STIRRING TALE OF A SEA FIGHT.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 June 1916, Page 8

STIRRING TALE OF A SEA FIGHT.

IN A WINTER BLIZZARD. , THE NAVAL RAID ON SYLT. The Scotsman of March .11 has tlm following graphic account of the British naval raid on the island of Sylt:— Behind the simple announcement made hv the Admiralty that His Majesty's ship Cleopatra had rammed and sunk a. German destroyer, there lies the story of one. of the most stirring days spent by our Navy at sea since the war began. As the memorable raid on Cuxhaven was made in fog, so also was the raid on Sylt carried through in weather which multiplied tiie difficulties of our sailors and airmen. The winter just closing has yielded few such blizzards as that which raged over the North Sea last Saturday, but out of the blinding, hail-laden gale there emerged on Sunday the gallant ships <vhich had disappeared to the eastward some time previously, and the cheering of the crews told of the success which had attended them on their mission. The hand of the Prussian lies heavily upon the provinces of Schleswig-Hol-stein, and it is extremely unlikely that the full extent of the damage done on' land by the aerial squadron will be made known to us; but of-the damage done to the enemy on the sea there are coming to hand details which indicate that he has been severely, punished. The ships which made the raid, bearing their winged messengers of the might of Britain to the very edge of the enemy' territory, bad but little promise of fine weather for the undertaking when they assembled and cleared harbor; but the omens which led them to expect rough doings at sea were jnst such omens as were calculated to lull the eiienemy into a sense of security. ATTACKERS IN A STORM. By the time the coasts of the enemy were within mensurable distance there was a gale on the sea, and the icy blasts which swept out of the north-west bore hail and blinding snow. The attackers sailed into a blizzard, and with it, 'and the action in which- they soon found themselves was fought under the most difficult conditions that could be encountered at sea. Those conditions account for the collision between two of our destroyers. The marvel was that under the conditions which prevailed the airmen made any attempt to ascend at all. They defied the elements, however, and went off on their mission with an eagerness eloquent, of the spirit of the service.' That the enemy patrols were well and ' speedily informed of the approach of the British ships became apparent as soon as ; our men were within striking distance, ' and action ensued upon the first glimpse which the opposing squadrons obtained of each other in the blizzard. There was provided then an opportunity for the naval might of Germany sheltering in J Kiel to find that British Fleet for which they have "searched" so long and so ' fruitlessly. But the heavy fighting ships of Germany made no effort to corn;; from , the waters behind Heligoland to the succour of the destroyer squadron which „ had been discovered by the British ships. With the ships separated and lost from each other completely in the whirl of snow, and with visible signalling utterly impossible, the chase of the German destroyers was a matter for the individual ships. "Sight and smash" was the order of the action, and there was no sighting save at close range, and with dramatic suddenness. Wherever a German hull was revealed for an instant through the smother of the storm the British gun made deadly play. The weakest ships of the enemy were also the unluckiest. The storm did not shelter them from the searching foe who had pounced so suddenly upon them, and the two armed trawlers, putting up such fij-'ht as they could, were disposed of fii-.it, and very rapidly. They were welliicted patrol 'vessels, and the term trawler sgireeht./lesevlbes their accurately, s«

surprising was their ability when it came to steaming. STIRRING RESCUE WORK, in the midst of the action, in the virtual blackness, the destroyer Medusa and ono of her escorts came down upon each other in the. same "bank" of snow. Thus, in the stress of the chase and encounter, stirring rescue work was proceeding at various points of the area of action/ Destroyers wore picking up survivors of the two armed patrols which had been sent to the bottom, and elsewhere in the storm the crew of the Medusa were being transferred to the vessel which had been her companion ;n misfortune. The storm increased in violence momentarily, but the crashing of gun-fire on all hands indicated that the other units of the enemy were being sought out and pounded vigorously as they headed for home. There are distinct) evidences that Hid German destroyer squadron suffered se- ? verely. Again and again, as the snow' cleared, the fleeing enemy was the recipient of terrific and accurate fire from the pursuing British vessels. One enemy detroyer was blazing from end to end on the second last occasion on which she was seen. Further salvoes were poured into her as the snow hid her again, and when last seen she was blazing furiously. t With her there was swallowed up in the whirl of snow a second destroyer, also on fire. Both had been very seriously mauled, and it is doubtful 'if, in the heavy weather which followed, cither of the two German destroyers got back to port. HOW THE DESTROYER WAS RAMMED. .Tust such a sudden meeting in the blinding weather as caused the collision between our two destroyers brought about the destruction of the enemy destroyer which was rammed by the' Cleopatra at the end of a stirring day. The snow hid the ships from each other until ■ they were at, close range. The Cleopatra recognised an enemy at once, and rushed headlong at her, pouring in at the same time a staggering fire. The enemy was absolutely paralysed by the swiftness of the rush and the deadly character of the gunnery. He attempted to use his guns, but with little effect, and before there was a chance to launch a torpedo the swift light cruiser crashed into him and cut him down. The Cleopatra was moving at great speed, and, light as she is, her sharp, bows drove deeply into the hull of the enemy, hurling the. destroyer ahead of her. Listing heavily, with the sea pouring into her shattered hull, the stricken enemy fell away from the dows of the cruiser, and the blinding snow came down and hid her from view as the cruiser plunged on in the darkness. There was a rush to the place where the destroyer was last seen, but the storm held and the 'snow descended steadily, and when the spot where the destroyer had been was located there was nothing on the wind-driven surface of the sea but some debris and a film of oil. The raiding squadron returned to port with the crews in a mood of the-utmost cheerfulness and satisfaction, happy that the weariness of many days and nights of wild weather at sea had at length been rewarded. i