Evening star., 1941-01-12
Mediterranean
Continued From First Page.)


had been made on the British fleet
today.
On the score of Fascist losses in
North Africa the high command
announced that II soldiers had been
killed. BOT wounded and that 343
were missing during December and
that naval losses for that month
were 1l9 killed 80 wounded, 172
missing. Casualties among land
forces in East Africa were put at
Al killed, 54 wounded, 25 missing.
CThese figures, vastly at vari-
ance with those of the British,
would not cover Italy's loss on
January of Bardia, Libya,
where the British announced
only today that Fascist casual
ties in killed and captured alone
amounted to around 45000)
Casualties in Greek War.
italian casualties in the war
against Greece from the start of
hostilities october % to December
81 were announced officially to be
12377 men, of which 2,081 were
listed as killed, 6,515 wounded and
3,781 missing.
These included So Albanians
killed SO wounded and 108 missing.
Italian authorities contrasted the
figures with reported British esti-
mates of $4,000 Italians wounded
and Greek announcements that A.
900 prisoners had been captured.
An Italian communique told this
detailed story of the attack on the
British warships:
"Our scouting planes checked up
on the movements of various nuclei
of enemy ships in the central and
west central Mediterranean from
dawn to sundoWn January 10.
1.-TWO torpedo Launching planes at
11:50 am. sighted a formation of
two battleshipS and an aircraft car
rier escorted by cruisers and de-
stroyers 10 miles northeast of Linosa
Gan island near Malta.
"At 1910 pm. the aircraft car
rier was attacked on the starboard
side. About kilometers (some
2 miles from the objective our
planes were sighted and fired on
violently by part OF the batteries
Of the entire naval formation.
Notwithstanding that, the attack
was carried out to a finish and
torpedoes were launched at ex-
tremely low altitude and short
range, reaching the aircraft carrier
abaft. A big column of black
and reddish smoke was seen in the
stern of the ship. Our torpedo
launching planes. while hit by anti
aircraft fire, later underwent an
attack by four enemy fighter planes,
from which they succeeded in es-
Gaping and returning to their own
base.
Cruiser Attacked.
"Other of our planes cruising
about overlook the naval forma-
ton at lis pm. and could observe
a thick column of white smoke ris-
ing from the aircraft carrier.
"A section formation) of three
dive bombers escorted by fighter
planes meanwhile attacked the
cruiser, which was moving slowly,
surrounded by four big ships 40
miles southeast of Pantelleria. All
three planes aimed at the cruiser
Two 500-kilogram (about 1000
pounds) bombs hit the ship squarely
one aStern, another in the CEN
ter and on the left side-causing
fire aboard. The anti-aircraft
reaction was most intense.
Another formation of dive bomb
ers, also escorted by fighter planes,
carried out another bombardment
southwest of Malta. Three 1000
kilogram bombs (about 5000
pounds were dropped against an
aircraft carrier, which was hit by
one of these in the middle of the
left flank. The other two fell near
the same flank.
at was noticed that one of these
bombs hit-iar the sea made only
semicircular ripples in the water.
The anti-aircraft reaction was ex-
ceptionally violent and was fol-
lowed by an attack of enemy fighter
planes which was quickly broken off
by the intervention of our forma-
t'o''~ cf f'0'o'7~0 rlanes. which put
the enemy to flight and machine
/ ---,CEsh planes.
"All our planes returned.
considerable formations OF
bombing. dive bombing and fighter
planes of the German air corps CO.
operated against the enemy naval
nuclei in the Central Mediter-
ranean, hitting the aircraft carrier
(the first of the two attacked by
the Italians) astern with two me-
dium-caliber bombs and on the
prov with a 1,000-kilogram bomb.
The German formations also hit
destroyer"