COMMANDERS GIVE AID

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20046, 19 September 1939, Page 5

COMMANDERS GIVE AID

LIFEBOAT TOWED TWO POLISH SUBMARINES ESCAPE REPORTED (Reed. Sept. 19, 11 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 18. The commander of a German U-boat gave the captain and crew of the British tug Neptuma bottles of brandy, cigarettes and flares before he sank the Neptunia, which tried to outdistance the U-boat 360 miles' from land. The captain and the crew of seven landed at a British port during the week-end, and the captain revealed that after the capture the commander of the submarine went aboard the tug. The former remarked, “This is a bit of hard luck,” whereupon the U-boat commander replied in English, “Never mind, it' is your turn now; it may be our’s next.” The Britishers then lowered the lifeboats, and the tug was sent„to the bottom. From Belfast it is reported that after sinking the Fleetwood: trawler, Rudyard Kipling, the German submarine towed the lifeboat containing the crew to within five miles of the coast.

The captain of the Inverliffey, which was sunk on September 11, pointed out to the submarine’s commander that the ship was flying the flag of a neutral country, Ireland, to which the commander replied that the Inverliffey was carrying contraband, so he was sinking her. Plane Attacks Submarine It is reported from New York that the steamer American Farmer sent a radio message reporting that an aeroplane attacked a submarine after the torpedoing of the Kafiristan. The submarine replied with a machine-gu* and then disappeared, leaving heavy white smoke on the surface. It is revealed that the Danish steamer Randa struck a mine near Tershilling on Wednesday. Seventeen persons, including two Americans, are missing. An Italian ship rescued 20, including four Americans. According to a report from Washington, the State Department says that two Americans, one being a 13-year-old girl, were drowned and four were rescued. A message from Tallinn, Estonia, states that the Polish submarine that was interned there escaped at 3 a.m. and eluded fire from the Estonian shore batteries and warships. A Stockholm report states that the Polish submarine Rys sought refuge a't the island of Sandhamn and was interned. The Rys left Gdynia some days ago, but dived when a German warship appeared. The submarine continuously dodged the enemy craft by submerging until the oxygen, was exhausted and the diving gear became unworkable. The crew was exhausted, and several were taken to hospital. The Rudyard Kipling was a steam trawler of 333 tons built in 1921, and was owned by the Newington Steam Trawling Company. The Neptunia was a steam trawler of 619 tons built at Selby in 1926.