NAVY IN WARTIME.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 208, 3 September 1934, Page 11

NAVY IN WARTIME.

"MYSTERY SHIP" EPISODE. ENTICING A SUBMARINE. Auckland Rotarians listened to-day t"> a« thrilling a story of the sea as might have come from the pen of Conrad. It was told by Lieut.-Commander R. P. Nisbett, D.S.C., D.R., and referred",, to an action in which one of the war "mystery ships," H.M.s. Dunraven, had an encounter with a German submarine in the Baltic Sea. The speaker first of all described the methods by which these "mystery ships" were able 'to change their appearance, in a night, but he emphasised that it was not an enviable experience to be hanging over the vessel's side at midnight amidst the swell of Atlantic rollers, trying to paint a white line and hoping that when you met your mate at the other end he would not he many feet too high or too low for a good "join." The Dunravcn, said the speaker, was about 5000 tons. She was well armed, but was disguised as a tramp steamer and. was equipped with collapsible funnels, Mummy masts, dummy cargoes, dummy boats, and all sorts of devices to enable quick changes to be made. At 11 o'clock one morning they sighted a submarine in the Bay ot Biscay, but it was too far away for their guns to come into effective action. They used various subterfuges to er.ticc the submarine to close up. At first they showed a 31b gun, the gun usually carried by tramps. Later they staged an explosion which was supposed ,to have destroyed their gun and set the ship on fire. They slowed down their engines, and, like a lame duck, apparently tried to escape at about 4 to 5 knots. A "panic party" jwas organised, and they began to man their boats, simulating the abandonment of the ship, but "all the timo the German kept firing. The shells actually set the ship on fire. , Blown Into' the Air. Closer came the submarine and at 300 yards When the gun crew of the Dunravcn, crouching on a red hot deck with handkerchiefs in their mouths to prevent suffocation from smoke, were awaiting tho order to fire, another enemy shell struck them, and 22 feet of the Dunraven's stern was blown up and the crew were hurled into the air. They fortunately fell back on deck without casualties. The game was* now up. as it, was quite clear that the Dunraven was no tramp. Sy that time her guns had been destroyed with the exception of one 4in. The submarine came closer and at blank range torpedoed the British vessel. She kept afloat and tried to retaliate with torpedo shots, the submarine now being just under l}cr. However, bad luck°had dogged every effort from the Dunraven, and it appeared as though she must founder with all on board. Just at that critical moment an American yacht, well armed; which had taken no notice of the usual wireless notice to "keep out" (at 30 miles distance) arrived on the scene, sank the submarine and assisted the survivors. , "This," concluded the speaker, , was our final action in the' war so far as mystery ships were concerned." . In moving the vote of thanks, Rotarian H. B. Barnett, reminded fellow members that, an ex-Taka<una boy, Lieutenant-Commander W. E. "andeits, V C D 5.0., had gained his honours in just'kch engagements as their speaker had so vividly described.