CONVOY ATTACKED"

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 December 1940, Page 7

CONVOY ATTACKED"

BRITISH ENGAGE RAIDER

HIT BY SHELL FIRE

[BY CABLE —PRESS ' ASSN.—COPYRIGHT.]

LONDON, December 29.

An Admiralty communique says that on Christmas Day a powerful enemy surface warship attacked a British convoy in the Atlantic. One ship in the convoy was hit, and received slight damage. The enemy made off as soon as it saw the convoy was escorted, but British warships gave chase and engaged it at long range. One shell was seen to hit the raider amidships,, but it is not possible to estimate the damage. During the engagement H.M.S. Berwick received slight damage and suffered five casualties. The Berwick is remaining, at sea. ’ ' . The German ship -Baden was intercepted during the.engagement, .but was set on fire by her crew and sank. It ’is thought she was qcting as supply ship to the raider. <

GERMAN CLAIM. ■

LONDON, December 28. The Bremen radio stated that H.M.S. Seal, which was damaged off Sweden, several months ago and was captured by the Germans, has been recommissioned for the German Navy.

U.S.A. TANKER SUNK.

NEW YORK, December 28.

The Standard Oil Company, of New Jersey, announced that its tanker, Charles Pratt (8,982 tons), has been sunk. Two of the crew of 42 had been lost. ""

The ship flew the flag of the Panama Transport Company. The location and cause of the sinking are unknown. 'The tanker left Aruba, in the Dutch West Indies, on December 5 for Freetown, Sierra Leone. She was one of a group transferred to the Panamanian registry when the Neutrality Act banned American shipping from belligerent waters. She is the eighth vessel under the Panamanian flag sunk since the outbreak of war. Several of these were tankers belonging to the Standard Oil Company.

NORWEGIAN TANKER.

SHANGHAI, December 28. I The North China “Daily News” has quoted reliable sources as claiming that, the Norwegian tanker Olav Jakob now manned by Germans, carried the Norwegian crew from the ship Talleyrand, which the Germans have sunk. It is said that the members of the Talleyrand’s crew were-transferred to the Scharnhotst at Kobe. However, the prisoners signalled to another Norwegian vessel, after which the Norwegian authorities protested to Japan. It is said that the Japanese searched the Scharnhorst and released the Norwegians, who then boarded the 'liner Empress of Asia and proceeded to Singapore. ; ... 1..

THE KING AND CONVOYS

< -MRUGBY, Dec. 29. ' The King has personally assured himself of the great care with which the arrangements for convoys are worked out by the naval authorities. He recently visited a port for this' purpose, and he ; . attended one of the informal conferences at which captains of merchantmen and escorting warships meet to discuss their problems before leaving. The skippers arid naval personnel were seated together round the table, receiving instructions from a naval captain, when the King walked into the room, accompanied by the Commander-in-Chief of the port. At these conferences, which are always held a few hours before a convoy sails, the position each ship shall take is decided, as well as the methods to be adopted in case of attack either by a surface raider, a Üboat, or aircraft. The King was shown the chart position’s each ship would take, and also where the escorting warships would be positioned, and he listened to the discussions at the conference. Afterwards, His Majesty met the skippers, and talked with them individually. Several of the skippers were from Allied countries. The commodore of this convoy was a Dutchman, and the King had a long talk with him.

URUGUAYAN PROPOSAL

MONTEVIDEO, December 28. A newspaper, the “El Paid,” urged that the Uruguayan Government should obey a popular clamour to ’adopt measures favourable to Britain, including permission for British warships to use Uruguayan ports for re-fuelling, victualling and overhauling without any time limit, similar to ’1917.