NAVAL ACTION DESCRIBED

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26159, 8 July 1950, Page 7

NAVAL ACTION DESCRIBED

NORTH KOREAN SMALL CRAFT DESTROYED (Rec. 10.30 p.m.) TOKYO, July 7. Rear-Admiral John Higgins arrived in Tokyo to-day and told stories of the first naval shots fired at the North Koreans. Rear-Admiral Higgins’s force, comprising one cruiser and 'four destroyers with British naval units, went into action early last Sunday morning off a small nort on the east coast of Korea against a North Korean force of four motor torpedo-boats and two motor gunboats. It put them under fire for 20 minutes. “We sank one and polished off the others as they’attempted to beach," said Rear-Admiral Higgins. Next day Rear-Admiral Higgins’s force attacked seven trawlers of 75 to 250 tons. “Apparently they were loaded with ammunition, because explosions continued for two hours,” he said. He said that since the three original amphibious landings by the North Koreans on the east coast no new beachhead had been established by water. Rear-Admiral Higgins said his force naa made no submarine contacts and did not expect any because the North Koreans had no submarines or trained submarine crews. 'However, American Superfortresses to-day bombed what appeared to be four submarines in Chinnampo harbour. North Korea, according to a Far East Air Force communmue The Associated Press says the North Koreans are not known to have any submarines, but the Russians beore the Korean war began were renor'ed by American officials to have at least 75 submarines in the Pacific.