FIGHT WITH A U-BOAT

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 197, 15 May 1919, Page 4

FIGHT WITH A U-BOAT

AN EXPLOIT OF LIEUT. SANDERS' DELUDING THE SUBMARINE • COMMANDER By Telcgro.ph-Fress Aieociatiou. Auckland, May 14. An officer who served as first lieutenant under Lieutenant-Commander Sanders, V.C., writing to the father of the New Zealand hero, describes how their little Bailing ship in searching for submarines off the south-east coast of Ireland encountered one of the enemy U r boats, which holed Sanders's ship in three places on the water line, and set the engine-room on fire, while his "panic party" launched a boat and pulled clear of the ship. "During this trying lime," the-:, officer proceeds, "Sauders was perfectly cool. Occasionally he crept forward on his hands and knees to pay mo a visit at the forward guns, to ascertain • how the gun crews were standing the shell fire. About 9.10 p.m. the submarine commander could see our 6hip was in a sinking condition, and he ceased fire and slowly approached. Sanders, with unexampled courage and coolness, held his fire until ho got the submarine into ■ such a position that there would bo no escape. All this time his gun crews had been lyinjr flat on the deck, waiting the order to uncover the guns. When the submarine was within 80 yards, Sanders . gave the order to "open action," at the > same time running the White Ensign to the masthead. We opened fire with two twelve-pounder shots, striking the submarine's forward gun, taking the gun and the gun's crew overboard. The firsb ten shots from our after guns were hits, whilo the forward gun also put in some iifpful shooting. The commander of the submarine started to move away from us, probably to finish us with his 6tern torpe<lo. Tliis was his 'last order, for a second later the man's body was hit. A largo portion of one of our bursting shells came "in violent contact with tha commander and knocked him into the 6ea. Our twelve pounders were, playing havoo with the submarine. We played streams of bullets from a Lewis gun amongst the \ submarine crew, and her, decks being fairly crowded we observed the bullets cause a large number of casualties. The submarine steamed away about 200 yards from us, when one of our shells evidently took effect on her propelling machinery. She stopped, fell broadside oiv to the swell, then gradually settled down by the stern, sinking shortly afterwards.'