Evening star., 1943-09-12

rare position of an observer with a
perfect, if dangerous, front seat
gave graphic account Of the spec
tacular flght.
Wing Comdr. H. Law-Wright told
this story:
"The first sign of the attack we
saw was when the ships opened fire
For a moment we thought they
were firing at us and we took vio-
lent evasive action. Then we saw
flax bursts far above us, obviously
aimed at the high-f1ying attack"
Attacked for Half Hour.
Y Law-Wright piloted his Marauder
out OF range to give the ships gun
ners free hand and the German
bombers pressed the attack for a
half hour.
I'VE saw enormous explosions on
one of the battleships. Then creamy
white smoke went up about three
or four thousand feet. We saw a
stick of four bombs aimed at a
destroyer but they missed. The
smoke on the battleship subsided
and it looked as If it was getting
under way again.
Throughout the attack the ships
had taken excellent evasive action
and their antiaircraft fire was ac-
curate.
we flew over the ships and took
a look at the damaged one. We
arrived just as it was sinking
Under a big column of smoke we
saw the stern under water and the
bow sticking up. The ship ap-
peared to break in two and folded
up with the control tower and keel
forming V as the ship slowly
disappeared.
I'VE watched the rescue opera
tions for five minutes then turned
away towards the rest of the fleet
which was regaining formation. AT
this point we encountered Junkers
SO reconnaissance aircraft. We got
! in a good burst at the Hun and
our fire persuaded him to head TO,
home.'
Covered by Fighter Planes.
The Marauder again returned to
the scene of the sinking and saw
a Reggie class cruiser and six de-
stroyerS steaming around a large
patch of oil looking for survivors.
Going back to the feet, Law Wright
saw two German planes attacking
from between 1000 and 10000 feet.
Every ship was putting up accu-
rate antiaircraft fire." he said. TT
seemed impossible for any aircraft
to 1--we through it. One of the Huns
dove at steep angle, apparently
out of control
Before leaving the vessels, the
wing commander signaled "Au re-
voir," which the Italians acknowl-
edged. s@.,..
Once the ships arrived within
fighter range, they were covered
for the remainder of the trip and
one RAF pilot arranged for a Brit
ish warship escort.
He was Squadron Leader r. H.
Plumb, who first saw two Italian
destroyers which had become sepa-
rated from the main part Of the
fleet. He then found the other
vessels, which signalled to him they
wanted pilot to escort them to
port.
Two Fleets Join.
Plumb flew his Baltimore in search
of British vessels, which he found
so miles away. He then returned
to the Italian ships and told them
the British were coming.
1t was not long before the two
fleets met, and at the same time
the two struggling italian Destroy
ers rejoined the main body.
The Italian vessels began to nut
up large clouds of white steam,
which l presume was the equivalent
OF white flag" Plumb said. THE
ships, flying the huge Italian en-
signs of red, white and green, re-
duced their speed almost to a stand
still, and one British battleship be-
gan sending out signals by lamp.
After receiving the acknowledgment
from the Italians the ships swung
around. The italian ships took up
stations, and the British battleships
and destroyers sailed in vic
formation by the head. They pre-
sented a majestic spectacle as they