308 Ships Sunk To Feb. 20

Northern Advocate, 26 February 1940, Page 5

308 Shi ps Sunk To Feb. 20

(Received 2 p.m.) LONDON, February 25. The British steamship Jevington Court (4544 tons) struck a mine and was sunk. The crew were saved, but three are in hospital. The captain and chief engineer had both previously been m a ship which was mined and sunk. This is the fourth loss to the Court Line. Others are the Kensington Court. Arlington Court, and Sedrington Court. According to a Berlin message, the Nazis claim that enemy and neutral merchantmen numbering 49(1, carrying 1,810.315 tons of contraband for Britain. have been sunk between the outbreak of the war and February 20. Unofficial figures show that 80S Bri- | tish. Allied and neutral ships were sunk up to February 20. says a London cable. Four U-Boats Lost Reports are current in London that four more U-boats have been sunktwo in the North Sea. a third off Scotland. and a fourth which was rammed by the British cargo steamer Asiatic, of 3741 tons, off the Shetland Islands. No official details are available, but it is understood the Royal Air Force played an important part in sinking three of the submarines. The ‘'Daily Mail" says British reconnaissance aeroplanes bombed and sank two U-boats many miles apart in the North Sea. It was earlier reported that the third submarine was believed to have been severely damaged in collision with the Asiatic. “A Real Shaking.” The captain said: "It was a glancing blown We must have given the U-boat’s crew a real shaking.” The Admiralty announced yesterday that the naval trawler Benvolio was sunk by a mine. The commanding officer and nine ratings are missing, and are feared lost. The Admiralty also announces a list containing the names of two officers and 19 ratings missing and presumed dead as the result of an air attack last Thursday on the naval trawler Fifeshire, from which there was only one survivor. Victims of Mines. The British steamer Royal Archer (22C6 tons) struck a mine off the Scottish coast and is believed to have sunk while efforts were being made to tow her to the shore. Fourteen of the crew were injured. The Danish steamer Aase (1206 tons) was sunk en route to Britain from Spain, and 15 of the crew are missing. One of the ship’s boats, containing the cabin boy and the body of the first officer, came ashore on the south-west coast of Britain. Neutrals Suffer. German bombers sank a Norwegian steamer off the east coast of Britain. The Norwegian- steamer Teles (1691 tons) and the British steamer Leo Dawson (4330 tons) are overdue and are presumed to have been lost, The Greek cargo steamer Panachrandos (4661 tons), which was on a voyage from Antwerp to the U.S.. has not reported for five weeks and is presumed lost. The German news agency claims that a British oil tanker was torpedoed off the west coast of Spain. The Trench navy has convoyed 2000 ships since the outbreak of war, with the loss of only three, says a cablegram from Paris.