U-BOAT DESTROYED ON FIRST TRIP.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14667, 26 July 1918, Page 8

U-BOAT DESTROYED ON FIRST TRIP.

» PROMPT VENGEANCE FOR CALLOUS CRIMES. To the kW Ik* of. German eea crimes which have bee* revealed as now tc .be added another, details of .^<& J ™° been received from a reliable Dutch SSe. » » the case of tfe Norwegian feteamship Ida, which, ™twJ<bsUnaing tho fact that she stopped immediatelythe signal to "heave to" was givert ,by the German submarine, was fired on «N> times, and the ma-tc and steward .were killed "whilst m the act of " lowering boats. ' " According to the correspondent, the boat which carried out the attack was UC39 a new wine-laying submarine, commanded by Otto Eihrentraut, a personal friend o*f Prince Henry of Prussia, and a frequent visitor to the Castle at Kiel, where he was a favorite. On one occasion when Ehrentraut was leaving Kiel Princess Henry, of Prussia came down to the pier to wish the boat bon . voyage. "Bon voyage" to\a U-boat— a fine wish, when one remembers, the fate of the crew of the Belgian Prinze, the Persia with, her death roll of 213 crew and! 120 passengers, the hospital shi|v Langf ranc and Donegal ! Oh the first day after leaving the base, •the UC39. carrying several torpedoes and a quantity of ammunition for her gun but no mines, for it was her first trip and a "shakedown" cruise for her officers and men, sank the Norwegian s.s. Hans Kinck and the British steamer, Hanna Larsen. On the second morning she sighted the Norwegian s.s. Ida and' opened fire. The Ida stopped immediately, probably after tho first round, but neverthele?e the submarine continued firing under tho personal orders of Otto Ehrentraut When tlio gunlayev saw tliat the ship had stopped and that he had obtained several hits he asked' if he should' cease firing. He was told by tho captain to carry oil Some 25 rounds m all "were fired, the last few* being at a range of a little, under two miles. When the German ..finall'- ceased fire, one of the Ida's boats ■went alongside the submarine aud said that two wounded had been left on tlie steamer. • The sub-lieutenant and three men were sent on board, and found the mate and a 'steward lying dead, on the' deck, having- been killed whilst m the act of lowering the Boats. The Ida was then sunk by bombs'. The two dead bodies had been left lying on the deck, with less regard than is usually paid to the corpse of a dog. Two hours later UC39 opened fine on a steamer and a trawler, but, on diving, , lost them m the mist. About 1 p.m. she came to the surface and opened fire on another steamer, but her fire was almost immediately answered from a British destroyer. UC39 had evidently met a stern#r . order of tilings than* defenceless merchantmen, and dived; but not soon . enon-gh, for a depth charge shook her vitally, so that water poured 1 into her conning tower and control-room, causing a panic amongst the crew. UC39 rose sharply to the surface, only to have the destroyer rake her fore and aft. > Ehrentraut climlbed out of the conning tower hatch, and was preparing to surrender wlien he was killed by a shell. The engineer and sub -lieutenant were^ the next on deck, and the former was immediately wounded, . The U*C boat was still making speed on the surface, and the destroyer therefore continued to fire. Three of the crew jumped 1 overboard and were immediately drowned, while three others on ■ the deck were killed by gunfire, and ■• several were woundied. •-... Finally the destroyer hailed the UC : boat through, a megaphone to stop, and, this being done, fire ceased, and 17 Ger- . man survivors were taken off by the destroyer. The two British prisoners were resetted uninjured. ,