THE S.S. KUMARA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17726, 10 September 1919, Page 5

THE S.S. KUMARA

■oEXPERIENCES WITH SUBMARINES. The chief officer of tho s.s. Kumara yesterday gave our reporter some interesting dstails of tho vessel's adventures with submarines. On Sunday, April 7, 1917, the Kumara, on her thirty-eighth voyage, left London for Plymouth at 3 p.m. to join with 35 other ships a convoy for New l'ork. At about 8.15 the guide shii> sent up a green Veray light, which wo took to mean "Alter course." Wo immediately swung ship with the Unfortunately, wo bad only received half of tho signal, as simultaneously with starting the signal tho guide ship was torpedoed, and, her wirebss being wrecked, she could not complete tho message. On his own initiative, our commander resumed tho original course. Shortly after this—at 9.15 p.m. to be exact—tho third officer end the bo'sun sighted the same or another submarine Tho officer immediately jammed the helm, and called the commander, who ordered all hands to stations and tho gun crews to tho threo guns, and to open fire. Thrco minutes aftertho suomarin3 was sighted wo got one shot from the port howitzer right over her During tho time the ship was swinging away a torpedo missed our bow by about 6ft. When wo got tho eubir-arine on our quarter we opened up 'with our 4.7 and port howitzer, dropping our.shots all around her. We manoeuvred the enemy on to our starboard, and opened with tho starboard howitzer. The first shot went a little wido, but in lino, tho second went over, and tho tmrd found its mark. Th-3 submarine disappeared beneath the surface of the wator amidst, the convulsion caused by the "cxplo sion of tho powerful depth charge. Meantime, tlis submarine had contrived to despatch another torpedo, which only missed our stern. Wo stood by tho guns until 11 p.m., when the commander assumed tho da-nger to bo past, and, no more enemy craft appearing, th 3 extra look-out which han been posted was withdrawn, ono gun crev only remaining at its post. Our second submarine- adventure was' on Wednesday, 23rd October, 1918, when bonnd from Gibraltar to tho Rio Plato. At 9 a.m. we sighted tho enemy, and all handsi wore ordered to quarters. We got away 10 shots from our 4.7 gun, but the submarine was only showing nor periscope above water, so that it was a difficult target, and, zigzagging about, our shots were uncertain. At 10 a.m. tiro submarine bad disappeared—evidently had submerged,—and our commander deemed it advisable to alter our course at a right angle to the position ths submarine would havp taken our tarings. Wo continued unmolested until 12.10 p.m. (noon), when the same or another submarine was sighted. We got both howitzers and the 4.7 to work on her, and ono shot seamed to fall just ahead of tho submarine's bows, but as thoro was no explosion tho commander assumed that the vessel .had enly dived. The men were kopt at thoir po?ts- until sunset, but nothing further occurred. We resumed our voyage" and on arrival ct_ tho R:o Plato leraned of the signing of the armistice, not to our sorrow. We understand that Captain Kidman has hern gazetted. Tho first officer (Mr Hyde) and the chief engineer (Mr Brewer), of"the prosont personnel of the Kumara, shared those adventures with him.