NAZI SEA RAIDERS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 103, 28 October 1939, Page 11

NAZI SEA RAIDERS

APPARENTLY TWO

OPERATION IN ATLANTIC

"DOING VERY LITTLE HARM"

COMPARISON OF DATES

,By Telegraph—Press Aasnrlatlnn— Copyright • \ (Received October 28, 11 a.m.) LONDON, October 27. A high authority states that it is | very likely that two German raiders are at sea, namely, the pocket-battle-ships AdmiraJ Scheer and Deutschland, both of which have great endurance and a range of 20,000 miles at low speed, even without supply ships. Therefore it is possible that the Admiral Scheer would he in ihe Pacific or the Indian Ocean, though no reports have been received, ll is most probable that the Admiral Scheer sank the steamer Clement. It is unlikely that the light cruiser Emden is at large. The raiders "are really doing us very little harm," the authority stated, "considering the time they have been operating on busy sea routes." (British Official Wireless.* (Received October 28, 11.20 a.m.) RUGBY, October 27, The question of the number of German raiders operating in the Atlantic has provoked interest among naval commentators in London. Though the possibility ot one ship having been as- far as the South Atlantic and the Newfoundland coast cannot be overlooked, the combination of dates on which raiders appeared rathei suggests that two German ships have been at large. The next information after the reported sinking of the Stonegate about 500 miles east of Florida on October 5 was received on October 12, when, off the Newfoundland coast, a Norwegian ship was stopped but not attacked. On October 14. in about the same region, the Norwegian steamship Nansen was sunk, and it appeared that a raider was cruising in the neighbourhood of the famous Newfoundland nshirtg bank. On the same day another Norwegian ship was stopped, and the crew of the Nansen were transferred to her. and a little later the City of Flint was also stopped and 'he crew of the Stonegate were transferred from the raider to her. On September 3 the British steamer Clement was sunk off . the .coast of Pernambuco.' Despite the distance, there is no reason why the raider which attacked the Clement should not have steamed quickly to the position where the Stonegate was sunk. Nothing has been heard of armed merchantmen elsewhere, and the net result of these attacks over quite a considerable period is very small indeed Both pocket battleships seem to have failed to get into the areas of dense shipping Their endurance at an economical cruising speed of 15 knots is 20.000 miles, but. of course, at the full speed of 28 knots this range would be considerably reduced. It is felt that these ships might have taken advantage of darkness, bad weather, and indiscriminate use of Norwegian territorial waters to return to Germany.