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BRITISH SEA
LOSSES
.Japanese Sink
Two Cruisers
MANY RESCUED
LONDON, April 9 (A.A.P.)
Thjs afternoon it was announced in
London - that the British cruisers
Dorsetshire (9975 tons) and Cornwall
(10,000 'tons) had been sunk in the
Indian Ocean as the result of a Jap
anese air attack. There were 1100
survivors, including the commanding
officers of both ships.
The Dorsetshire was commanded by
Captain A. W. S. Agar, and the Corn
wall by Captain G. C. W. Main-
waring. No further details are
available yet, says the Admiralty
communique.
Captain Agar was awarded the V.c.
for conspicuous gallantry In 1919. It
was the Dorsetshire which fired the
final shot which sank the German
raider Bismarck.
The Cornwall in 1941 destroyed the
German-arrried auxiliary cruser, Pen
guin, which the German high com
mand claimed had sunk 140,000 tons
of shipping in the Indian Ocean.
The Cornwall rescued 27 British mer
chant seamen prisoners aboard the
Penguin.
This announcement followed a Tokio
communique claim that during naval
operations In the Indian Ocean to
April 7 the Japanese sank a British
cruiser of the London (0350 . tons) type
and one of the Cornwall (10,000 tons)
type. They also claimed to have sunk
21 merchantmen and seriously dam
aged 23, shot down 60 planes and
seriously damaged a repair factory
and three hangars and other Impor
tant enemy facilities. The Japanese,
it was said, lost five planes, whilst
her war ships were not damaged.
The merchantmen claimed to have
been sunk approximated 140,000 tons,
and those damaged 102,000 tons.
The Dorsetshire, which was 633
feet long, was built In 1929-30, at a
cost of £2,101,000, and carried eight
8-inch guns and eight 4-inch A. A.
guns and one aircraft. Her speed
was 3214 knots, and her war comple
ment was 710.
The Cornwall was 630 feet long,
and was built in 1926-28, at a cost of
£1,252,000. Her guns were similar
to those of the Dorsetshire, .but she
carried three aircraft. Her speed was
31 Vj knots, and her war complement
was 700.1
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