WITH THE ALLIES

Timaru Herald, Volume CLIV, Issue 22671, 26 August 1943, Page 5

WITH THE ALLIES

Heavy French Destroyers LONDON, August 24. British and American light naval forces are engaged on normal sweeps off the coast of the Calabria Peninsula, states a North African naval communique. It announces also that the French heavy destroyers La Fantasque and Le Terrible are now working in active co-operation with the Allied naval forces in the Mediterranean. The communique adds: In a recent message to the American naval and military forces concerned, the Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Andrew Cunningham, mentioned the admiration with which he hah watched the splendid rapid advance of the Seventh Army to Messina during the Sicilian campaign. He said he was aware of the great contribution to success made by the American Navy and asks that his satisfaction be expressed to all American naval personnel on the north coast of Sicily on what has become a model of effective application of sea power in support of land operations. The French destroyers La Fantasque and Le Terrible are two of the ships in ports in French Africa which came over to the Allies when the Allied forces landed in North-west Africa last October. Both vessels, which belong to the Fantasque class, have a displacement of 2569 tons. They are probably the fastest destroyers in the world, all vessels of this class having a speed exceeding 43 knots. The French claim that Le Terrible reached the record speed of 45.25 knots. La Fantasque and Le Terrible accompanied the French battleship Richelieu to New York to be made ready for fighting.