DESTROYERS IN BATTLE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2915, 30 October 1916, Page 5

DESTROYERS IN BATTLE

BRISK ENCOUNTER IN THE CHANNEL

ATTEMPTED RAID ON OUR TRANSPORTS

SCALPS ON BOTH SIDES

The High Commissioner reports

London, October 27, 4.25 p-m. The Admiralty reports:—"During last night ten of the enemy's destroyers attempted a raid on. the transports crossing the Channel, and failed. Ono empty transport was sunk, but the crew was saved. Two of the enemy's destroyers were, sunk, and the rest were driven off. "Ono British destroyer (the Flirt) is missing, and it is feared she lias been lost. Nine of the orew were saved. Another destroyer (the Nubian) wae disabled by a torpedo, and was being towed when the tow-rope parted, owing to the bad weather, and the destroyer went aground." SIGNIFICANT NAVAL ACTIVITY YON HINDENBURG'S' INFLUENCE SUSPECTED. .

No further details havo been published regarding the defeat of the attempt by German destroyers to bold up the cross-rChannel transport service. The Admiralty does not desire to show the exact locality mentioned. It is understood that the German flotilla, which is usually of ten boats, came from Zeebrugge. Germany's loss of two destroyers brings her total lossi iu destroyers to thirty, counting the nine which were lost off Jutland. The result of the fight shows that- Admiral Bacon's Dover patrol is fully awake.. Since early on Friday morning a terrible galo had been raging in- the Channel.

In connection with the affair it is recalled that these fresh German naval measures were anticipated. Since von Hindenburg's assumption of the military command, it was asserted that he would not allow the fleet to remain inactive, and must attempt appreciably to assist the German armies. 'There is good reason to believe that he will insist upon an effort being made to .harass the Ohaunel transport service. It is noteworthy that the Italian Press to-day announces in a German report that von Hindenburg's powers have been further extended to include a powerful measure of control (Q>er the Navy, in order to ensure co-ordination in the' services. Thus Hindenburg has been elevated to an unprecedented position; hitherto only the Kaiser combined high naval and military authority. A Well-Cuarded Coast. _. The newspapers suggest the necessity of extending the use of mines in order to close the. egress' from Zeebruggo and Ostend. Zeebrugge is now a station for many torpedo boats, destroyers, and trawlers, and a number of submarines, together with wooden dummies intended to mislead, the enemy's airmen when bombarding the port. The coast is defended by interminable rows of 11-inch naval guiiß, buried in the dunes. Behind the dunes are heavy howitzers in protected positions; The whole sandy coast is honeycombed with trenches and flanked by subterranean catacombs constructed'of concrete, and bomb-proof. German torpedo boats and (Other naval craft are constantly moving between Ostend and. Zeebrugge. It is understood that tho Germans were recently turning out exceptionally fast well-armed destroyers, and had brought them to Belgian ports. It is only two hours' steaming from Ostend to the 'South Foreland.

Tho Flirt was last seen attacking four of the enemy's ships. The tight occurred between midnight and one o'clock.

The '"'Daily Telegraph" says: "The raid was the most ambitious of its kind since the opening of the war. Germany employed ten of her new, speediest, and best-gunned destroyers in order to make certain of achieving success. , They risked vessels of the value of a million, but their effort merely resulted in the destruction of an empty transport.'?

THE GERMAN STORY

(Red. October 29, 5.5 p.m.) London, October 28. Berlin's official story of the raid claims that the- German destroyers passed through the Straits of Dover ajid sank eleven patrol boats, two or three torpedo boats, while others were damaged by torpedoes. AH the German boats returned safely. FRENCH TRAWLER SUNK. (Rec. October ,29, 5.3 p.m.) Paris, October 28. Official.—A Channel raider, returning, sank a /French trawler. Most of the orew were saved.

MINE-SWEEPER SUNK

FIGHTS TO THE LAST (Keutar's Telegram.) London, October 27. Official. —"An enemy submarine torpedoed and sank the mine-sweeper Canista. All the officers and seventythree men were lost, and twelve men were saved. When last seen, the ship was sinking, bnt was still engaged with the enemy submarine."