SAVED BY R.A.F.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 258, 1 November 1939, Page 5

SAVED BY R.A.F.

TORPEDOED CREW FINE SEAPLANE FEAT THE CAPTAIN’S STORY LONDON, Sept. 22. I How his ship was sunk by a Ger- < man submarine and how his crew of !34 were subsequently picked up by three R.A.F. flying-boats was told by I Captain I. Schofield, of South Shields, j after their rescues, write the Auckland Herald's London correspondent. He was master of the Kensington Court (4860 tons). F - “The first thing we knew of the attack was the screaming of shells over the ship,” Captain Schofield said. "The look-out spotted the U-boat about five miles away? coming toward us on the surface at full speed, spray flying from her bows. | Immediately I gave the order to reverse engines at full speed. I brought the ship round bows on in an attempt to defeat the attack of the submarine, but there came a loud explosion and the ship settled down by the head.”

The first lifeboat fell upside down 0 and was lost. The second lifeboat was s crowded and men sat on the gunwales i with their legs dangling in the water, e They had to bale to keep the boat e from sinking. I Submarine on Surface I "We could see our ship sinking by j the bows and the submarine had come j to the surface and was standing by i some way off. We rowed around the • ship for Ford, a steward, who was . missing. For an hour we searched and by that time the Kensington • Court had settled right down. At last ; we found Ford and towed him behind j the lifeboat; he was in an exhausted . j conditions. j “Then someone cried, ‘Listen!’ We s ’ stopped rowing and looked up into the ' I sky. Three small dots high up came : , nearer and nearer. We looked round ‘ ’ for the submarine and saw it submerging and making off at top speed. ’ Then all eyes were turned again to ' the oncoming aeroplanes—were they 1 British? The question was on every--1 one’s lips. f “In a flash it was answered. The > seaplanes swooped down low over the lifeboat. We saw the red, white and blue rings and every man in the boat ’ cheered lustily. Just when we were . thinking that things were all up and that the S.O.S. we had flashed out had ■ j not been heard these seaplanes ar- • . rived. It was like a miracle. : i “We waited breathlessly while one i aeroplane circled and came to rest on . i the water some yards away. It taxied ] across the sea toward us. The pilot I leaned out and shouted, ‘Everyone (safe?’ We shouted that we were all : safe and steered the lifeboat alongI • side. Back to England by Air j "The first man to be taken in was Ford, who was still suffering from immersion. Then one by one the crew , entered the flying-boat. Twenty were taken aboard the first craft, which then taxied away and took off heading back home. The second aeroplane landed and the 14 men left in the lifeboat were taken aboard. “It was a wonderful effort by the Royal Air Force men and nothing I could say could ever do justice to the way in which they handled their • machines as they took off with their , heavy loads. All the time we were I being picked up the third seaplane I flew overhead searching for any signs I of the enemy. “Inside the Seaplane as we flew home—it was the first flight for most of the crew, and my second—we were given hot tea from flasks, and sandwiches. It was a tremendous thrill. We have to thank the Royal Air ’ Force for saving every man of us. I take off my hat to those men.” I Built at Glasgow in 1927, the Keni sington Court was owned by the I Court Line. Limited, and registered in I London.