MURDEROUS ATTACKS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 October 1939, Page 5

MURDEROUS ATTACKS

FRENCH LINERS SHELLED BY U-BOAT NUMBER OF PEOPLE KILLED SOME SURVIVORS SWIM FOR TWO HOURS. FOUR HUNDRED LANDED BY WARSHIPS. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. LONDON. October 16. British warships today landed iii Britain 400 persons including women and children. I'l'oni two French vessels, Bretagne and Louisiane. which were sunk on Saturday in Hie Atlantic. Some swam for two hours before their rescue, but it is believed that only 15 lost their lives, including eight who were killed by shell fire. A submarine fired on the Bretagne, destroying several of its boats. The women passengers at first thought that the alarm was,for a practice. They went on deck in their night clothes, but were horror-stricken to find themselves under fire. The submarine sank the Bretagne after the boats were lowered, causing many to be tipped out, 'including a soldier who supported his son, aged seven, in the water for 90 minutes. The submarine stopped the Louisiane and demanded food supplies. The Louisiane (6903 tons) were both built burst on the bridge, killing the first officer. The Bretagne (10,108 tons), and the Louisane (6903 tons) were both built for the ’ Generale Trans-Atlantique Company, the former in 1922 and- the latter in 1921. It- was announced in Paris, a radio message states, that one of the submarines which recently attacked three French liners in the Atlantic, is now known to be at the bottom of the sea.