Evening star., 1943-01-26
Axis Ship Carrying
Troops and Workers
From 1ripoIi Sunk
Escorting Destroyer Also
Bodily Damaged by
British Vessel
BY HARRY CROCKETT,

Associated Press War Correspondent
ABOARD A BRITISH WARSHIP
OFF THE TRIPO OLITANIAN
COAST, Jan l6 Delayed The
Axis has just had convincing and
spectacular evidence that the Brit
ish Eastern Mediterranean feet is
again on the ffensive-evidence in
the form of 4,500-ton merchant
man sunk and her escorting destroy
er badly damaged by shellf1re.
The merchantmen into which I
saw this WarShip and another fire
round after round of screaming
shells and hundreds of glowing trac-
erS was en- route from Tripoli to
Palermo, Sicily, carrying troops and
hundreds of Axis workmen to Sicil-
ian farms
There are % survivors aboard our
ship, one of them a former Brook
lyn waterfront resident who speaks
English. He said many Of his ship
mates were natives of Tripolitania,
who were being taken to Sicily and
Italy unwillingly to do farm work.
We had been cruising at high
speed for many hours off the Tunis-
ian Tripolitanian coast through
vicious seas whipped to a fury by
bowling winter gale. 1t was so
rough that number of the crew
were injured. One officer suffered
fractured leg as we approached
our prey.
Illuminated by Flares.
Accompanying aircraft had re-
ported sighting merchant ship
with an unidentified escort.
About a mile ahead off starboard
the sea was brightly Illuminated by
flares, but the target was not yet
visible. Altering course to head
directly for the flares we splashed
through huge waves at top speed
and soon saw the silhouette of the
merchantmen, but the escort was
not in sight
Then came an ear splitting roar
and the forward guns belched white
flames through the darkness, send
ing she'll after shell directly into the
huh OF the merchantmen
The sky blazed with light as our
big guns and those of our companion
ship blazed away. Tracers from
pompoms formed perfect arc of red
fire between us and the target.
The first shells started a column
of smoke rising from the stern of the
Axis ship as We got her into full view
with the searchlights. Then an
orange fire broke out at her bow as
explosive pompom shells struck and
bounced against her port side.
Italian Destroyer Flees.
AS the deck of this ship shiyered
10 the roaring explosion OF the heavy
guns, l realized suddenly all the
tracers were not going the same way.
Some were passing overhead and two
or three hit us, though they caused
no damaged.
Thus the convoy escort was dis
covered sitting far out on the hori-
zon. The commander ordered the
other British ship to finish off the
merchantmen with a torpedo while
we sped toward the escort-an
Italian destroyer-which sped awav
after getting at least five or six of
our shells in her stern and on her
port side
Later there was a big explosion
just beyond the horizon in the di-
rectlon the destroyer was heading,
from the other side, meanwhile
there was more tracer fire but if
there were other escort ships, we
didn't observe them.
Nearing the spot where the mer-
chantman had gone down like a
piece OF lead, the commander
ordered:
Stand by to pick up survivors"
AT least so screaming Italian sea-
men IN lifeboat barely floating
shouted; "Aiuta-help--"
The boat capsized just as the line
was tossed, but % were rescued. Try-
ing to rescue more we were warned
OF the approach of enemy aircraft
and forced to abandon the region.
| saw one old man deliberately
showed back in the water by a young
Ster who clambered to safety. The
British saved the old man by toss
ing him line.