SUBMARINE’S FEAT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 128, 1 May 1941, Page 7

SUBMARINE’S FEAT

SUPREME AUDACITY. IN ITALIAN HARBOUR. LUNDON, April 30. An audacious attempt by a British submarine to embark the British Minister to Belgrade (Sir llonald Campbell) and party, who are reported to be missing, is revealed in an Admiralty coinmuniq no. The submarine Regent (Lt.-Com-mander Bartlett )at dawn on April 26 arrived in a port on the Adriatic to find the whole area occupied by the Italian army. Nevertheless, it landed a party to seek the whereabouts of (Sir Jiultald Campbell, taking as hostage an Italian army officer. Meanwhile, wearing the largest j Wljitc Ensign it could find, the Brit- j isli submarine lay for nine hours in | the harbour until an unexpected bomb, and machine-gun attack was delivered : by two Italian dive-bombers, which re- j suited in injuries to several of thej ship's company. | Deciding it was no longer safe to 1 stay, tho submarine left the harbour , submerged and dived under two mine- j fields to escape, with the hostage still on board. The submarine was not able to rescue Sir Ronald Campbell, but the fact that it lay in an Italian harbour for so long and evaded the minefields in its escape is taken its another example of British powers. .] Last Oetolwr the Regent sank a | 6000-ton Italian supply 6hip in the i Eastern Mediterranean.

A message from Rome published yesterday claimed that Sir Ronald Campbell and also Colonel S. C. Clark, a military attache, and Mr Ray Brock, a correspondent of the New York Times, were taken aboard an Italian torpedo-boat. while attempting to embark on a. steamer off the Dalmatian coast for Crete.