Alexandria, Apr. 1.
PULLER details of the crushing defeat of the Italian Fleet in the Mediterranean which crowned the greatest week of the war bring the enemy's almost certain losses to seven warships—four cruisers and three destroyers—while a battleship of the Littorio class was seriously damaged by repeated poundings of fleet air arm torpedoes.
With the return of the British Fleet to Alexandria without a man hurt or a ship scratched it is revealed how the enemy forces were lured to destruction by a British cruiser.
The Hatians were taken completely by surprise when a 30,000-ton warship leading the British Fleet follow-fed by the battleships Barham and Valiant began a chase lasting 12 hours and demolished with broadsides enemy cruisers already hit by aerial torpedoes, leaving the destroyers to race in to finish the job.
Back in port Admiral Sir Andrew Browne Cunningham, Commander-in-Chief of British Naval Forees in the Mediterranean, paid tribute to the personnel of his fleet for skilful man-Gouvring and to the air arm for untiring efforts which between them contributed to the greatest naval victory of the war,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.