ADVENTURES IN NORTH SEA

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 300, 20 December 1939, Page 7

ADVENTURES IN NORTH SEA

BRITISH SUBMARINE'S PATROL SINKING OF U-BOAT AND CRUISER Received Dec. 19, 10.5 p.m. LONDON, Dec. 18. Those aboard the submarine, ' HMM.S. Salmon (Commander E. (). B. Bickford), which received such an enthusiastic welcome home, had an interesting story to tell of adventures in the North Sea. Events moved rapidly from the beginning. j The submarine had not long beei in her patrol area before she sightec ! a German U-boat of the big ocean going type moving fast on the surface outward bound. The British submar | inp manoeuvred quickly to the attack j Torpedoes were fired and in a fev [minutes there camo a shattering ex , plosion. Wreckage was thrown a I least 200 feet into the air. The Brit ish submarine made an unsuccessfu l search for survivors. Bremen Goes Past I The next incident to befall thi small unit of the British Navy was o: different character, proving to th' world the scrupulous regard of th( British Navy for international law The true story of the sighting of the Bremen and how she was ahle to proceed on her way unharmed would itself make a chapter in naval history of this war, but the submarine’s adventures on this patrol were far from ended. Rather less than 24 hours after the Bremen had passed she was again cruising submerged and keeping a look-out through the periscope when

On closer investigation these proved to be the two German battle-cruisers Scharnorst and Gneisenau (26,000 tons each) and one of the pocket-battleships (10,000 tons) with three cruisers in company. Two of these cruisers were the new Sin. gun ships Admiral Ifipper and Blucher (10,000 tons). The other was recognised as the Lcipsig (6000 tons) because of her funnel an! conspicuous aircraft crane. Six Torpedoes Fired The enemy cruisers altered course so that it was seen that they would pass within torpedo range of the submarine, which fired six torpedoes on slightly different courses. The first torpedo hit the. Leipzig. There was a pause of only a minute. Then two more terrific explosions told that two other torpedoes had found their mark—almost certainly upon the second heavy cruiser of the Blucher class. The other three torpedoes had obviously passed. between the enemy ships. The submarine, however, could not wait to determine the exact result of the attack. She had to dive deep to elude her persuers by steering a zigzag course at high speed and at considerable depth. She was hunted and depth-charged for two hours. It was not until after dark that the British submarine returned to the scene. Then she found an area of nearly four and a-quarter miles of sea thickly coated in oil fuel. There was so much oil on the sea that the fumes conteminated the air to such an extent that the submarine had to leave the vicinity and ventilate with clean air before being able to dive again. It is suggested that at least one heavy cruiser in addition to the Leipzig was badly damaged and that as it ' was one of the ships might, well hav? , failed to reach port.