British Submarines’ Best Week In History

Northern Advocate, 20 December 1939, Page 5

British Submarines’ Best Week In History

LONDON, December 18,

“In the North Sea, British submarines have had the best week I can remember in this or the last war.” said Mr Churchill, in a speech yesterday.

■ “They suffer because there are few targets, and they are not allowed to sink merchant ships without warning or without providing for the safety of the crews.

“They work mostly among minefields in the strongly-defended waters of the Heligoland Bight, and German warships hardly ever venture out of port.

“The submarine Salmon last week was most praiseworthy,” said Mr Churchill.

“She blew to pieces by a volley of torpedoes one of the larger German Üboats, then abstained from torpedoing the Bremen when she had that enormous ship at her mercy; and then, last Thursday, sighted a fleet of German war vessels on one of their rare excursions.

Hit Two Cruisers.

She fired torpedoes at a cruiser squadron, and hit a 6000-ton cruiser with one torpedo and another cruiser of equal size with two torpedoes. “The cruisers were possibly able to reach home, but it i’s by no means certain in the of one of them, and both will be out of action for months. “Meanwhile, the entire German Fleet abandoned whatever enterprise it had in mind.

“Today, the submarine Urusla reports that she sank last Thursday a 6000-ton cruiser of the Koln class, although it was surrounded by destroyers.

“A considerable portion of the total German cruiser strength has been put out of action in a single week—the same week in which the Admiral Graf Spec met her inglorious end.

German Spleen,

“The German Navy and Air Force are venting their spleen by redoubling their efforts in sinking fishing smacks and drowning fishermen in the North Sea. Yesterday and today their Air Force tried to bomb unarmed merchantmen, including an Italian ship, and even machine-gunned sailors on the decks.

“I am glad to tell you that the heal of their fury far exceeded the accuracy of their hits. “Of the 24 ships bombed, only six small boats engaged in fishing, and one coastal vessel, were sunk, and the bulk of the ships were not even hit by the many bombs aimed at them.

“These outrages are the tactics of a guilty regime that is feeling the long arm of seapower upon its shoulders.

“In spite of the German mines around Britain, the whole vast movement of British traffic is proceeding without interruption.”

Tribute to Sailors.

Paying a tribute to the Commander-in-Chief of the Main Fleet (Admiral Sir Charles Forbes), Mr Churchill said the Main Fleet had spent more days at sea since the outbreak of war than had ever been required at any equal period in modern naval warfare. Concluding. Mr Churchill praised the conduct of the men on board the three cruisers, Exeter, Achilles and Ajax, when the chance of honour came suddenly to them in the South Atlantic.

“We must go back a long way in the history of naval warfare to find more brilliant and resolute fighting than theirs,” said the First Lord.

“But if the call should come elsewhere, equal skill and courage should be forthcoming. “Rough and violent times lie ahead, but everything that has happened since the outbreak should give the nation confidence that difficulties will be surmounted, problems solved, and duties done.”

Such of the cable news In tills Issue as Is so headed has appeared in “The Times” and is sent to this paper,by special permission. It should be understood that the opinions are not those of “The Times” unless expressly stated to be so