FLYING-BOAT MAIL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23850, 28 December 1940, Page 9

FLYING-BOAT MAIL

| NARROW ESCAPE THE RANGITIKI'S LUCK SHELLS VERY CLOSE TIMELY smoke screen NO HINT OF PANIC §_ [from OCR OWN correspondent] LONDON, Dec. 1 "The Rangifiki had a miraculous I e>enpe. It seemed sheer good fortune | that she was not hit.'" This was the | comment made by Paymaster-Sub-Lieu- | tenant S. Watkinson. of Hastings, the 8 only passenger in the Rangitiki to see the fighting between the German raider | and the Jervis Pay. Sub-Lieutenant Watkinson. who was j I in charge of a draft of New Zealand | ratings on their way to England for j training, was allowed to remain on : deck, "because," he said. "I was in- | : tercsted from a technical point of view. "After in minutes the Jervis Pay had been put out of action, and the raider turned her guns on the .Hangitiki. which was still swinging hard to Starboard away from the raider," he said. "All the convoy ships were let-j ting out smoke-screens as hard as they I could. Hopelessly Outranged "The first salvo at the Rangitiki was | vide and slightly astern of us. about 40' I yard- away. The second was a perfect straddle. One of the shells landed right along the port side and gteel splinters pock-marked the funnels. "It seemed inevitable that the third salvo must get us. and I know I had ' made up my mind to this, and I expect the officers on the bridge must have felt the same, .lust at that moment, j / however, the smoke screen from a ship on our port side drifted across the JLmgitiki's stern. This may have upset the raider's aim. for. although the third salvo was very close, it missed the ship. "In a few minutes we were well inside the smoke screen, and it is possible that the raider may have thought she had hit us, for sin? transferred her fire to another ship. Everyone who knew what was going on was pretty relieved at this lack of attention, bej cause nobody in their right senses takes any pleasure from knowing that llin. shells are being shot at you. The S .Bangitiki at no time attempted to fire | at the raider, as she would have been | hopelessly outranged." The First Alarm Before the action, said Sub-Lieuten-I But Watkinson. lie had been walking I round tiie decks with Dr. Raymond | Firth, of Auckland, who was returning I to London University after being en- | gaged in research work in Malaya. I "We had seen this ship on the hori- \ zon for quite a time." lie said, "and one naval man who had been at DunI kirk guessed what she was a good 10 j minutes before we knew. It was a j lovely, calm, sunny evening, with good 1 visibility, and the sun slowly sinking ! into the sea. { ' "The convoy was sailing in eight | lines of four or five each, with the Jervis Bay in the centre on her own. I The first alarm was sounded when the \ \ Cornish City, a ship on our quarter 1 between the Rangitiki and the Jervis f Bay. blew its foghorn. The Jervis Bay 1 was abreast of the Rangitiki, and she steamed oft ahead of the convoy immef diately and turned out to the raider. "After the raider ceased firing at ! the Kangitiki. dusk began to fall, which 1 relieved our minds somewhat, but there I was a promise of a fine moonlit night. We could see flashes of gunfire on the j horizon for five and a-half hours after { the first salvo was fired by the raider, I and we watched the signals from other | ships as they told that they were being attacked. At one .stage the raider \ seemed to be in their range, and they opened fire on her. Passengers Behave Well "At the first alarin all the pas- - sengers and the men of the New Zeai land naval draft were sent below decks, and later one of our men told me that the people had behaved _ remarkably well. There was no hint of panic. "the next morning we woke up to find a very heavy sea running and visibilitv verv low. hrom the RangiI tiki's point of view this was excellent, as it precluded possibility of the raider ■using aircraft to locate us. During the next few days we took considerable interest in every ship that showed up. After several alarms and added tension from the thought of submarines and enemy aircraft, wo eventually reached England safely. "The Jervis Bay did not stand a chance against the raider, because she vcas hopelessly outranged. Everyone in ; , the Kangitiki admired her fight tremendously." FATALLY BURNED GRAZIER'S TRAGIC DEATH IGNITION OF PETROL FUMES [from our own* correspondent] SYDNEY, Dec. 21 A grazier of Pee!wood, David Patrick King, aged 30, was filling the petrol tank of his loiry by the light of a hurricane lantern at about 8 p.m. when the petrol fumes ignited and the shed took fire. I ' Mr. King was completely enveloped by the flames and was shockingly j burned. When discovered he was rollj in;i on the ground in an endeavour to extinguish his burning clothes. His -wife, who discovered his plight, fran- ; tieally ripped the burning clothes from him, and in doing so was severely burned on both hands. A neighbour was telephoned for. W hen he arrived Mr. King was put in a car and taken toCrookwell, 20 miles away. Air. King was conscious throughout the journey, and on arrival at the Crookwell district hospital walked from the car into the building. He died later. The lorry and shed were destroyed. Tire-fighters had great difficulty in saving the house, which is situated only 50ft. from the shed. FALL DOWN CLIFF BOY ESCAPES LIGHTLY j [ff.om our own correspondent] SYDNEY, Dec. 2G Falling 80ft. down a fissure in the Ben Bucklot cliffs at Bondi, one of Sydney's best-known beaches, John Ward, ; aged 11, escaped almost unhurt. He ! Mas attempting to haul a piece of. gal- | vanised iron up the cliff on a rope when j the earth, slippery after recent rain, j gave way under him. He fell feet first j down the fissure, which is about sft. j I wide, and is lined with jagged rocks. I A projecting rock slowed his fall, and he landed on a pile of soft earth, washed down by the rain. This probably saved his life. Police. assisted by ambulance men. I | carried Ward, strapped to a stretcher, to-the top ol the cliff. The boy was ad- § Jnitted to hospital suffering from con1/ etissinn and abrasions. Dn the same day that Ward had his j remarkable escape, a man was killed Jn a intt. fall. Percy Egan. aged 55. i was doing repairs to a house at Bal- j gowlali. a Sydney suburb, between the | ceiling and the roof, when he overbalanced and crashed through the ceil- j I * n s- He died from a-fractured skulltf* r j