Evening star., 1941-02-18
British Claim Sinking
OF Nazi Ship, Damage
To ; Italian Vessels
German Boot Was
Carrying Supplies
For Fascist Forces
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
LONDON, Feb. 18.-Fleet air arm
planes were reported by the Ad-
miralty today to have sunk a Ger
man vessel acting as an Italian
supply ship and damaged three
other Italian vessels, one of them an
auxiliary warship, in Mediterranean
operations.
An Admiralty communique said:
"a German merchant vessel of
about 1000 tons which was being
used by the italians as a supply ship
has been sunk by naval aircraft in
the Central Mediterranean.
"An Italian supply ship of about
5000 tons has also been success
fully attacked by naval aircraft.
When last seen, this vessel was down
by the stern and a large cloud of
smoke was rising from her. The
crew were seen to be abandoning
ship in lifeboats.
Genoa Smelling Successful"
Another Italian supply ship Of
about 1000 tons and an Italian aux
iliary warship have been damaged
during attacks by naval aircraft.
"All our aircraft returned safely
from all these attacks, which are in
addition to feet air arm attacks on
merchant ships in the Central Med
tterranean mentioned in the Royal
Air Force Middle East communique
of February Is"
A German plane exploded in the
air over the North Sea today when
a shot from the mine-sweeping
traWler Stella Rigel hit it, the Ad-
miralty announced later.
A communique said the trawler's
commander, T. H. Spall, opened fire
himself when the plane began cir
cling He scored hits Immediately
and the plane blew up. There were
no survivors.
At the same time, naval circles
said information on the British
naval shelling of the italian port Of
Genoa February 9 indicated it was
most successful both from the
standpoint of material damage and
effect on morale"
They asserted one troopship was
hit. and drydocks, merchantmen and
buildings were damaged.
Weeks Losses, 29,806 Tons.
British and Allied merchant ship
ping losses during the week ended
February 9 we're 13 ships, totaling
29,8O6 tons, the Admiralty reported.
At the same time, it said total
enemy" losses since the outbreak
of hostilities amounted to "over g.
100000 gross tons"
The British and Allied merchant
shipping losses, the Admiralty said,
were less than half of the average
total weekly loss since the beginning
of the war.
They included nine British ships
totaling 1884 tons and four Allied
vessels of 10,442 tons.
Nazi Claims Denied.
The Admiralty said the Germans
claimed to have sunk 102,500 tons
during the week and the Italians,
5000 tons for a total axis claim
which is lover three times the true
figure"
In its statement, the Admiralty
added:
Since the beginning of the war,
the Germans have lost by capture.
sinking and scuttling total gross
tonnage of 100000 and the Ital-
ians total of 623 900. In addition,
0,00O gross tons of neutral shipping
under enemy control or useful to the
enemy have been sunk"
The British, neutral and allird
losses specified by the Admiralty
were below the 62,000-ton average
for the war for the ninth successive
week
The Admiralty also announced it
had been informed that two Ger
man destroyers, in addition to the
nine originally claimed, we're sunk
in the two battles of Narvik, Norway,
last April.
Naval circles said the vessels were
the Bruno Heinemann and the
Georg Thiele.
James fighting ships lasts them at
1925 tons. The Georg Thiele was
launched in 1885 and the Bruno
Heinemann year later.