SINKING OF RHEIN

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 155, 28 December 1940, Page 8

SINKING OF RHEIN

FIRE OUT OF HAND

DUTCH WARSHIPS WORK

(British Official Wireless.)

(Received December 28, 1 p.m.) RUGBY, December 27.

Further information has been received officially regarding the capture "and .ultimate destruction of the German ship Rhein (6031 tons) in West Indies waters by the Royal Netherlands Navy ship Van Kinsbergen. A suspicious vessel was sighted by the Van Kinsbergen in the early hours of -December 11. The ship was closed and identified with the aid of searchlights as the Rhein. On being ordered to stop the Rhein attempted to escape in the darkness but was brought to by a shot fired across her bows.

•■■A boarding party was sent over, and -the crew of the German ship, who had previously set her on fire in an attempt -,tp scuttle her, v/as transferred to the vVan Kinsbergen.

After fighting the fire for some hours

.it was found impossible to save the iOerman ship, although the attempt to her had been prevented. The

fire.had taken too fierce a hold of the

yessel for the boarding party alone to Ideal with it, and heavy weather pre-

vented attempts to take stronger mea-

sures. Accordingly the boarding party withdrawn and the Rhein was -sunk by gunfire.