REPORTS ABOUT SUBMARINES

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26188, 11 August 1950, Page 8

REPORTS ABOUT SUBMARINES

MINISTER REPLIES TO INQUIRY (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON. August 10. Reports received to date were not sufficiently definite for it to be said that an unidentified submarine was cruising in New Zealand waters, said the Minister of Defence (Mr T. L. Macdonald) in the House of Representatives this afternoon. He was answering an urgent question by Mr P. G. Connolly (Opposition, Dunedin Central), who asked the Minister whether he could make a further statement on the alleged sighting of an unidentified submarine off the coast of the South Island.

Those making the reports were firmly’ convinced that they did in fact sight a submarine, said the Minister But until further confirmation was received it was not possible to regard the reports as conclusive. No reports were treated lightly, and such steps as were necessary to provide confirmation were taken by the authorities.

Al! the reports of the possibility of an unidentified submarine in New Zealand waters came from the South Island. The first two were on Sunday, July 30. to the effect that a submarine had been seen some miles north of Westport. Inquiries from the owner of a trawler which had been in the area at the time and a search next day by Royal New Zealand Air Force aircraft were fruitless. On the same day in the morning three Royal N°w Zealand Air Force pilots from Wigram reported sighting what appeared to have he°n a submarine off shore f rom Birdlings Flat. No further renorts were received. The next,reno r t was from a locality ea c t of Bluff on Sunday. August 6. when a oartv of seven renorted seeing in the late afternoon a submarine a mile and a half off shore. No further confirmation was received

The most recent renort. from Otago Heads, was now known to have involved a coastal vessel.