NEMESIS

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 22, 25 July 1918, Page 4

NEMESIS

U-BOAT'S BRIEF CAREER

NEUTRAL SEAMEN MURDERED.

Details of a typical Gorman U-boat crime have teen received from a reliable Dutch source, says the Daily Telegraph. It is the case of the Norwegian steamship Ida, which, notwithstanding the fact that she stopped immediately the signal to "heave to" was given by the German submarine, vas fired on twenty-five times, the mate and steward being killed whikt in the act of- lowering the ship's boats. The boat which carried out the attack was U.C. 39, a new mine-laying submarine, commanded by Otto Ehrentraut, a - personal friend of Prince Henry of Prussia, and a frequent visitor, to the Castlo at Kiel, where he was a favourite.

It seems, that U.C. 39 left her base about midnight, carrying several torpedoes and a quantity of ammunition tor her gun, but no mines, as it was her first trip, and in the nature of a ''shakedown" cruise for officers and men. All her personnel had seen service in other submarine craft. At tKo time she left Kiel volunteers for the Gorman submarines were very rare, and men had to be drafted automatically into that branch of the service. The following midday the U.C. 39 sank her first victim, the Norwegian steamer Hans Kinck. whose crew fortunately escaped uninjured. At midnight the submarine chased the British steamer Hanna Larson, which was fired on and afterwards sunk with bomte.the master and chief engineer being taken prisoners.

Next morning_ U.C. 39 sighted the Norwegian steamship Ida and opened fire on her. The Ida stopped immediately, probably after the first round, but. nevertheless, tho submarine continued firing under the personal orders of Otto Ehrentraut. When the gunla-yer saw that- the ship hnd stopped, and that he obtained several hits, he asked if he should cease firing. He was told by the captain to carry on. - Sonic twenty-five rounds in all were fired, the last few bei»g at a rancro of 3000 metres. When the German finally cea-sed fire, ono of the Ida's boats wont alongside the submarine and said that two wounded had boon left, on bos.-rd the steamer. The sub-lieutenant and threo men were sent on board her,_ and found the mate and a stownrd lying dead on tho deck, having been killed whilst, in tho act of lowering tho boats. The Ida w f-.bon sunk by bombs. The two dead bpdies had boon left lying on the dock, iviih less regard . than is usually paid to the corpse of a do;j. SWIFT RETRIBUTION. Two hours latpr U.C, 39 opened fire on a steamer and a trawler, but on diving lost them in the mist. About 1 p.m. she came to tho surface, and opened -fire- on another steamer, but her fire was almost immediately answered from a British destroyer.

U.C. 39 hastily dived, but not. soon enough, for a depth charge shook her vitally, so that- water poured into her cpnnjng tower and control-room, causing a panic amongst tho crew. She rose sharply to the surface, only to have the destroyer rake her fore and 'aft. Ehrentraut climbed out of tho coiuiing-tower hatch, and was preparing to surrender when he was killed by a shell. The engineer and sublieutenant wore the next on deck, and tho former was immediately wcunded. The U-boat was still making speed on the surface, and tho destroyer therefore continued to fire. Threo of the crew jumped, overboard and were drowned ; while v threo others on the dock were killed by gunfire, and several 'were wounded. Finally the destroyer hailed the submarine through a megaphone to stop, and, this being done, fire ceased, and seventeen Gormun eurvivors wpro takan off by the destroyer. Tho two British prisoners were also resound, uninjured.

The Dutch correspondent says he has boon able to ascertain that among the Üboat men there is not at all a sanguine, feeling as to tho results of tho German blockado. Tho men who do tho actual work aro not imbued with tho confidence of Yon Tirpitz, and..they a.leo express contempt for the Views' of the Gernmn press on the efficacy the U-boa{ weapon against Groat Britain. Some o£ the crows, in tho courso of their depredations, have been able to get British newspapers showing trio ehjpping output of the Allies, and. in addition, they know? tho strength of tho hunting forces against them, and — what tho German public does not know — tho number of U-boats which never return. Tho correspondent adds that he recently saw a letter from a German soldier, to the effect that even if a thousand submarines wore available England would not be dofonted. from which it would appear that tho knowledge of the limitations of tho U-boat is not confined to the German navy.

Tho correspondent adds that the Gorman navy seems to take special care of tho submarine crews, particularly with regard to food, which is considerably better in these craft than in larger ships. "U" men are allowed to help themselves, whereas in large 'surface craft oach man's uortion is carefully weighed or measured off, for him. While at sea a U-boat crew daily receive por head |lb of meat, real coffee— which is unobtainable on shore —and a small allowance pf butter.