TYPICAL COURAGE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 36, 12 February 1940, Page 7

TYPICAL COURAGE

BRITISH SEAMEN

IN FACE OF AERIAL

ATTACKS

LAST FRIDAY'S RAIDS

(By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright.) LONDON, February 10.

Two naval trawlers were lost, and the unarmed British merchantmen Cliftonia (3106 tons) and Boston Trader (371 tons), the mudhopper Foremost, and several trawlers were damaged in yesterday's raid on shipping off the north-east coast.

The Germans used aerial torpedoes in addition to bombs and machineguns. Trawlers arriving in port have brought stories of the typical courage with which the men manning Britain's little ships faced repeated attacks from planes diving from the shelter of low clouds.

The enemy plane which dropped several bombs near the Boston Trader also encircled her, machine-gunning the crew, two of whom were slightly injured.

The steamer Gallia struck a mine off the south-east coast but remained afloat. Lifeboat men helped to tow her to a safe anchorage.

There were four combats between fighters and bombers. In addition to those previously reported, Hurricane planes chased into the clouds Junkers which attempted to attack a tanker off the north coast of Scotland.

Another squadron pursued three Heinkels off Arbroath.

A British warship surprised two Nazi planes which were attacking the x Aberdeen trawler Barnsness, off the north coast. One Nazi plane flew towards the warship when the latter appeared and dropped what seemed to be an aerial torpedo, but it missed. The warship opened fire and the planes immediately departed. A British steamer of 3000 tons sent out an SOS, and fighter planes went to the help of a third tanker. The loss is announced of the Glasgow steamer Chagres (5406 tons),' which was sunk by enemy action early this morning. Sixty-four of her crew have been landed, but two men are missing. Her captain was Captain Hugh Roberts, who received the 0.8. E. for evading a German submarine on the fourth day of the war. The Chagres sank after an attack off the north-west coast. DIRECT HITS MADE. Bombs made direct hits on the hopper-dredge Foremost and an unnamed tanker, both of which subsequently reached port, but two of the crew of the Foremost were drowned when a lifeboat swamped. The Nazis machine-gunned vessels which went to the assistance of the Foremost. The Secretary to the Admiralty regrets to announce that "as a result if' enemy aircraft attacks on trawlers, the H. Robert Bowen and Fort Royal were sunk with the loss of four officers and 18 ratings." The German news agency claimea that air. patrols attacked six ships, either British or sailing under British convoy, which were either sunk or so seriously damaged that they could be reckoned totally lost. Only one German plane, it was stated, was missing, in spite of heavy anti-aircraft fire and chaser planes.

The steamer Gripfast, which ran aground since the Nazis' bombing attack last week, has been refloated and towed to port.

The Admiralty announces the following casualties from H.M.S. Sphinx, the minesweeper which was damaged by enemy air attacks on February 3 and was reported to have capsized while being towed to port on February 5: One officer killed and four missing, believed dead; three ratings killed, one died of injuries, and 45 missing and presumed to be dead. The survivors of the Sphinx reveal that oil poured from the vessel to calm the tempestuous seas choked many of the crew who were thrown into the water by air-bomb explosions. /