Searchlights and star shells stabbed suddenly through the pre-dawn darkness over the central Mediterranean one night last week. An Italian squadron of two cruisers, an E-boat (MAS) and a torpedo boat were caught off guard. From behind the lights came volleys of shells and torpedoes. One cruiser caught fire, exploded, dived to the bottom. The second blazed fiercely. The E-boat sank. The torpedo boat, badly crippled, may have escaped.
The British technique used in this night attack was to send destroyers dashing boldly within range, loose a blinding screen of lights and star shells, then let fly with everything at the...
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