H.M.S. PHILOMEL.

Northern Advocate, 4 October 1913, Page 7

H.M.S. PHILOMEL.

OPERATIONS AGAINST GUNRUNNERS. LONDON, Aug. 23. Before long H.M.S. Philomel will reach New Zealand waters from the East India station, where she is now refitting after some exciting service in the Persian Gulf against gunrunners. The Philomel, with the Sphinx and the Pelorus, have been engaged in this service for some months past, and when she came back to Bombay to refit the crusiser brought full details of the operations which preceded and folowed the loss of the naval cutter and crew some months ago. About the middle of June the three patrol ships were cruising off the villages of Karri and Mahoomari, and while the Pelorus's steam pinnace, with the senior naval officer on board, was engaged in making a survey of the coast she was fired on from the shore, near the last-named village. It was decided in consequence to teach the tribesmen a lesson, and the village was bombarded for twenty minutes, twenty-five shells being fired. The operations are thus described by the Bombay Chronicle. " The bombardment took place when the ships were five miles' distant from the shore and although the runners found their range in a remarkably quick time, it was somewhat hard to guage the effects of the shots owing to the configuration of the sand dunes, behind which the tribesmen found ample cover. The villages are built of tenacious mud mixed with stones, through which rifle bullets cann t penetrate, but a well-directed shot from a shell makes short work of crude fortifications. LANDING PARTY'S CASUTLTIES. The evening's bombardment did not appear to have impressed the unruly inhabitants sufficiently, ao, on 15 th June after another preliminary bombardment, sixteen boatd from three ships, containing a landing party of about 300, with maxims, were towed by a launch towards the shore. In the meantime, the tribesmen, who were subsequently found to be armed with Mannlicher rifles, took advantage of the cover of the sandhills, and opened a desultory fire from all sides on the landing party while they were coming through the surf, with the result that five men were wounded and one was shot in the muscles of the shoulder. No further casualties were inflicted until the party had been safely landed, upon which the tribesmen retreated inland, still keeping under cover of the innumerable sandhills, which made the chances of the British force returning their fire to any effect almost impossible.