Evening star., 1940-04-11

nown had to push to "A knots.
After q further two minutes of
firing a vertical column of smoke
was observed rising from the
Scharnhorst, he said.
After nine minutes of firing the
Renown observed hits on the for
ward superstructure of the German
vessel. She stopped firing and later
her turret began firing ION local
control"
The 10,0OO-ton cruiser Hipper
.:drew a smoke screen across the
wounded battleships," Mr.. Churchill
said.
German Ships Fleeing.
AS the Renown opened fire ION
the Hipper, which turned away"
both German ships were now re-
firing at high speed"
In the end regret to say they
succeeded in leaving us-the firing
ceased at 5000 yards when they
became invisible" Mr.. Churchill
said.
Mr.. Churchill added that messages
from the Renown broke off at the
moment that they became interest
ing" and I'VE never heard another
word until a few hours ago."
A very determined attack was
made on Wednesday by two waves
OF Royal Air Force planes of IL
planes each, Mr.. Churchill said, in
which two German cruisers were
attacked and lone has not been seen
SINCE"
He said that on Monday morning
1t seemed as though the German
forces which had sunk the Glow
worm would be caught between our
forces in the north and the main
home fleet. both of which were SUI
perior to it. However, they got
away"
The torpedo carrying aircraft Of
the fleets air arm attacked enemy
shipping in the harbor of Trond-
heim," Mr. Churchill disclosed.
Seven Hurt on Rodney.
Seven men-fOur officers and three
sailors-were injured when bomb
hit the flagship Rodney, whose
heavy armament detected the
blow" Mr.. Churchill disclosed.
80 far as the structure of our
ships of war is concerned" he said,
"the incident must be regarded as
satisfactory"
In recounting the tale of the
British destroyers' attack on the
Germans in Narvik, Mr.. Churchill
said the fighting was worthy of any
in British naval records
THE destruction of store ships,
crippling of the destroyer force and
blowing up of a munition ship,
which was perhaps intended to turn
Narvik into a Sebastapol or Gibral-
tar, has simplified the task which
obviously might be among those
which lie ahead" Mr.. Churchill
said
Mr.. Churchill also disclosed there
were no casualties on the Renown,
although shell had passed
through our ship above the water
line without bursting"
Mr.. Churchill said something
similar happened to the Exeter and
showed "all Nazi workmanship is of
a piece"
Scharnhorst Speed Great.
"A shell also went through the
Renown's forenast. carrying away
the main aerial" Mr.. Churchill re-
ported.
Mr.. Churchill said that 60 Ger
man aircraft attacked Scapa Flow
last night without doing the slight
est damage"
"The enemy lost six aircraft" he
added and then thundered:
1--WE are ready to fight this matter
out at Scapa Flow"
Mr.. Churchill said cruiser was
hit in the first air raid on Scapa
Flow which "necessitated several
weeks of repair, but no more than
that" Since then "up to the mo-
ment at which I am speaking there
has been no vessel hit or damaged
at Scapa Flow and no objective Of
the slightest military Importance
has been hit"
OF the Is torpedo-carrying air
craft which attacked at Thordheim
Mr.. Churchill said all Is returned.
When reconnaissance craft went to
the scene mo cruiser was seen.
Where one had been there was only
half mile long streak of oil. It
looks as If the result had been OBJ
tanned.
1--WE had hoped to catch a Hipper
class cruiser which was reported to
be there" the first lord said, but
"all we caught was a destroyer
which was hit by torpedo"
Invasion Long Prepared.
Churchill told the House the Ger
man invasion of Norway and Dem
mark, long and elaborately pre-
pared" was set in motion in the last
week of March, breaking strange
and unnatural calm
He asked the Houses forgiveness
of any small errors in his statement
and noted that "the Nazi govern
ment was accustomed to press
through all its channels q continu-
Gus flow of rumors."
The first lord said that for sey-
eral months past Britain had re-
ceived information Of large numbers
Of German merchant ships being
fitted as transports and Of numer-
Gus small vessels being assembled in
various Baltic ports and also In
mouths of the River Elbe.
The Netherlands, Denmark, Nor
way and Sweden all were equally
liable to sudden brutal, capri
cious and in any case unprovoked
attack" he said.
Mr.. Churchill said which neutral
would be selected as the victim re-
mained inevitably = matter Of spec
ulation, but he asserted that the
4,