Evening star., 1941-11-15
Only One Of 1900
Aboard Ark Royal
Lost, British Say
Sinking Of PIone Carrier
Was Luxury Torpedoing,
Officer Comments
By the Associated Press.

Officer Comments
By the Associated Press.
LONDON, Nov 15-The Admi-
rally announced tonight that there
was only one casualty among the
approximately 1900 men aboard the
British aircraft carrier Ark Royal.
torpedoed and sunk in the Medi-
terranean.
A brief communlQue said:
Information has now been re-
celved that there was only one cas-
ualty in H. NJ S. Ark Royal The
next of kin has been informed"
The casualty toll was steadily
scaled down during the day.
The announcement came soon
after First Lord of the Admiralty
A. V. Alexander had said he hoped
that the loss of life would not be
more than two or three men.
"Toppled Over Like Child"
Still earlier today the Admiralty
had said only 18 men out of the full
crew of l.600 officers and men aboard
the big carrier were missing after
she was torpedoed and sunk in the
Mediterranean. She sank yesterday
within sight of Gibraltar, having
'toppled over like a tired child in
the words of one observer.
So smoothly did the navy rally
around the mammoth sl6.000000
vessel when it was decided to aban-
don ship that a marine lieutenant
sliding to safety on a destroyer
commented:
This is luxury torpedoing"
The Ark Royal, the victim of
submarine which blasted huge
hole in her side, went down 25 miles
from Gibraltar
An officer on destroyer which
stood by until the end said the
carrier listed IS degrees to star
board just before she sank.
We realized she was finished"
he said.
"She toppled over like a tired
child. her stern reared up for
moment, then gently slid beneath
the waves"
The sinking was witnessed by the
skeleton crew which had gone back
aboard the Ark Royal in an effort to
start her engines again and by the
crews of escorting vessels.
The majority of the crew already
had been taken to Gibraltar but
some of her officers were on board
ship in the vicinity.
Sadness Sweeps Sailors.
A Reuters correspondent who was
aboard the Ark Royal when she was
torpedoed described her last mo-
ments and told Of the sadness which
swept through the sailors as she
sank
There was stunned silence
among those Of her officers in the
rescue) ship when they were told
gently by another officer that she
had SUNK this correspondent re-
ported.
For II hours the Ark Royal strug-
gled toward port with the gaping
torpedo hole in her slanting side,
the Reuters correspondent said.
But at 4:3O am. yesterday the
captain sadly realized his ship could
not be saved and gave the order to
abandon ship" he wrote Two
hours later the majestic Ark Royal
plunged to her grave"
Senior officers who remained
| aboard after the initial abandon
ship called back to the engine
room staff in an effort to drive her
to port.
I'VE found her switchboard had
been smashed" said one engineer
officer, but managed to get the
dynamos working with portable
apparatus
The torpedo struck the big ship
with shuddering crash, putting
out all lights.
In only matter of moments she
was listing alarmingly,' the oorre-
Spondent said.
1.-The engines stopped and it was
then that the first order was given
to abandon the ship. The sea was
calm, so that an accompanying de-
stroyer was able to come close under
the rails and throw up ropes on
which the men slipped down to the
destroyer's forecastle''
Few Officers Stay Aboard.
The captain, some senior and en-
gineer officers and number of sea-
men remained aboard for an unsuc-
cessful attempt to get the engines
working again.
1--WE got the pumps started one
said later, "'but the water rose fast
We managed to get some steam up
but after a while the gauges fell, the
lights dimmed and we knew it was
hopeless
The correspondent said that while
the engineers were trying to start
the engines two tugs were towing
the Ark Royal and destroyers and
other small craft were standing by
''' We were told we were on the
way to Gibraltar"
The account did not disclose how
far the Ark Royal was towed.