Evening star., 1941-02-02
Raids
British Ships in
Mediterranean
7 Vessels Declared
Torgets;; One Blown
Up; Two Sunk
BY the Associated Press.

Authorized sources said early today
that six ships totaling $4,000 tons
had been successfully attacked" in
the Mediterranean by German
bombers on January 81.
Another announcement said a
German bomber had blown up a
ship 'in Mediterranean harbor."
British reports said two in
vading planes were shot down
Saturday in a raid on the Brit
ish mid-Mediterranean island
base of Malta. Whether the
planes were German or Italian
was not established. They said
bombs were dropped in a raid
Friday night but that none fell
in the Saturday attack
German sources did not disclose
where the bombings occurred or
whether all were in one operation.
They stressed, however, that all
were done in one day and said that
of the total attacked, $4,000 tons
of shipping could be reckoned as
lost.
2 Others Declared Sunk.
Besides the ship blown up, Ger
man bombers we're said to have
sunk two others, each of about 1000
tons, in the harbor.
Two others of about 5000 tons
each were reported heavily dam
aged or set afire," another of 5000
tons was said to have shown bad
list and a 10,000-ton merchantmen
was reported hit squarely.
Diving German planes also were
said to have raided the British mill
tary airport at Mildenhall, north
east of Cambridge, Saturday, de-
Stroying three Blenheim bombers
and sweeping seven other planes
with machine-gun fire.
Three other British bombers were
reported destroyed on the ground
at "Honington Airdrome" (there
are three Honingtons in England
Other flyers were said to have Wis
tied Great Yarmouth.
German authorities also added
more thousands of tons of British
Atlantic shipping to the toll claimed
for the new NaZi long distance
bombers, while authorized sources
referred foreign correspondents to
Adolf Hitler's own words on the use
of poison gas in replying to ques-
tions concerning the chances of its
use in any attempt to invade
Britain.
The matter of gas came up at
yesterdays foreign press conference
because of the staterrent of United
States Secretary of the Navy Frank
Knox before the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee that he had
received information the Germans
"are contemplating" use of this
weapon in the expected invasion
attempt.
Authorized German sources. reply
ing to questions, called attention to
Hitler's pronouncement before the
Reichstag on September l, 1899, the
day Poland was invaded, to this
effect:
From now on bomb will be an
swered with bomb: he who applies
poison gas will be fought with poison
gas; he who himself departs from
the rules of humane warfare can
not expect from us that we will not
take the same step"
That. the German spokesman
said. obviates the necessity of any
further rejoinder.
Roosevelt Dkened to "Truant."
Yesterdays high command bull
letin reported that the new "all-
weather" German bombers had
sunk two merchant vessels, of TO-
100 tons, west of Ireland yesterday.
Just before this was issued, informed
sources claimed the sinking of six
ships totaling 81, 900 tons all around
the British Isles.
At the press conference, spokes-
man compared President Roosevelt
to a schoolboy playing truant for
not listening to the Fuehrer's Sports
palast speech of January 30, in
which Hitler said all ships carrying
supplies to England would be
torpedoed.
"If it is true, as reported, that
Mr.. Roosevelt said he didn't read
the Fuehrer's speech because he was
having a birthday" the spokesman
said, I'VE can only say that with us,
boys in the lower classes of school
say they didn't attend lessons on
account of their birthday. We know,
however, that usually the American
President pays close attention to
what Herr Hitler saws"