RAIDER ENGAGED

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 December 1940, Page 7

RAIDER ENGAGED

. IN S. ATLANTIC AREA ENEMY'S HURRIED ESCAPE [BY CABLE—PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] LONDON, December 6. The British merchant cruiser, ’H.M.S. Carnarvon Castle, was in action yesterday in the South Atlantic with a fast German raider, which was in the guise of a merchant ship. The engagement was fought at long range. There was heavy .firing on both sides. The Carnarvon Castle received. slight damage. It is not yet known what damage was done to the raider, which was last seen making off at high speed to the north.

BERLIN, December 6. -The German High Command announces that a sea battle has taken place in the South Atlantic Ocean, between British and German auxiliary cruisers. ' • ADMIRALTY* REPORT. RUGBY, December 6. An official Admiralty communique states tljptthe armed merchant cruiser, Carriarvon Castle, 20,000 tons, a former Union Castle liner, was in action with a fast, heavily armed German raider disguised as a merchant ship in the South Atlantic. Full details are not available, but from reliable reports, it is clear the action was fought at long range, the raider, which has considerable speed, not accepting closer action. There was heavy firing during the engagement and a considerable amount of Ammunition was expended, as the Carnarvon Castle gave chase. The Carnarvon Castle was slightly damaged and had some casualties. It is not yet known what damage she inflicted on the enemy. She was last reported steaming north at high speed from the scene of the action. It is understood that the action occurred about 700 miles north-east of Montevideo.

s. AMERICAN INCIDENTS. RIO DE JANEIRO, December 5. A British warship is reported to have halted the Brazilian steamer Psrah. Diplomatic quarters have reported the movement in several South American countries to close American ports to. British ships as a reprisal for the Itape affair. A message from Washington states that the United States Secretary of State (Mr Cordell Hull) said the United States was investigating reports that a British warship had halted the Brazilian ship Itape on December 1, and removed 22 German passengers. -GERMAN FREIGHTS. . TALCAHUANO (Chile), Dec 5. A German merchantman, the Portland, has arrived here. SHIPS INDISTRESS. . NEW YORK,..December.6.. There are five vessels in distiess on the Atlantic, which is being swept by gales. Three of them are British, and two are Greek.

CAPTURED BY RAIDER NEW YORK, December 5. The log of a British freighter, the “Haxby,” which was sunk by a raider in April, reveals that the raider afterwards laid mines New Zealand. The crew of the “Haxby” were taken prisoner and were put aboard a captured Norwegian steamer, the “Tropic Star,” which was seized near Norfolk Island, and was afterwards scuttled to the north-west of Spain. The log shows the “Haxby” left Greenock on April 8 for Texas,’ and seven days after leaving her convoy, a steamer flying the Greek colours crossed her bow, and then hoisted the Nazi ensign. She fired on the “Haxby” from four concealed six-inch guns. The survivors were taken prisoner, and the raider, on May 2, laid mines off West Africa. On May 7, the raider refuelled from a five-thousand-ton German tanker, the “Winnetou.” On June 18, the raider intercepted the “Tropic Sea.” Again she refuelled from the “Winnetou.” She placed British sailors and a prize crew aboard the “Tropic Sea,” which attempted to reach Bordeaux, but was intercepted by a British submarine.

SHIPS FROM U.S.A. NEW YORK, December 5. The “Herald-Tribune’s” Washington correspondent says: A British shipping mission is completing contracts to build shipyards on the East and West Coasts of the United States, and there to assemble prefabricated freighters on a massproduction basis. These contracts are the result of two months of negotiations.