A DEATH SHIP

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 146, 18 December 1933, Page 9

A DEATH SHIP

ECHO OF KITCHENER

SECRET GERMAN QUEST

DIVERS IN HAMPSHIRE

GOLD BARS AND A BODY

United Press Association—By Electric Telecraph—Copyright. (Received December 18, 10 a.m.) LONDON, December 17. That a German vessel is secretly salvaging the Kitchener death ship Hampshire is ihe startling assertion of the "Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung," which publishes a carefully documented account of the operations, with detailed statements by divers, including an Australian named Costello. Costello was injured when one of three bombs, that were exploded in the wreck caused an unexpected explosion of the Hampshire's ammunition, hurling the divers into tlie mud. Salvage operations were unsuccessfully commenced in 1931, and were restarted in April, 1933. The salvage ship approached the Hampshire with the greatest secrecy, the captain taking a roundabout route from Kiel to avert suspicion. CosLello found ihe wreck of the Hampshire within three hours of descending. Whitefield, a German deep sea expert, was the first to enter the Hampshire commander's room. As the steel door opened a body of a man rose from a chair drawn by suction, floated past Whitefield, and vanished into the framework of the sunken ship. Using oxy-acetylene cutting apparatus, the crew raised ten thousand sterling worth of gold bars, also personal papers relating to Lord Kitchener's Russian mission. The British Admiralty is unaware of the reported salvaging of the Hampshire.