WRECKAGE OF SUBMARINES

Southland Times, Issue 24760, 3 June 1942, Page 5

WRECKAGE OF SUBMARINES

SYDNEY ATTACK (Rec. 10.15 p.m.) SYDNEY, June 2. The wreckage of two of the three enemy midget submarines destroyed by the Allied forces when they made their unsuccessful raid on Sydney harbour on Sunday night has been recovered. This is revealed in the latest Allied Headquarters communique. The approximate position, of the third submarine is believed to be known. Allied warplanes and naval units are making a search for the mother ship. Already the search has covered a wide area. One recovered midget submarine is believed to be fairly intact. Divers discovered the craft late yesterday, resting in slime on the harbour bottom. A torpedo was visible in its tube. A thick steel hawser was affixed to the submarine, which has subsequently been raised. In addition to the torpedo which sank the harbour vessel, a second torpedo landed on the foreshore without exploding and was later made harmless by a bomb disposal squad. NEW ZEALANDERS ON FERRY Vivid descriptions of the torpedoing of the harbour vessel were given today by men on the sunken ferry. Two New Zealanders, Mr L. A. Linton and Mr A. P. Bradley, who were asleep on the vessel when the torpedo struck, say they owe their lives to the presence of a nearby vessel. They said that when they were awakened by the terrific noise of the explosion and the rushing water which followed it they, looked out the window near where their hammocks swung and saw a nearby vessel rising. Mr Bradley said: “When I saw the other ship going up I knew that could not be right. I woke up that it was we who were going down and not the other vessel going up. I jumped from my hammock and landed among broken glass. I tried to help the others. We were fortunate to get out.” Mr Linton said that when he realized what was happening he dived through the window against the rush of water, came to the surface and swam ashore amid a great mass of wreckage. An eye-witness who saw the explosion said he saw the harbour vessel lift as though it were on top of an enormous wave and then settle down, sinking at the stern. “I saw pieces of wood flying in the air,” he said. “The side of a building behind the ship caved in and there were blue flashes from inside the building.” PILES TORN FROM HARBOUR Another torpedo which exploded against the foreshore threw up a column of water 150 feet high. Wooden piles 50 feet long and 12 feet in circumference were torn from the harbour bed and flung 60 feet on to the shore. Ferry-boats on the harbour at the time stopped in midstream. Passengers on one ferry claim they saw a submarine periscope in the beams of several searchlights. This submarine is presumed to have been sunk by gunfire. The windows of some residences nearby were broken by the force of explosions and articles on the shelves were thrown to the floor. Today the wreckage of the damaged harbour vessel is being cleared away. Onlookers say the vessel appeared to break in halves. The stern sank first, the bow remaining afloat for about half an hour. Then it settled down, leaving only the topdeck and superstructure above the water. “FURTHER INCENTIVE TO VIGILANCE’’ SYDNEY, June 2. The Minister of the Army, Mr F. M. Forde, commenting on the attack on Sydney, has referred to the statement in the communique that three Japanese submarines are believed to have been destroyed. Mr Forde said: “We must not become complacent, nor must we think that this is the last that will be heard of Japanese submarines in these waters. This attempted raid has brought the war much nearer to the industrial heart of Australia and clearly proves the absolute necessity for constant vigilance and the highest efficiency, in all branches of the fighting services. The news should act as a further incentive to vigilance?