Evening star., 1941-11-16
War at Sea

BY now the ARK ROydl, leSllllS Oll tIle
sea floor, is a legend. Until she was
actually sunk, she was one Of the fore
most victims of the Nazis' typewriter
war. Nazi propagandists announced her
sinking two years ago. In fact, she went
down late Thursday, at about the hour
of the Neutrality Acts amendment by
the House, off Gibraltar. She was COM
missioned three years ago, at about the
time of the birth of the English appease-
ment policy. She cost Sl6000000. She
weighed $4,000 tons. She carried 1900
men and officers, and most OF them were
rescued. Her commander was Capt. L.
E. H. Maund.
Despite her going, following the other
aircraft carriers Glorious and Cou-
rageous, the British have more carriers
than they had when the war broke out
so little do bombers interfere with naval
shipbuilding. Seven are in commission
and two are scheduled for completion IN
1912 The sinking of the Ark Royal was
the first major loss at sea since May,
when the British lost the dreadnaught
Hood to the Bismarck and the Germans
then lost the Bismarck, thanks largely
to planes from the Ark Royal.
In order to rub it in g. little to the
Germans that they we're wrong in their
previous announcements
Ark RoyoI that the Ark Royal was
Goes Down sunk the Admiralty told
the story of the Ark
povo1'e uork since the wars out break,
Some day the story may be fitted by
bard into the poetic catalogue about
English warfare on the sea.
The Ark Royal took a hand in the
search for the German pocket battle
ship Graf Spec that ultimately ended
by the Specs self-scuttling off Monte
vdeo She intercepted one of the Specs
supply ships and caused the bagging of
several others In March, 1910, she was
In the Mediterranean, but soon she was
in the North Atlantic cooperating in
the Norwegian campaign. Her planes
narassed the Germans, and she was
among the last ships to leave Norway
waters after the British left Narvik.
By July. 1910, she was back in the
Mediterranean, where the Italians mis-
takenly claimed her sinking. She helped
pursue the Italian feet southwest of
Sardinia and she took part in the bonn
bardment of Genoa. In May this year
she took part in the North Atlantic fox
and-hound race after the Bismarck
Planes from the Ark Royal carrying tor
pedoes cripped the Bismarck, making her
easy prey of surface craft.
The British exulted over successes of
their own in the Mediterranean last
week On Monday the Ad-
Action miralty announced that
OFF ItoIy the Royal Navy had sunk
two Axis conveys of two
ships and one Italian guardian de-
stroyer in that sea. The Italians said
that only seven merchantmen we're sunk.
The ships were bound with supplies for
the Axis troops in North Africa. With
the good news for London came the
bad, that the Cossack, perhaps Britain
best-knoWn destroyer, had been lost
King George VI made Capt w. G.
Agnew. the officer who led the attack
on the convoy. a commander Of the
Order of the Bath for his feat. He
made the kill with two deStroyers and
Two cruisers and did not suffer a scratch
The fate of the Cossack is independent
of this operation.
Next day the Admiralty announced
that British submarines had sunk foul
Axis ships carrying either troops o.
supplies to the armies of Maj. Gen. Rom
mel in North Africa, and two sailing
vessels. The submarines were credlteo
also with damaging two armed merchan
cruisers and two merchant ships IN tht
Mediterranean.
Far to the north. the Germans los
$sur more transport ships to Russian
Ssrships which a week ago escaped thel
Hronstadt naval base near beslege'
Leningrad safely passed mine barrl
sade laid down by the Germans, reached
the open water in the Gulf of Finlant
and passed into the Baltic Sea beyond
In the Baltic they got the German trans
port ships.
Earlier the Germans reported thel
near interference with the route o