LONG BATTLE IN ATLANTIC

Southland Times, Issue 24873, 13 October 1942, Page 5

LONG BATTLE IN ATLANTIC

NORWEGIAN CORVETTES AND U-BOATS (8.0.W.) RUGBY, October 11. A Norwegian escort group which has been protecting British convoys in tne Atlantic for over a year recently won its first battle honours. In a 48-hours fight they beat off relays of U-boats which attacked in pack. of as many as seven at a time. In two days and two nights the escort group, consisting of four Norwegian corvettes under the command of a British destroyer, sighted U-boats on the surface on 18 occasions, carried out 33 depth cliarge attacks, engaged with gunfire 11 times, and made several attempts to ram U-boats. At least four 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 and time again the corvettes turned on the enemy, engaging them with gunfire and forcing them to dive. Then they kept them down with depth charges. At night these encounters were separate battles, often fought simultaneously. The scene was lit by star shells glow, tracers and glimmer calcium flares. HITS WITH GUNFIRE On one occasion the Norwegian corvette 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 300 yards and hits were scored with gunfire. Missing ramming by a few feet, she dropped pattern depth charges alongside the conning tower as the submarine dived. The British destroyed Viscount made nine attacks. During one a submarine attempted to crash-dive -while it was being overhauled. Her Hows rose at an angle of 50 degrees and she lost way and slid down stern first out of control. Pattern depth charges over the swirl probably finished her. The commanding officer of the Viscount had great praise for the efficiency of the Norwegian corvettes. “Whenever the cry ‘tally-ho’ went up,” he said, “I had only to check my bearings to find a submarine.”