THE TERROR OF THE BALTIC

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 206, 20 May 1918, Page 5

THE TERROR OF THE BALTIC

BRITISH SUBMARINES AT WORK

STIRRING EXPLOITS

HOW A DREADNOUGHT WAS SUNK

(Rw. May 19, 5.5 p.m.) ' „,, , , . , London May 18. Ihe Admiralty, in lifting the veil from tho operations of lho British subma- | rines in the Baltic, relates stirring deeds; I how, continually attacking and destroy- ! ing the enemy's warcraft, they kept a watchful eye on the movemo.nW of tho : lerman Fleet. Their work was so oflfec ■ tive that finally the German ships wore ; kept in the harbours as soon as a Itrit- ; isli submarine,was reported. Unlike the : m , "J", " o|: a . . si "S le cnso can It bo ; alleged that a British submarine sank a. merchantman on sight. Merchantmen wcro invariably boarded in the orthodox manner, and the crews given'plenty of time in which to abandon their vessels. lhey were directed to tlic nearest port, or Mcortal'to a neutral vessel. The official documents of tho submarine doings leave a profound impression of the perseverance and skill wilh which Hie crews carried on. The passage into the Balti'i whs most difficult owing (o tho closest, watch being kept. The submarines resorted to numerous ruses, or waited until they could follow Eiirfaco craft, and run the gauntlet. A Rich Haul. Submarinn Commander Goodha-rt espied an enemy battleship escorted b.T destroyers. He fired, and observed tho flash of tho explosion along tlio waterline. YA'llen the submarine wso again the ship was gone, destruction being' instantaneous. "It was tho battleship Prinz Albert. Another submarine sighted a. light cruiser of the Ancowa class and fired her torpedo, hitting tho cruiser forward. The cruiser was apparently put out of control, and swung round in a large circle, then stopped, fire bursting from tho deck. The escorting destroyer attacked the submarine, but tho latter evaded her, and fired a second torpedo, getting the cruiser amidships. The latter s magazine blew up. and large masses of iron wreckage, fell around the subma-' rine, which, before submerging, observed the cruiser's crow assembling on the poop. ■ These were later rescued By a largo German ferry boat. As regards the operations against merchant vessels, tho following is typical: A , submarino sighted and chased 'a stoamer —laden with wood—from Hamburg. She was signalled to stop, and was boarded. Her crew was ordered to leave, and subsequently the seacocks wore opened, charges were exploded, and the ship . sunk. • lleanwhilo' a Hamhurg-Amerifca.' iner was sighted, proceeding without lights. The boarding party overhauled her, and found that sho was laden with iron ore for Stettin. So quickly did. the crew abandon the ship that the interrogations could not be continued. The. phip was sunk in similar manner to the first one, after which, within a few hours, two more were sirailnrly dispatched. On the following day tho commander reported that all German traffic had on- ' iiroly ceased.-Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Reii-ter.

THE SALVATION OT? PETEOGEAD. London, May 17. The "Morning Post" Petrograd correspondent etatea that there were never moro than nine British submarines in the Baltic. There were still seven when the end came.- In spito of tho groat amount of close fighting done by the submarines in .tho 'course of three years of incessant work, tho Germans captured and destroyed none of them. "There is not a German harbour in the Baltic that our submarines have not entered and charted by ereening under (ho minefields mid through the shallowest channels. One submarine destroyed nine enemy transports in a single day. It wns tho British submarines that preserved Petrogrnd last summer."—Eeuter. THE U-BOAT WAR BAD MONTH FOR THE PIRATES FOURTEEN SENT TO THE BOTTOM. (Eec. May ID, 5.5 p.m.) Now York, May 18. It has been stated from official sources that twelve U-boats wore sunk in British waters by British and American destroyers during April. Two other Üboats a.-n also known to have been sunk. One was dispatched whilo attacking a convoy going: to Holland. Tho other rose- up between two American transports which were carrying troops to Frnnce. Her torpedo missed Hie transport by a few feet, and the TT-lroal; was destroyed by depth bombs from, a destroyjr.—Aus.N,B. Cablo Assn. ELOQUENT RESULTS. (Eec. May IS, 5.5 p.m.) Paris, May 17. Admiral Wilson, commanding tin American naval forces in French, waters, states that as tlio result of .FrancoAmerican anti-submarino warfare, n<i vessels wero sunk by torpedo during February and April in tho waters in which the American warships were operating, as compared with thirty-four in October, 1917.-Aus.-N.Z. Cablo .Assn. IRRITATION IN HOLLAND 1 The Hague, May 17. The "Nieuwo Courant" (Dutch) points out that in the last three weeks German seaplanes attacked three innocent Dutch vessels outsido the danger zone. It demands that tho Government should protest to Berlin.—Eeutor.