ON THE SEA.

Taihape Daily Times, 23 October 1917, Page 5

ON THE SEA.

GERMAN RAIDERS IN NORTH CONVOY ATTACKED AND TWO DESTROYERS SUNK. LONDON Oct 21. . ) The Admiralty reports that two fast heavy-armed German raiders on Wednesday attacked convoy in North Sea between the Shetland Islands and the Norwegian coast. Two British destroyers, the Mary Rose and the Strongbow, which formed the escort, engaged the raiders and * fought until sunk, afier an unequal engagement. Their gallant action delayed the raiders and enabled three merchant vessels to escape. Five Norwegian, one and three Swedish vessels, all unarmed, were - sunk without examination or warning, and regardless of the lives of the crews and passengers. The Admiralty statement continues:—“Lengthy comment on the action of the Germans is unnecessary. It only adds another example to the long list of criminally inhuman deeds of the German Navy. The German ships, anxious to escape before British forces could intercept them, made no effort to rescue the crews of the British destroyers. They also left the

doomed merchant ships. British patrol vessels rescued 30 Norwegians and others to a number as yet unknown. The German navy by this act has once more and further degraded itself by disregard of the historic chivalry ,of the sea.” An enemy official message states that the attack was made within territorial waters in the neighbourhood of the Shetland Islands, that all the escort vessels, including destroyers, were sunk except one of the escort and a fishing steamer. The Admiralty declares that the German statement of the locality of the attack and the destruction of escort ' Vessels is 'riot true. ' The enemy raiders' ’ succeeded 1 in; evading the' British ' watching sqriadrbris'during the long dark night, both in the hurried outward dash arid the homeward -flight.;. 'lt is regretted that 88 officers, and men of the Mary Rose, and ,4.7 officers and men of the Sfrongbow were lost. , Ten men. including two officers of the Mary Rose, have, landed in Norway. They were rescued by the lifeboats of a Norwegian steamer from two buoys to which they had clung.

TWO LARGE WARSHIPS IN THE RAID. WHOLE CONVOY SUNK WITHIN AN HOUR. ■ COPENHAGEN, Oct 21. The Admiral commanding Christiania, reports) that the convoy survivors who • have reached Bergen state that'the convoy consisting of twelve merchantmen, eseoTtbd by 'two' British was attacked bh Wednesday morning fay two large German warships. The latter ordered the convoy to stop, and started firing immediately, quickly sinking the dewhich were inferior in size and equipment. The merchantmen were then sunk seriatim. The affair lasted an hour. The merchantmen launched some lifeboats hut the boats filled in the heavy sea. After all the vessels Sad been sunk the enemy departed. The survivors saved several men from the wreckage, and they reached Norway after two days’ suffering in the open sea.

It is reported that seventeen survivors of one of the British destroyers reached Norway. Eighty-five sailors in the convoy perished. The captain of the Norwegian steamer Kirstine, the sole survivor of his ship ? states'Hhat the crew took to the boats, but the Germans continued firing shells and hit one boat killing nine. The crew in despair returned to the steamer and signalled to stop firing, but without result. The German Press publishes a chorus of exulting seeing in this and the Oesel operations proof of a hold offensive spirit in the German fleet. The “Cologne Gazette” publishes an article entitled, “Where is the British Fleet?” Two officers and eight men, survivors the Mary Rose, landed at Bergen, and will not be interned, as they were rescued by a Norwegian lifeboat after the destroyers were sunk. Further reports state that the British destroyers fought but were sunk in half an hour, the men bravely sticking to the guns till the last terrible scene was enacted. On the decks of the defenceless merchantmen many sailors were killed. The weather is now calm, and it is hoped that further survivors will be discovered.