NAVAL ACTIVITIES

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 707, 26 September 1914, Page 5

NAVAL ACTIVITIES

NORTH SEA DISASTER. THREE CRUISERS SUNK. BY GERMAN SUBMARINES. London, Wednesday. The cruiser Flora has landed 287 Burvivors from the sunken British cruisers Aboukir, Hogue, and Creasy, which were torpedoed by German suhmarines in the Nortfl Sea. The survivors state that the Aboufeir was hit in several places about six o'clock on Tuesday morning, and disappeared in five minute 9. The other two cruisers, apparently thinking that phe had struck a • mine, rushed to her assistance. Thß Bcgue rapidly reached the spot, and had just lowered her boats to pick up tha survivors when she was herself struck. The explosion tore a tremendous hole in the bottom of the cruiser, and ] she quickly sank. The Creesy sent a wireless report i that she had sighted two submarines, but a f9W minutes later she became the third victim of the under-water attack, and at eight o'clock she , sank. The Flora was the first warship to come to tha stricken cruissrs' aid. Her captain saw only the Cressy, and knew nothing' of the disaster which had befallen the other two crafts. Suddenly he Jaw the cruiser heel over and go down to the bottom. He at once launched his boats and picked up a number of survivors slinsinef to rafts and floating timber. All the spectators agree that the Crfissy was firing as she sank and that she sent the two submarines to the bottom, but this is not confirmed officially. It is stated that a flotilla of British destrnyers appeared on the scene of the disaster as the Flora was getting ready to steam away. Renter's correspondent at "Vmunden, on the Dutch states that the survivors wev?. clad in all manner of clothes Som9 Dutch soldiers' uniforms, and others khaki

jacket?. The crews of the lost "ruiaers were largely reservists from Chatham. A Dutch ste3mer landed eighteen wounded and five dead bodies. She had originally 114 survivors, but transferred the remainder to British torpedo boats. Thirty uninjured have been landed at Harwich. It is believed a .total of seven hundred were savad from the three cruisers. Captain Nicholson, of the Hogue, served as a mid-'nipman aboard the Calliope when sho steamed out of Apia Harbour in the teeth of a hurricane which destroyed all the other vessels in port.

THE LOST CRUISERS. ATTACKED BY FLOTILLA. CRESSY SINKS A SUBMARINE. London, Thursday. Dougherty, chief gunner of the Cresey, states: — f'We were steaming slowly in line somewhere off the coast of Holland, a hundred vards approximately separating each vessel. "Suddenly we heard a great _ crash, and the middle ship, the Aboukir, heeled over, going down_ rapidly. We closed un with the sinking ship, when we heard a second crash and the Hogue began to sattle. As We drew near fchem someone shouted out to me: 'Look out! There's a submarine on the port beam." I saw it about 400 yards awav with the periscope above the waves. I took careful aim with a 12-pounder, but went over her by about two yards. "That gave the range, and I fired again, and bit the pericsope. She disappear but came up again showing fce? conning tower. I fired a third time and .smashed in the top of the conning tower. "After that I shot at a trawler a thousand yards evidently a German ship disguised and. directing the operations. My shot set her afire, but her ultimate fate ia unknown. "By this time we were struck by one torcedc, but the damage was not vital. Then I saw a seeonrl submarine on the starhoard beam ,and made a desperate effort to get her, but failed. Her torpedo got home nea»" the engine room, end the Cressy began to turn over. I believe CapItßin Johnston went cown with the ship. One torpedo passed under our "The enemy were actually discharging torpedoes while the water was thick with drowning men. I five submarine?, but only one w&s bit. The Daily Chronicle's Harwich correspondent says that the parent ship of the submarine flotilla flew the Dutch flag. She made no effort to save life. It is reported that the flotilla left the Baltic last week, came through the Kiel Canal and dashed to Borkam, whence the raid was made. Two torpedoes struck the Aboukir, and most of her crew were billed while asleep. The officers and crews of all the ships behaved admirably.

DETAILS OF OCCURRENCE. GERMANS JEERED DROWNING MEN. Received Friday, 8.15 p.m. London, Thursday. Dispatches received indicate the Crnssy alone saw the submarines in time to attempt to retaliate. An officer said it was satisfactory to know tha Germans destroyed only three comparatively obsolete ships shortly destined to be scrapped. Scratch crews had only been got togei ther six weeks. i The hardest thing was the fate of the cadets, many of whom wers only ' fifteen years old. They act6d as : coolly as the old hands. Twenty-four men were saved clinging for hours to a taEget which floated off the Hogue's deck. The Titan's captain, ignoring the risk cruised for hours and rescued many who were exhausted. Some submarines came to the surface and the crew from the conning tower jeered the drowning Britishers. ;