BATTLESHIP FORMIDABLE SUNK

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2349, 4 January 1915, Page 5

BATTLESHIP FORMIDABLE SUNK

• GREAT LOSS OF LIFE BELIEVED SHE BIT A DISANCHORED MINE ' London, January 1. Official.—The battleship Formidable was sunk in the Channel'by a mine or a submarine. , Seventy-one survivors have so far been picked Up. The rest are missing. [The Formidable was a battleship of 16,000 tons, and eighteen knots. She was one of toe "Formidable class" of eight vessels, the third oldest group in the Navy. They are all-over ten years old, and the Formidable waß completed in 1901. She was armed with four 12in., twelve 6in., and sixteen 12-pounder guns, and four submerged torpedo tubes. Her armour was 9in. thick on the waterline. Each ship, of the type carries 780 men, and the cost of each was about,.£l,ooo,ooo.] . .■ \ . The Prime Minister has received the following from the High Commissioner:-* The battleship Formidable, 15,000 tons, was sunk this morning in the Channel, whether by a mine or submarine is uncertain- Seventy-one survivors were picked up by. a light cruiser, and others possibly, iby other vessels. A TRAWLER TO THE REBOTJE. , \ (Reo, January. 3,10.30 a.m.) 'The trawler Providence picked up the Fonmdable's pinnae wlKixtveight men and two officers aboard, and landed them at Brixhara. The ninnaoe was leaking, and was nearly full of water. Many of the men were in nightattire, others wero wrapped in blanketi. , : Several other in the vicinity. The Providence was running for shelter. It, wa f in the height of tho gale, and mountainous seas were running when she sighted the pinnace. A crow of four did heroic work in taking off the survivors. SURVIVORS' ACCOUNT OF THE RESCUE. i (Rec. January 3, 8.25 p.m.) mi t. ■ i i • ii i ''"„■• ' * Londoni January 2. The Providence, at nine o clock on Friday morning, sighted the" pinnace flying a scarf from an oar as a signal of distress. With the utmost difficulty she was manoeuvred to windward, and after four attempts hauled the- pinnace round the stern. The sailors began to jump aboard. There was Teat danger, as the seas were thirty feet high. It took .half an hour to get all aboard. The survivors state they had the greatest difficulty in launching the boats. Theirs was stove-in, and they stuffed the hole with jumpers. All the oars were smashed fending off. Some jumped from the decks and swam to the boat. One boat fell nose first, throwing the crew into the sea. When the pinnace got away, the men wero singing "It's a, Long Way to Tipperary," but a heavy sea broke over them, and compelled them to save their breath for continuous baling. I The survivors report that two other boats left the Formidable. PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE DISASTER. (Rec. January 3, 3.10 p.m.) „ , ~ , . London, January 2. Naval writers suggest that tho gale possibly disanchored some mines laid eastward of Dover, causing them to drift down the Channel, and remind readers, whether mmed'or torpedoed, of the appdsiteness of Mr. Churchill's words, uttered on November 27, of olir ability to afford 1 such a loss monthly, also the Admiralty's wisdom in carefully avoiding unnecessary risks to tho Battle Squadron. MORE THAN A FOURTH OF THE CREW SAVED. ( Rec. January 4, 0.5 a.m.) London, January 3. Official.—The latest list of the Formidable's survivors shows 201. Survivors stato that after a great explosion tlio fires wero drawn and tho meil cnino oil deck. Slie had a heavy, list to starboard) and sank in an hour. ' Hail the weather been favourable.'ail would have been saved. Many plunged into tho sen and wefts picked up by tho boats. , Diirlinoss made 'rescue work' difficult. A number Of trawlers misunderstood the signals otherwise more would have been saved. Tho Press Bureau publishes th* nanies of' thirty-nine officers who were drno-nfid, including Captain Jolifl t>«ed. hM Arthur Loalcy, wind CommlUUtore Ohailofin &»'Urd aud, .wiUijun Heary.- teat.

THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST TURKEY ENVER PASHA DEPRESSED BADLY DEFEATED IN THE CAUCASUS PBtrograd, January 1. Enver Pasha, with a strong army and! ample artillery, began a march on Sarai Kamish at the beginning of last -week, and attempted to overpower the garrison by a rapid assault before the arrival of reinforcemssnts. A portion of the garrison sortied for a distance of fifteen miles, and a battle began, both sides being chest-deep in snow. The Russians slowly retreated, dividing towards both sides of a valley. When the Turks' reached Sarai Kamish the Russian reinforcements had arrived, and they attacked the Turks on three sides, with only a narrow outlet near, through the mountains. Besides sustaining heavy casualties, the Turks abandoned much new equipment.- t . This was Enver Pasha's first experience as a commander. He was greatly depressed by the result of the battle, and has quitted the army, transferring his command to General von Sanders, a German. TURKISH LOSSES AT SARAI KAMISH, Petrograd, January I. Official. —The Russians at Sarai Kamish captured twenty Turkish officers and thirteen hundred men, and killed many, including a general, ■BOMBARDMENT OF CONSTANTINOPLE ANTICIPATED, -Athens, January 1. Feverish! measures are being made against an expected Anglo-French bombardment of Constantinople and tho Dardanelles. The German and Austro-Hungarian Embassies have gone to Asia Minor. REVOLT OF TURKISH TROOPS ON EGYPTIAN FRONTIER. London, January 1. Paris has been informed that the Turks on the Egyptian frontier have revolted against their German commanders, killing many.—"Times''' qn.d Sydney "Sun" Services. : MISERABLY-EQUIPPED CONTINGENT AT JERUSALEM, London, January 1. The "Central News" reports that refugees state that Djemal Pasha arrived at Jerusalem on Friday at the head of 5000 miserably-equipped men. Djemal Pasha was found dead in his room on Saturday. . ■■■'• ' INVASION OF EGYPT IN THE SPRING, Alexandria, January 1. 'K prominent American missionary from Jerusalem states, that active preparations are being made for the invasion of Egypt in the spring. Thirty thousand .Turkish troops have been assembled south of Jerusalem. It is estimated that there are three thousand German officers in Palestine. All the' camels in the country have-been commandeered. INCITING THE POPULACE TO PUNISH THE GERMANS CONSTANTINOPLE IN A STATE OF PANIC. • (Rec. January 2, 5.25 p.m.) , London, January 1. Constantinople has been placarded, inciting the populace to _ punish' the Germans who have pushed Turkey into ruin. Troops are surrounding the Sultain's Palace, the Ministries fearing attacks. ~The city is in a state of panio. . —"Times" and Sydney "Sun" Services. AN EXPOSURE OF GERMAN TREACHERY. - (Reo. 'January 3, 3.35 p.m.)' Petrograd, January 2. 'An Orange Book has been published in order to show German underhandednesa in forcing the Turks, against their will. The Young Turk Cabinet apparently believed it would be" able to withdraw from the Teutonic enterprise as soon as the Germans were convinced the Turks would always recoil from a fatal decision. 1 The Breslau and Goeben treacherously attacked Russia. FIELD-MARSHAL VON DER GOLTZ.

' " ■ j ■ • (Reo. January 3, 3.30 p.m.) . • ' - \ . Amsterdam, 'January 2. z Field-Marshal Von der Goltz, who'was-recently appointed Military Commander of Constantinople, has gone to the Caucasian front.