A CLOSE THING.
ATTACK JtY A TURKISH TORPEDO BOAT. KSOAVK OK A TKANSPOItT. Auckland, Thursday. Brief accounts liave been given of an attack by a Turkish torepdo boat on a British transport, the steamer Manitou, in April, and of the subsequent destruction of the Turkish vessel by British warships. A graphic narrative of the incident has been received by Dr. Kenneth Mackenzie, ill a letter from Lieutenant Roderick Wat-Donald, lioyal Field Artillery, one of fTie officers on board the transport. The letter was evidently written at Lcnmos on lirth April, and it fixes the date of the attack as lGtli April. "We had a very dreadful experience last Friday on our way here," Lieutenant Macdonalii writes, "'when we were held up by a Turkish torpedo boat. She | gave us ten minutes to get out of Jie ship. This was not much good, as there were not nearly enough boats to hold us all. Two capsized while they being lowered. This was a terrible sight, and 1 won't write about it: it would give you nightmare for weeks. One boat fell right into the water; the davits snapped clean awav. like pipe-stems. After all the 'bmutis had gone mo.,t of the men left took to the water, some oil planks, and some on broken pieces of the ship. All this time the torpedo boat was loosing off torpedoes at us. She let oil' three altogether. and not one hit us. I had a beautiful view of the last torpedo. The torpedo boat came right on to within 1:2.) yards, then turned broadside towards us. I .saw a little whiff of smoke, and, .simultaneously, the torpedo plunged into the sea, leaving a white trail behind it, and coming straight, for us. This was the most horrible sight of all. You should have seen the fellows jumping off into the. water from all parts of the ship. Hart and 1 went over to the oth:T side of the boat , preparing for a sudden disappearance if this one struck her. We waited and waited, and waited, but nothing happened. A)) this time the wireless operator had been ending 'S.O.S.' for all he was worth, and all His .Majesty's ships and transports for a hundred miles ' around were answering. The duel' of the I wireless box was ajar, and the noise of the instruments was like- about a tlionI sand wmnoa all knitting socks for sol I diers at once. You can imagine how j bucked we were when at last a trail of smoke showed over the horizon to the southward, then another, Tliev got | thicker and bUu-ke - every moment, and soon we could see the hulls of two of our cruisers racing towards us as hard as they could, with mountains of foam at their bows. ''lt was jmt at this moment, as Ilail and 1 stood by each other on the deck, that the Turk fircil his third and torpedo, and we thought the cruisers would be too lute; but when he missed
for tin l last time, he put on sp<od and <'le;m*d out [er all lie was worth 11» the ens-lward. T\\\> of our torpedo boat' destroyers were eiaiiiiiL' uji hv now. and they vvi'iv jitter him 1 iki• a >hot. \\V heard In tor tlut Turk was compeli-d to heaeh his lio;K on u >niall i.-laud. Our two i Im'ml d---.trn\ers then br-»k»-n]» Ills ]u,ll. "A little imni'-vA i i-per ami two transporthail (''.'in.' up, and they pieked up about :;nu of men altogether, and H-.-tored them to ih. Well, we are all out of it. now, of t!ie po.:r lellous who were in t■ uj ;i hurry to Mart with. Un: ji w,b a pretty clo-e
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Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1915, Page 8
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618A CLOSE THING. Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1915, Page 8
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