RESCUE OF SWEDISH SAILORS

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 77, 23 December 1939, Page 11

RESCUE OF SWEDISH SAILORS

Plane Directs Warship

(British Official Wireless.)

LONDON, December 21.

Six survivors of the Swedish steamer Listor were rescued yesterday by the co-operation of British aircraft and a destroyer.

An R.A.F. coastal command machine, on its way to deal with an urgent military objective many miles away, sighted what appeared to be wooden planks Scattered from a ship’s cargo. Closer investigation showed a rough raft on -which six men stood waving ■their, hands.

Unable to divert from her objective, the aircraft sent a reassuring lamp signal fo the men on the raft, and by radio sent a code signal to its base giving the position of its 'find. At once action was taken. Another aircraft was sent to the position to keep watch, and a destroyer was ordered out to pick up the men. A tierce gale had arisen meanwhile, which drove the raft far from the position given by the first aircraft. The second machine, not finding the raft near the indicated position, carried out a close search, taking the reported position as the centre and Sweeping the sea for 100 miles around. Eventually the raft was sighted with the six men still on it. The destroyer was still many miles away, however, and was steaming toward the first reported position. The aircraft set off to meet the ship and by a lamp signal indicated the new position, to which it guided the warship, firing flares to give the exact location. The destroyer, thus aided, saw the raft, from which all the men were rescued by the destroyer’s boat. About 200 miles away another coastal plane sighted a solitary seaman on another raft. The pilot deviated 60 miles to find a merchantman, which rescued the seaman.