BRITISH NAVY BEATS OFF AIR ATTACKS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 85, Issue 299, 19 December 1941, Page 5

BRITISH NAVY BEATS OFF AIR ATTACKS

CRUISERS AND DESTROYERS KETTLE LASTING \SE\ EN HOIKS IN MEDITERRANEAN. London, Dee. 17 Firing one of the heaviest barrages of the war in the Mediterranean a squadron of British cruisers and destroyers beat off a series of German combined high level and divt-bombing and torpedo attack*, fiercely p;e*s*’o over seven hours off Cyrenaica, sa\s an American Associated Press correspondent who was in a cruiser. The battle began on Monday while the warships were patrolling the Libyan toast. The planes attained in waves of three and six machine* and the warships jumped hundreds of shells into the rain-laden clouds which were all aglow with sudden bursts of ffame and big black mushroom pun* of smoke. The planes continued to scatter bombs, some of which sprayed column* of water over the warships and lei I perilously dose to their objectives. One dive-bomber nuu him - ,unne i the boat-deck of a cruiser w hose guns roared tremendous sheets of fire w iiile the Germans desperately tried to sink her. There was not a dull moment until nightfall. The skies were never dear of enemy planes. D.estroyers at one stage detected a submarine and dropped depth charges while the cruisers executed emergency turns to avoid possible torpedoes. It is not known whether the sui-marine was hit.