SINKING OF A TURKISH MONITOR.

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 85, 11 August 1877, Page 3

SINKING OF A TURKISH MONITOR.

One of the most daring de«ds „ever -recorded in^he history of «warf are was performed on the Lower Danube, near Ibraila, on May. 26. A small detachment of -Russian soldiers, commanded by. Lieutenant DubaschefE, accompanied -by the commander of the Roumanian flotilla, Major Murgescu, left the northern shore of the Danube m a ! number of small boats, and proceeded i towards the point Petra Fetei, below Matchin, and opposite Ibraila, at which point there was stationed a' large Turkish monitor. -The night' was very dark, and they managed to surround the monitor 'before being discovered by the Turkish look : outs. . When finally observed by the s sentries on board they were challenged, and " Who goes there P" . rang out on the night air. Major Murgescu replied m Turkish, "Friends." The Turks, evidently not satisfied, commenced firing m the direction of Matchin, not knowing wherJTthese boats came lErom. The shots flew wide of their mark, and did no damage to the daring men m the.rboats. During the firing several of the Russian soldiers, under the direction of Leiufcenanfc Dubascheff, plunged into the water, swam silently to the hulL of the ironclad vessel, and placed the deadly torpedo m close .contact with the bottom of the monitor. ' After the destructive machine had been securely fastened, and the wires of an electric battery , accurately adjusted, the men retired to the neighbouring shore of the river, and atiialf -past 3 m the. morning ttie monitor was blown into the air, with all the officers and crew. The explosion jwas terrific, and, as nothing is said of the crew being saved, it is supposed that all on board perished with the .vessel., ' The monitor was called the Dar Matoin. The larger turret ship, the .sister of the Luffi Djezil is therefore still afloat. This, and the vessel" sunk a fortnight ago, were the only seagoing monitors m the Turkish navy. A statement has been published to the effect that the Dar Matoin was destroyedby a fish torpedo*

Most of the accounts, however, describe the explosive a? having been manually placed m position, and then fired from a distance by wires. The -difference is important, since torpedoes which can be sent on their errand from a distance can be employed m a much larger number of cases than those whioh must be carried to their 'destination, Heroism is admirable, but certain, and uniform^ results are what every Government desires. A dispatch , from fit. Petersburg clears up ihetyoint, and states that the torpedp was laid under the monitor by a Bussian officer, and, further that, the operation was not performed, under cover of darkness, which, indeed i* scarcely available at this, time of the year.. Lieutenants Dubascheff and Shestakoff, the Eussian ; officers who performed this exploit, have been rewarded with the Cross of St^ George. ; - j