ON THE SEAS.

North Otago Times, Volume CIV, Issue 13660, 31 August 1916, Page 3

ON THE SEAS.

CATCHING SUBMARINES.

BRILLIANT WORK OF THE TRAWLERS.

BRITAIN'S PATROLLING "BATTLE

FLEETS,"

(Australian and H.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, August 29,

Mr Alfred Noyes, in his second article in the Daily Chronicle, states that for many months a certain strip of the North African coast was strewn with wreckage and man's bodies from merchant ships, Allied and neutral, who had met German submarines. We despatched 1 a flotilla of trawlers and drifters there and that, coast to-day is as clear as any.-in'.Britain..' On one occasion one squadron was withdrawn from the mouth of the Adriatic in order to deal with unexpected trouble, in the -Egoan Sea, and submarines promptly emerged through the migarded gates, so that more wreckage and 1 dead strewed the unwatehed coast. To-day British longshore .fishermen may be found; patrolling, or frozen in, on the White Sea, while others are • always patrolling the,coast of Bulgaria, The sinking of unarmed,fishing, boats was One of Fritz's favourite amusements early in the war. . ; My Noyes relates a typical and true story recorded in the official log-books of how a submarine surprised the trawler Victoria on the fishing bank 130 miles from land, The trawler took the folorn hope and tore ..homewards,. One after another shells killed the crew until four were left, The submarine.picked up the survivors and the commander examined them singly concerning the patrol system but all refused to answer,

Mr Noyes says'that' the sinking of the fishing..boats suddenly ceased, ■' except mi rare occasions, and flip fact is now acknowledged that when a submarine sees one it submerges and holts. Details must not be given, but one may give one instance. There was•.qiipp a simple fishing.boat shooting nets. .The submarine, gave her men five minutes lo leave, and immediately there was panic aboard (lie bunt, which had bi-Wi part of I lie. drill in port. Two of I lie crew went down on •their luiees for mercy and the others hauled at the boats like, men possessed, Passing over the details again, the resultant picture showed a dummy boat on deck in four pieces and a line big gun levelled at Hie submarine with navy gunners in atlendance Hie Germans kneeling ■ for mercy on Hie demolished siibhmrine and nil upon the troubled waters. War has made many queer transformations, a in! what looks like a battleship may be a comparatively harmless thing resembling a Noah's ai'k. The German warships run 'from a boat as harmless as.va'•mouse,.iaud.,:tJu i .y..aro. confronting, the most terrible binlV in the war gamble. Passengers on the American and other neutral liners heave .the sighs of content on sighting a British mnii-of-war which is*not a man-of-war at all, All around the sea is dotted with insignificant, craft, the ships of Drake and Hawkins, loaded with nnimirginod thunderbolts. They are England's world patrolling battle fleets, $