CAPTAIN WEDDIGEN.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 June 1915, Page 5

CAPTAIN WEDDIGEN.

THE MAN WHO BA2*K OUR GftUJBEBS. DAN-GEROUS PIRATE GONE. Tlie Secretary of the Admiralty recently made the following announcement:— The Admiralty have good reason to believe that tihi German submarine U2l) has been sunk with all hands. By the destruction of Vi'i Germany loses not) only one of her latest and largest submarines, but one of her most darling and popular commanders—Cap-tain-lieutenant Otto vou Wcddigen, tlie niaii who was credited with baring sunk the OTuiscrs Alwukir, Hoguo and Creasy in September last, when he was in command of U9. The latter ia also said to ' have sunk the cruiser Huwko three weeks later. No details have boon published i con«»w»ing the new German submarines, i but they are nkown to be most powerful ; vessel*. According to the official naval , unmial "JJautilus," published «,* Berlin last June, tlie total number of German , submarines completed by ik§ emi of May, ' 1914, was 88. The lost boat can, therefore, have been in serrito only a few monufes. Submarines of this «lasa We ' a displaeement of abeut 800 tons, and carr y acomplement «f 40 sjc «*pri olft> cers and men. They are eapablo of a surface speed of about 18 knots snd a ' suki»crged speed of 0 kaotn. Bfcey prob. a*ly oairy four tonpedortsbe* and mount a 14-pounder gun, whisk sen bo dia- ■ monited and stowed btlsw when the subaattne ie submerged. Tkeso boats ' are eafalble ei ft ra»ge •£ «*»6 1000 mile*, and ean oflßraU M*ef>e»dently of otto veSSsls, rcmatobg t crtuMenhle ' time away from tlieir ksme ibasc. It is knewn/that ÜB, 12, Is, arid 18 hags

been sunk, tat the number of the vessel destroyed by the steamer Theorems is not known, nor is that of the one which the destroyer Badger rammed oil' t'cc Dutch coast in October. U!) is also stated unofficially o have, been lost, whilst other German submarines are believed to have been destroyed. Vil was the vessel which appeared in the Irish Sea. U2, 11, 1(1, 17, and 10 have also been heard of, UKi being the submarine that attacked the Yille de Paris. The size and character of German submarines cannot bt judged from their numbers, and it is probable that some of the earlier vessels have been struck off the effective list and replaced by more modern craft. There is, for instance, a great likelihood that Ul2, whicli we destroyed near the Straits of Dover, was in reality a uracil more modern boat than the original Ul2. Captain-Lieutenant von Wcddigen was decorated with the Iron Cross after sinking the British cruisers, and as a further reward was given command of the finest of the U boats. He was married since the outbreka. of the war. Although ordered by his superiors to play the part of a pirate, von Wcddigen proved a considerate foe so far as bis work would allow. Indeed, when he made a haul of five British steamers off the Seilly Isles recently,, and also sank a French steamer, lie earned, the name of the "polite pirate." When one of these vessels, the Ellerman liner Andalusian, was stopped, the commander addressed Captain Leonard Malley through a megaphone in perfect English, giving tlie crew ten minutes to get into the boats. Captain Malley was injured, taken on hoard U'if), and treated with "everv consideration." "Over cigars and port, whioh the submarine commander shared vvitli me, I had the opportunity of telling him, as politely as possible, -what .1 thought of the German policy regarding wards saidboiab bfwyw

merchantmen," Captain Malley afterwards said. "'lt is our duty,' the German commander replied. 'At the same time,' he went on, 'wo do not want to fciek civilian lives. It is the ships we want to kill, not the men.' Whilst We were talking I thought I recognised the commander's face from photos I had seen, and 1 asked him, 'Are you not the commander of the vessel which sank three British cruisers in the North Sea:' 'The same,' he responded gravely. 'I was commanding the U0 then; now I command U'2!).' We had about an hour's talk, in the course of'which the lieutenant told me that his boat, one of the attest type, was fitted with two ma-chine-guns insead. of one, as in the case of the older submarines, and that, travelling awash, she could catch'anything up to 17 knots.' When tho submarine left the steamer's crew one of the German officers waved his hand and said: 'Be good enough to give our respects to your Mr. Churchill.'" Other, victims were also treated with politeness, and given wine and cigars. The commander told the master <*f the Adenwen how "very, very sorryf lie was to hav« to scuttle his'ship, tat that "war is war." While the boats were being lowered one of the British sailors fell overboard, and the German officer noticing his plight, sent a suit of dry clothes for 'him. Each of the pirates was armed with two revolvers,' and in the best pirate manner they apologised while robbing their victims. Prom one ship, for instance, they stole watches, cutlery, alarm clocks, 'bread, and a British ensign.