SUBMARINE PIRATES BAFFLED IN THE CHANNEL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15932, 1 June 1915, Page 7

SUBMARINE PIRATES BAFFLED IN THE CHANNEL.

TWO BRITISH SHIPS ELUDE THE ENEMY.

WHITE STAR LINER OUT-DISTANCES HER PURSUER. London, May 30. The White Star liner Megantic, 14,878 tons, bound to Montreal, and crowded with passengers, met a submarine sixty miles south of Queenstown. She sent a wireless message for help and went at fu I speed, zig-zagging on her course, with the submarine pursuing her. Subsequently she sent a wireless message th.it the submarine had disappeared, and the orders for assistance were cancelled. The Blue Flunnel liner Ping Suez, a steamer of 6458 tons, bound inward from Batavia with a valuable cargo, made a splendid escape from submarines in the Channel. The Ping Suez early on Saturday sighted a submarine two miles off. The submarine fired across the bows of the Ping Suez, which increased her speed. The submarine chased and shelled the vessel. Several shells burst over the bridge, and one which struck aft considerably damaged the poop, a member of the crew, a Chinese, asloep below, being wounded. The steamer outdistanced her pursuer and reached Plymouth in a much battered condition. The London-owned steamer Tullochmoor, of 3520 tons, was torpedoed off Ushant, on the north-west corner of France. The crew have landed at Barry, in Wales. A submarine burnt the Bussian schooner Mars, off. Fair Island, in the Shetland Islands. The pirates towed the crew of seven for ten and a-half hours. The crew reached Aberdeen. The steamer Glenlee (4140 tons), which left Cardiff for Aden, was torpedoed. The crew were landed at Ushant. A survivor of the steamer Spennymoor, which was torpedoed, states that the crew of the submarine stood on deck and laughed mockingly when the crew were thrown into the water.

SURVIVORS OF THE ETHIOPE PICKED UP.

SUBMARINE REPORTED TO BE 300F LONG. 1 London, May 30. A boat containing .16 of the crew of the Elder Dempster steamer Ethiope has been pioked up. The Ethiope -was proceeding down Channel when she was surprised by a shot across her bows. Then a submarine, 300 ft long, appeared. The Ethiope attempted to escape, and two shells were fired. The crew were given five minutes to get into the boats, and the Ethiope was then torpedoed and sank in five minutes. The largest submarines known to exist bei'ore the war were the Gustava Zede and the Nereidc, belonging to the French Navy. Theso vessels have * length of 240 ft and a beam of 20ft, and hi.vo a submerged displacement of 1000 tons. Their armanwnt consists of two bow and two stem tubes, with eight 18in torpedoes, and two 14-pounder quick-firing guns. Their cruising range is 4000 miles.