HEAVY LOSS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 225, 21 September 1940, Page 9

HEAVY LOSS.

TRANSPORT SUNK. Daring Attack By British Submarine. British Official Wireless. (Reed. 10.30 a.m.) RUGBY, Sept, 20. An Admiralty communique, issued at 1.45 p.m., states: "It can now be stated that the submarine Sturgeon successfully attacked a heavily laden enemy transport off the northern point of Denmark on the evening of September 2. The enemy transport was a ship of about 10,000 tons. She was escorted by small naval vessels and aircraft. "The Sturgeon carried out a successful attack in spite of difficult conditions of light and the heavy weather. Torpedoes hit the enemy transport, from which came brilliant flashes of flame and a dense column of smoke. A few minutes later the whole ship buret into flames.

"When the Sturgeon came to the surface some time later, the transport had sunk and German escort vessels were sweeping the water with searchlights to pick up survivors.

•'lt will bo remembered, that reports from Stockholm stated that a German transport was sunk by a British submarine oft* the Skaw on the evening of September 2 and a very large number of German troops were killed. This was denied by the German wireless and offic-ial news agencies."

A German transport, which was sunk bv the Sturgeon off Northern Denmark oil September 2, was hit in deepening dusk during heavy weather at 5000 to 6000 vards. The transport, which was due north of Oslo fiord, was stated by Swedish sources to have carried 3000 to 4000 men.