WHAT A TRAWLER SKIPPER SAW

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2789, 6 June 1916, Page 5

WHAT A TRAWLER SKIPPER SAW

t„ ... . , London, June 4. Hii t'! , rtlier interview (ho skipper of the trawler John Brown states that he T S tho ban ! ;s at 2 °' clock 0)1 Wednesday afternoon, his position being , esr n' s I,orth and C 1 eas t when ho saw to the south-eastward a huge Ger..i steanlil >g in lino ahead to tho west-north-west, There were at least nity snips of all descriptions, including Jjieaunoughts. An hour later, he saw the British fleet coming from the north-east and it altered its course to get to tho the Germans. The first 6hot was fired at 4.15 p.m., and a heavy cannonado began at 4.30 p.m. Great columns of 6moko arose from two snips, probably Germans, who were now due east of the trawler. The British licet, though greatly outnumbered, altered its course, evidently trying to cut off "Vf, Germans from Heligoland. ihe Germans theu camo westward, apparently because they saw a fast British vessel dash out of the lino and feared that British reinforcements wore coming, ihese arrived in sight at 7 o'clock, and the Germans began to withdraw towards Heligoland. The action was general rrom 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., when a star shell was fired. The British swept'past to tho southward at 2 o'clock in the morning. £ u ?so °n board the trawler saw moro British destroyers and submarines tearing to the .south-east at G o'clock on Thurs<'ay morning, evidently to reinforce tho fleet. AGAINST ODDS OF 3 TO 1 London, June 4. Apart from the fact that the Germans were nearly three times as strong as Admiral. Beatty's squadron, they had the advantage of the light. They hugged the 9past, and tho weather changed to a thin drizzle, which reduced tho visibility of Hie British gunlayers, who were thuß handicapped, while, with the western sun behind them, the British ships could easijy be picked out on the horizon. Accompanying the Queen Mary and the Indefatigable wero tlio Lion, the Princess Koyal, and the Tiger. The British gunners, at the outset, wero plainly superior. Soon a big Gorman cruiser received a direct hit. She became enveloped in names and foundered. . As heretofore, the Germans were fighting chiefly with battle-cruiser's; but ships of the Kaiser class joined in the fray, their smashing power giving the Germans an enormous superiority in both 6hips and gun-power. _ There i_s reason to believe that the new uermaii "battleship Hindonburg was heavily engaged. Beaity Hung on Grimly. Having drawn tho whole German fleet out of its safe quarters, Admiral Beatty, although greatly outnumbered and running heavy risks,) determined to hang on grimly in order to detain the enemy. It was a daring manoeuvre under the cirI, cumstances, for in gun-power tho battle- ; cruiser squadron was no match for the Germans. Tho advent of Admiral Hood with the Invincible, Indomitable, and Inflexible was timely and none too soon, lor with Admiral Beatty's battered fleet it was mainly at this stage a battle Toyal with the big guns. The conflict waß stupendous. The Invincible, fighting with tho greatest gallantry, inflicted much dslmage, l>ut met her doom and sank quickly. Arrival of the Big Battleships. Further and more formidable aid was forthcoming in the Valiant, Barham, Malaya, and Warspite, (Britain's newest battleships, 27,500 tons). Tho latter bore the "brunt of a terrific attack by five battleships 'or cruisers. Sho put up a glorious Uglit, and sank or seriously damaged threo assailants. The Valiant rammed a submarine after tlio German , retreat. vVith the approach of darkness the biggest vessels ceased firing. Tlio action was continued all night by the smaller craft. During tho fight the enemy destroyers wero swept liko chaff off the sea, only smoke and ashes indicating whero they tiad been engulfed. Our destroyer flotilla tM marvels. Their feat will bo ever memorablo for the courage, daring, and skilful seamanship shown. Ouo account states that shots were exchanged at 20,000 yards, while towards the end tho range was 2000 yards-, and represented for the class of ship engaged point-blank firing, pounding each other to atoms, and dominated by the resolve to win or sink. Despite tlie possession of an admittedly good range-finder, the German gun-laying was inferior to ours. THE RETURN OF THE SEA KINGS (Rec. Juuo 5, 10 p.m.) , „ London, June 5. An officer who witnessed the return of part of tho British Fleet, states that tho majority , showed small signs of tho conflict. The crews vehemently insist that tho Germans suffered a far heavier pounding than did ours. The general opinion is that- tho Gorman High Seas Fleet has been put out of effective action for sorue time. THE LUTZOff AND WESTFALEN (Rec. Juno 5, 10 p.m.) Copenhagen, June 5. Rumours in Hamburg state that both the Wcstfalen and the Lutzow were sunk. THE ELBLING AND FRAUENLOB BATTLE A "STUPENDOUSLY AWFUL SIGHT." mi. Amsterdam, June i. Iho sibling's captain refused to be interviowed, and merely remarked that the battlo was the most terrible lie had over «reamt of. The rescuing skipper declared that tho battlo was unforgettable. . It provided a stupendously awful sight, like an earthquako at sea. Both sides fought with tho utmost gallantry, and ships sank -under iho terrible fire, their heroic crews waying ilags and singing their National An. thems. Eleven of tho men who wero rescued from the German light cmiser Frauenloh have arrived from the Kook of Holland. They state that the Frauenlob was engaged from 7 o'clock to 10.30, and was tnen re-engaged with great violence until midnight. She was torpedoed in tho engine-room an hour later. Nineteen of the crow reached a raft, and tho remainder were drowned. Nine men died on tho raft. The Hague, June d. Official.— I Two officers and eighteen of the Sibling's crew, with a British surgeon, have been liberated in accordanco with the terms of tho Red Cross Convention, becauso the rescuing trawler did.not communicate with the warships. (Rec. June G, 1.18 a.m.) Rotterdam,' June 5. The Frauenlob's survivors- state that the German l''lcet ieft V7ilhelmshavcn at 4 o'clock on Wednesday morning-. The '"itish cruisers' shells converted the Frauenlob into a shambles—arms, le[j«, and bodies flew through tlio air. The scene was awful. .Many of the crew were killed before the torpedo dealt tlio death-blow. THE MYSTERY OF THE POMMERN London, Juno 4. i , It is serai-officially stated that there [ is some mystery about tho Pommern. It IS understood that tho latter was tor-, pedotfil in the Gulf of Ki»a on July. 2, 1915, and experts believe that the Pommern which was sunk on Wednesday is a I nevr"Dreadnought christened by the old I name. Otherwise it is believed that the Germans, wishing l:o over the loss of a vessel of the Kaiser class, have introducod the name of Pommern to a vessel of a smaller tonnage. DESTROYER INCIDENTS (Rec. June 0, 1.10 a.m.) London, Juno 5. One of the first vessels to draw the German lire was a destroyer, which was badly damaged. A shell killed an entire gun-crew, but n man rushed forward and kept tho gun firing. In another instance a gun-crew was killed, all except one, who continued 'to charges and gun. This destroyer's crew is confident that tho German battlecruiser Dcritlinger was lost. They saw her on fire.