GERMAN FLEET ATTACKED

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 74, 20 December 1939, Page 11

GERMAN FLEET ATTACKED

By British Submarine

REMARKABLE FEAT REVEALED Torpedoes’ Toll Among Six Enemy Warships (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, December 18. The British submarine, H.M.S. Salmon, which recently sank a Üboat, sighted the German liner Bremen, and torpedoed at least one German cruiser, had an enthusiastic reception on her return to port. As she entered the harbour sirens sounded on every ship present — among them two destroyers of the Polish Navy, which are at present co-operating with the Royal Navy. The patrol from which the submarine has returned is spoken of in naval circles as the most venturesome undertaken by any submarine, either in this war or the last. Events moved rapidly from the beginning. The submarine had not long been in her patrol area before she sighted a German U-boat of the big ocean-going type, moving fast on the surtaee and outward bound. The British submarine manoeuvred quickly to the attack. Torpedoes were fired, and in a few minutes there came a shattering explosion. Wreckage was thrown at least 200 feet into the air. The British submarine made an unsuccessful search for survivors.

The next incident to befall this small unit of the British Navy was el a different character, proving to the world the scrupulous regard of the British Navy for international law. The true story of the sighting of the Bremen, and how she was able to proceed on her way unharmed would itself make a chapter in the naval history of this war, but the submarine’s adventures on this patrol were far from ended.

Large Warships Attacked.

Rather less than 24 hours after the Bremen had passed, she was again cruising submerged, keeping a lookout through her periscope, when ships were sighted. On closer investigation these proved to be the two German battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and one of the pocket-battleships, with three cruisers in company. T’-’O of these cruisers were the new eightinch guns ships Hipper and Blucher. The other was recognized as the Leipzig, because of her funnel and conspicuous aircraft crane. The enemy cruisers altered their course, so that it was seeu that they would pass within torpedo range oi the submarine, which fired six torpedoes on slightly different courses. The first torpedo hit the Leipzig. There was a pause of only a minute. Then two more terrific explosions told that two other torpedoes had found their mark—almost certainly upon a second heavy cruiser of the Blucher class. The other three torpedoes had obviously passed between the enemy ships. The submarine, however, could not wait to determine the exact result of the attack. She had to dive deep to elude her pursuers by steering a zig zag course at a high speed at considerable depth. She was hunted and depth-charged for two hours. It was not until after dark that the British submarine returned to the scene. Then she found an area of nearly four and a quarter miles of sea thickly coated in oil fuel. There was so much oil on the sea that the fumes contaminated the air to such an extent that the submarine had to leave the vicinity and ventilate with clean air before being able to dive again.

It is suggested that at least one heavy cruiser, in addition to the Leipzig, was badly damaged and that, as it was, one of the ships might well have failed to reach port.