship, which was left in a mass of flames. Another schooner, after being hit, blew up with such terrific force that one of the aircraft making the attack was destroyed by the blast. “On Saturday one laden merchant ship off Kerkenna was bombed, set on fire and left sinking and an enemy destroyer just off Tripoli was successfully attacked,” states the communique. The extraordinary low level from which the attack on enemy shipping in Tripoli harbour was delivered is revealed in an Air Ministry bulletin. The wing-commander who led a dawn attack returned at dusk and carried out a daring attack on an enemy war vessel. Both attacks were made from a few feet high. The morning attack was pressed home through a hail of antiaircraft fire from all angles, but direct hits were scored on a liner of more than 20,000 tons and on an 8000 ton supply ship. The wing-commander, describing the second raid, said: “We flew along the Tripoli coast just after the sun had set and twilight had nearly gone. We saw about a couple of miles off the mole two warships—one either a small cruiser or a large destroyer —silhouetted against the sky. The larger vessel was playing her searchlights on the water on the far side from us as we approached. “We flew towards her at less than 1000 feet, dropped our bombs from a short range and sprayed her decks from stem to stern. Sparks flew from the deck as I pulled up above the ship’s masts. A whole salvo had struck amidships just below the funnel and, as I turned away, the observer ( saw the bombs bursting in the ship. “The destroyer opened fire on us with light anti-aircraft guns immediately after the attack. When we were 300 yards away all the lights went out on the bombed ship. We headed homewards and from 10 miles away flying at sea level we could still see columns of smoke rising.”