SEVEN SHIPS

Grey River Argus, 25 March 1940, Page 8

SEVEN SHIPS

SUNK BY

ENEMY

Denmark Heavy Loser

LONDON, March 22. Germany’s sea wqr has cost the Scandinavians seven merchantmen and nearly one hundred lives m tno past .two days. . The Norwegian Foreign Minister has again protested to Berlin. Denmark is the principal sufferer. She has lost six ships and eightythree men. The Danish public were stunned as the news of one loss after another was given out. Denmark s losses since the outbreak .of war have been thirty-one ships, with 334 men, and live trawlers with thirty men. , The Danish stmear Charkow (102 b tons) has been sunk off the east coast of Scotland. There is no news of thecrew. U-boats also sank Wltl ™ut warning the Christiansborg (32 dJ tons) and Svinta making a total 01 seven vessels lost in two days as aresult of Germany’s unrestricted warfare against neutrals. A.bout titty persons are missing. None of the ships sunk were in convoy. The other Danish vessels were the Algier (1654 tons), the Minsk (1229 tons), the Bothal (2109 tons) and the Viking (1153 tons). A German aeroplane ,bombed the Norwegian ship Torra Elise (721 tons) which was in convoy off the Scottish coast on Wednesday, and killed three members of the crew. The ship put into a north-east coast port. The captain and one member of the crew were injured. A Berlin communique claims that, the activities of the German naval forces against merchant shipping continue to be successful. They sunk 32,694 tons of enemy shipping and shipping useful to the enemy, in the past three days. The skipper of the Aberdeen trawler, Star of Peace, reported it is believed that the trawler destroyed or badly damaged a U-boat in the North Sea, yesterday. The trawler bumped over a metal object and, lurched four times. It circled the spot, but saw no signs of wreckage. British Patrol IN MEDITERRANEAN. GREAT MANY SHIPS "SPOKEN.” (Received March 24, 6.30 p.m.) RUGBY, March 23. The work of British naval units in the Mediterranean Sea in applying the contraband control means arduous duties for British patrols. In one patrol area in the Mediterranean area alone. His Majesty’s ships had “spoken” 698 vessels between the beginning of 1940 and the end of February. Of these vessels, 410 were communicated with by signal, but were not boarded, and of the 288 vessels that were boarded, only a small proportion were diverted to the contraband control base. Every effort is made there to ensure the quiet, smooth working of the Allied contraband control, and the “Navicert” system is being taken advantage of to a growing extent. GERMAN CAPTAIN'S RUSE. COPENHAGEN, March 22. Thirty-five members of the crew of the Hedderheim have been landed on the North Coast. It is revealed, however, that the German vessel’s captain gave his uniform ■ to the- chief gineer, and disguised himself- as a member of the crew, and, for this reason, the British submarine took the engineer as its prisoner in mistake for the captain.

HEDDERNHEIM’S CREW GIVEN CHANCE OF RESCUE. (Received March 24. 7 p.m.) LONDON. March 23. The commander of the British submarine which sank the Heddernheim, followed the vessel for a long time before intercepting it. because he realised that, owing to the heavy sea and fog. her crew wo.uld have little chance if forced to take to the boats. The submarine nursued until the Heddernheim was close to the coast, and* then, knowing that the crew were almost certain to be saved, intercepted and sank the ship, after the crew had quitted. The sinking of the Heddernheim is the British Navy’s first answer to recent criticisms that the route from Narvik is one of the mw-st serious loopholes in the blockade, The Heddernheim was laden 1 with ore. The submarine slipped up) the Skagerrak at night, and intercepted the Heddernheim. which was forced out from the coast, owing to shallows, and was trying to steal across the international waters between Denmark and Norway. Coast-) al residents heard three shots, and then heard a tremendous explosion. A raft from the Charkov. sunk on March 22nd. found off the Scottish coast, contained one body. There was no trace of the rest of the crew.

CARGO SHIP SUNK ©

By

British Submarine

(Aust. & N.Z. Cable A.isn ] LONDON. March 22. For the first time in the war a German merchantman has been sunk by a British submarine. The victim was the Hedderheim (4947 tons) and the action occurred eight miles off the Danish coast. It is thp first naval action in these waters. '• The reasons why this is the first I German merchantman to be. sunk are I that the German vessels nave been! driven off the seas and that the Bri-j tish keep within the international law. The crew was picked up. which contrasts with the German methods of sinking neutrals in the open sea without warning. I The submarine carried off the first, engineer and a coastguard cutter, picked up the remaining 35 members, of the crew. [ The Admiralty announcement states: “On the evening of March 21.' one of his Majesty’s. submarines intercepted the Hedderheim eight miles

from the coast of Denmark. The submarine reports that the members of the crew was safe and that she has sunk the Hedderheim. The Hedderffeim is believed to be the first Ger man merchantman sunk bv torpedo since the outbreak of war.”