RAIDER ELUDED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 November 1940, Page 6

RAIDER ELUDED

BY BULK OF BRITISH CONVOY THIRTY-TWO SHIPS SAFE OUT OF 38. THANKS TO JERVIS BAY. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 12.45 p.m.) RUGBY. November 15. Two more ships out of the convoy attacked by an enemy raider on November 5 have safely reached port. An Admiralty communique states: “Of the 38 ships in the convoy, a total of 30 had been announced safe in communiques on November 12 and 13. Owing to the necessity of maintaining wireless silence, it is only now established that two more ships of this convoy are safe. They are the San Dimetrio and Morazka Woola. As far as can be ascertained, only four ships out of the convoy, with a total tonnage of 25,453 tons, were sunk by the raider. One other ship of 7900 tons, however, is still not accounted for. One ship of 4734 tons which escaped the raider was attacked by aircraft three days later and set on fire. She was abandoned.”

When the convoy was attacked, several of the merchant ships opened fire on the raider, but they were seriously .outranged. The master of one vessel however, claimed to have hit the enemy ship, but it is not possible to substantiate the claim. Almost immediately after the signal to alter course, the commodore told the convoy to scatter and proceed at their best speed. This the ships did. throwing out smoke screens and varying their movements in a manner highly effective, which undoubtedly greatly hindered the enemy and helped the merchantmen to escape. Having finished with the Jervis Bay, the raider then worked around the convoy, in search for further victims. As he did so, the masters of the ships watched him carefully, and by skilful manoeuvring and making a maximum use of smoke screens they greatly widened the distance between themselves, and the enemy ship, and were able to escape. A very gallant action, much admired by the Navy, was that of the Swedish ship, Storeholm, which, although she had got clear of the raider, went back at great risk and picked up 65 men of te Jervis Bay. The merchant captains are loud in their praises of the fine action of the Jervis Bay, Captain Rogen and the ships company, in tackling the raider and providing the convoy with an opportunity to escape.