48-HOUR BATTLE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20913, 13 October 1942, Page 3

48-HOUR BATTLE

U-BOAT PACKS BEATEN NORWEGIAN CORVETTES PROTECTION OF CONVOY (British Official Wireless.) (9.30 a.m.) RUGBY, Oct 12 A Norwegian escort group which has been protecting British convoys, in the Atlantic , for over a year, recently won its first battle honours In a 48-hour fight they beat oil felays of U-boats which attacked in packs as many as seven at a time. In two days and .two nights the escort group, consisting of four Norwegian corvettes under the commander of a British destroyer, sighted U-boats on the surface on 18 occasions and carried oul 33 depth-charge attacks, engaged them with gunfire 11 times and made several attempts to ram them. A least fodr U-boats received serious damage and several others were hit by gunfire. The U-boats always outnumbered, the escorts. They attacked in daylight and moonlight. Time ano tjyne again the corvettes turned oi the enemy,-engaging them with gunfire and forcing them to dive and then kept them down with depth charges At night in these encounters separate battles were often fought simultaneously, the scene being lit by star shells, the glow of tracers and the glimmer of calcium flares. On one occasion the Norwegian corvette H.M.S. Potentilla, which carried out seven attacks, dropped depth charges around a U-boat while it was still awash. Twelve minutes later she sighted another U-boat. At 30U yards hits were scored with gunfire. Missing ramming a U-boat by a lew feet, she dropped pattern depth charges alongside the conning towei as the submarine dived. The British destroyer Viscount made nine attacks. During one .the submarine attempted to crash-dive while being overhauled under lire. Her bows rose at an angle ol' 50 degrees, she lost way and slid down stern first out of control. Pattern depth charges over the swirl probably finished her. The commanding othcer of the Viscount had great praise lor the efficiency of the Norwegian “Whenever the cry taily„duc up,” he said, “I had only ic check the hearings to find the submarine.”