NAZI CRUISER SUNK

Southland Times, Issue 24004, 20 December 1939, Page 7

NAZI CRUISER SUNK

Features Of Koln Class EXPEDIENTS FOR SAVING WEIGHT (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, December 18. The Secretary of the Admiralty announces that the British submarine Ursula, commanded by Commander G. C. Phillips, reports that she sank one Koln class cruiser at the mouth of the Elbe on Thursday, December 14. The cruiser was screened by six German destroyers. Three sister ships, the Koln, Karlsruhe and Konigsberg, were completed during 1929 and 1930. They are ships of 6000 tons, with speeds of about 32 knots, and armed with five 5.9-inch guns and a number of smaller guns. They mount 12 21-inch torpedo tubes, arranged in four triple mountings, and a catapult with two aircraft. The aircraft were reported to have been removed from the Koln and one other cruiser during 1938. All possible expedients were adopted for saving weight and electric welding was used for the hulls instead of riveting. The designed horsepower at 31 knots is 657,000 and the ships are driven by geared turbines, with Diesel engines for cruising purposes. With 1200 tons of oil, plus 300 tons of Diesel fuel, the ships are reputed to have a cruising radius of 5500 miles at 14 knots and 10,000 at 10 knots. It will be recalled that on December 14 it was officially announced by the Admiralty that in the North Sea the same British submarine that sighted the Bremen torpedoed an enemy cruiser. There is no connection between this and the latest exploit of the sinking of the Koln class cruiser. Not only did the Ursula penetrate the screen of destroyers. She apparently entered the strongly fortified zone adjacent to Cuxhaven harbour, south of the mouth of the Elbe and on the opposite side of the naval base at Brunsbuttel which was the scene of the Royal Air Force’s first heroic attack on the enemy naval forces on the second day of the war. It would be necessary to negotiate minefields. A message from Berlin states that it is officially denied that a British submarine sank a cruiser of the Konigsberg class. The possibility of an underwater explosion is admitted. This was mentioned in the German war communique of December 14 reporting that a light cruiser was slightly damaged. This, it is said, might have been caused by a British submarine. DEATH OF SOVIET OFFICIAL GUN-BATTLE WITH POLICE IN BELGRADE BELGRADE, December 18. Dr Edo Markovitch, Director of State Export of the Soviet, was killed in a gun-battle when the police were attempting to search his house. They were looking for evidence about recent Communist demonstrations. Dr Markovitch’s daughter was arrested last week. POLES SENTENCED TO DEATH PARIS, December 18. It is learned that the Reich’s Governor of Poland, Dr Hermann Frank, signed 300 death sentences on his last visit to Warsaw. The Germans have mobilized and sent to the Reich 6000 engineers, mechanics, chemists and doctors who refused employment in Poland. No Polish journalist would agree to edit the German newspapers in Poland. NEW CONTROL BASE AT ADEN (British Official Wireless) (Received December 19, 6.30 p.m.) RUGBY, December 18. For the convenience of shipping, a contraband control base has been established at Aden to supplement those already in the Mediterranean. This base will also be available for the examination of outward-bound shipping for goods of German origin or ownership.