AN EXCITING EPISODE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2543, 18 August 1915, Page 9

AN EXCITING EPISODE

TRANSPORT AND TORPEDOES. Waiting from the Dardanelles to a friend in Wellington, a soldier describes a rather exciting episode that occurred during tho transportation of troops to tho Dardanelles. Ho writes "To-day we received a wireless message intimating that the Britisli transport 812, tho Manitcu, was torpedoed and sunk about 90 miles ahead of us, and that the torpedoer was steaming in the direction of Smyrna, pursued by our warships. We at once got to work and mounted one of our guns on each side of the vessel in preparation for a visit which we expected at any moment. It eventually turned out that the 812 was not sunk. It appears that a torpedoer flying the Russian flag met the 81.2 about 60 miles ahead of us. She went alongside and asked what they wore, and heing told'tliat, she was a British transport the torpedo boat hauled down tho Russian Hag and Teplaced it witli the Turkish Hag, giving the transport two minutes' grace to get into the boats. Knowing this to be impossible, the captain asked for ten minutes' grace, but was refused point-blank. The aggressor immediately drew away about 75 yards and fired a torpedo, whiolr howover went underneath the transport. She then fired two more with the same result. Then seeing warships approaching, the would-bo death dealer set.off for- tho horizon iii all baste. The warships, however, managed to drivd her ashore, wliera she was destroyed by tho H.M.S. Minerva', the crow escaping inland, pursued'by btaejaokets. Forty-nine 'Tommies' were drowned bv an accident in lowering the boats. ======