CITY OF FLINT

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 November 1939, Page 7

CITY OF FLINT

BRIEF CALL AT TROMSO SHIP FLYING GERMAN FLAG [BY CABLE —PBESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] LONDON, October 30. The United States freighter, City of Flint, put into the Norwegian port of Tromso to-day. According to a Norwegian . report, the vessel left ■ threequarters of an hour after her arrival. She was then proceeding in a southerly direction. The United States Minister to Norway said that the City of Flint, when seen at Tromso was flying the German flag.

The German Consul at Tromso boardfed the vessel in the stream. The German prize crew and the American crew are both said to be on board. The ship left at the request of the Norwegian authorities. She was said to have put in because she was short of water. v ■ •

CAPTURED BY DEUTSCHLAND.

LONDON, October 30.

A member of the crew of the British ship Stonegate tells the story of his capture and imprisonment on the German pocket-battleship Deutschlang. The seas were heavy on the day the Stonegate was captured (October 5) and the captain of the Deutschland considered that the Stonegate’s lifeboats would not live, and took the crew on the warship, where they were prisoners for five days. When the Deutschland fell in with the City, of Flint, her commander asl| ed the captain of the City of Flint whether he would prefer his ship sunk or taken to Germany. The answer was that he would prefer the ship to be taken to Germany. The Stonegate’s crew were transferred to the City of Flint, and a German prize crew, armed with rifles and. hand grenades, also came on board. The name City of Flint was painted out and another name substituted while the Danish flag was run up.

TO SAFEGUARD AMERICANS.

WASHINGTON, October 31.

The State Department is informing Britain and Germany that it expects all belligerents to guard against exposing the Americans on the City of Flint to unnecessary dangers. The Associated Press of America correspondent says the two eventualities most feared are that the German prize crew .will destroy the vessel, if the British attempt to capture it, or that the British will sink the ship. The latter is considered most unlikely.