On the Sea.

Taihape Daily Times, 28 May 1918, Page 3

On the Sea.

FIGHT IN THE CHANNEL. ENEMY TORPEDO CRAFT SUNK. BOTHA RAMS AN ENEMY. In the dark hour preceding dawn on March 21 the British destroyers Botha (Commander Roger L’E M. Rede, R.N.) and Morris (LieutenantCommander Percy R. P. Percival, R.N.), and the three French destroyers, Mehl, Magon, and Bouclier, were on patrol in the eastern waters of the English Channel, when a sudden outburst of firing was heard to the northward. Vivid fashes of gunfire out to sea made it plain that the enemy was engaged upon a futile bombardment of the crumbling bathing sheds of deserted French watering-places.

The Allied forces promptly made for the flashes at full speed, led by the Botha. Star shell fireu in an endeavour to light up the enemy and obtain the range, however, merely had the effect of quelling the bombardment and scattering the raiders, who. were never seen again. The patrolling force then proceeded to searcn to the north-westward in the hope of intercepting any divisions of the enemy who h?d ventured more into midchannel; starshell were fired at intervals, for the night was misty, and presently one of these, bursting aheae, revealed the shadowy outline of a force of enemy destroyers and torpedo boats sneaking off through the darkness in the direction of their base.

The Botha challenged, and an unfamiliar reply winked at them out of the night; the next instant British and French were pouring a heavy fire into the enemy. For a few minutes a grim little fight ensued. The Allies rapidly overhauled the raiders and set tne darkness ablaze with flashes of gunfire and blazing wreckage flying bx-oadcast from shell bursting on Impact. A running fight between torpedo craft is Like a battle between scorpions—whichever gets a sting home first rarely has xxeed to strike again. None of the German torpedoes found their mark, but the Morris, emerging from a smoke screen flung out by the fleeing enemy, cut off a Ger-, man destroyer of a large type and torpedoed her at 500yds range. She blew up and sank almost immediately, heeling over amid clouds of steam and vanishing stern first. In the meanwhile the Botha’s main steam pipe had been severed by a stray she immediately commenced to lose her way through the water. Her com. mander, realising that if he was to finish his “cup of tea with the Germans,” he must needs drink it quickly, fired both torpedoes at the leading boats, and, putting his helm hard over, rammed the fourth boat in the line cleanly amidships. His speed had dropped considerably, but it sufficed to drive the knife-edged bows of the Botha clean through, cutting the enemy completely in half. The Botha then swung round and attempted to repeat the coup on the next astern. The German succeeded in eluding the Botha’s crippled onslaught but fell a victim to the French destroyers. She lay disabled and ablaze, and they closed and pounded the flaming wreck with torpedo and gun fire as a man grinds a dead snake under his heel.

The Morris by this time had relinquished the pursuit, having lost the quarry in the smoke and mist. She returned to the scene of action and took her lame sister in tow, while the French destroyers circled round in the grey dawn picking up prisoners. From statements made by these it appears that no fewer than 18 torpedo craft had sallied for the raid. They were unhesitatingly attacked and rather badly mauled by two British and three French destroyers, and fled, as one of the British officers picturesquely described it, like scalded dogs. The adventures of the remaining 15 were by no means terminated when they quitted French waters, leaving three of

their number behind. 'A squadron of the R.N.A.S. bombing machines, proceeding up the coast on business,, sighted the homing German flotillas and fel upon them, or, rather, suffered their bombs to do so. They reported having completely thrown the enemy intp disorder and scattered them in all directions. A squadron of enemy seaplanes that had gone out at dawn to look for the wanderers then encountered the escort figlitres of the bombing machines, and in a very short time had their numbers reduced by four. Of these, three were accounted for by one British pilot.