RUDYARD KIPLING ON THE NAVY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2808, 28 June 1916, Page 5

RUDYARD KIPLING ON THE NAVY

(Copyright for 1916, by Btidyard Kipling.) By Telegraph-Press Association-Copyright (Kcc. June 27, 11.20 p.m.) London, June 27. Mr. lludyard Kipling, in his third article of the series nil the Navy, continues his story of the ■ adventures ,of British submarines in the Sea of Marmora. The narrative includes a detailed description of l'il2's (Commander Bruce) cutting-out affair:— "Her main motors gave trouble, and she was a crippio for tile most of the trip. She sighted two small learners, one towing iwo t and the other three sailers.' She stopped the first steamer. They, noticed that she carried stores, while her crew were all oil deck, wearing life-belts. Not seeing any gun, Kl2 ran alongside and told the first lieutenant to board her. "The .steamer then threw a bomb at 1512,' which struct, but did riot explode, and opened fire on the boarding party with rides and a concealed 1-inch gun. 1312 answered with . her six-pounders, ami also with rifle fire. The two sailers that were in toiv tried to foul El 2's piopellers, and also fired rifles. "The first lieutenant of the boarding party wus engaged on the steamer. El 2 fell foul of the steamer, and was being fouled by the sailers, while her .G----pounders were methodically perforating the steamer from bow to stern, aud the. steamer's 1-inch gun, and the sailing ships* rifles were raking everything and everybody else. "El 2's coxswain, on tho conning-tower, passed ammunition. His vessel's one workable motor was developing slight defects at the moment when power to manoeuvre was vital,'and his story is almost as difficult to disentangle as the actual mess must have been. At any rate the G-pounder caused an explosion on the steamer, whioh carried ammunition. She sank in a quarter of an hour, giving time for El 2 to get clear and sink two of the sailers. "She then chased the second steamer, which had slipped her three tows, and ran shoreward. El 2 knocked her about a good deal with gunfire. They saw hoi' drive on the beaeh well alight. "E2 carried an externally-mounted gun, and while diving in the Dardanelles got entangled in the hawsers of a net, which caught her conning tower and gun. The submarine backed, got speed, barged ahead, and shored through the hawsers, but the submarine net had strained her, and she. was leaky for the rest of the cruise. She did her work, though worried by torpedo-boats and hunted by aeroplanes. But throughout her chief preoccupation was her strained gun mounting. They finally got it firing again, but they had to keep the water down by hand pumps coming home." Kipling concludes: "These submarines throughout never willingly took the lives of non-combatants. These were transferred to boats and personally conducted to a safo beach."