SEA BATTLE DESCRIBED

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 301, 21 December 1939, Page 7

SEA BATTLE DESCRIBED

EXETER UNDER FIRE FROM GRAF SPEE CAPTAIN DESCRIBES MEN AS* ‘SUPERB” I British Official Wireless.] RUGBY, Dec. 19. According to an account of the action betw.een the British cruiser Exeter and the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee which has reached England from a British Colonial Governor,, last Wednesday was a cloudless day and calm, with perfect visibility. The Exeter, Ajax and Achilles, in company, sighted the battleship, which was believed to be the Admiral Scheer, throughout the action. The enemy spotted the high mast of the Exeter soon after 6 a.m. and opened fire at about 12 miles. The Exeter returned the fire, the vessels steaming parallel. The first salvo from the German 11-inch guns fell short. The second fell directly astern and the third and fourth missed, but the fifth scored a hit and the seventh a direct hit. The impact of a shell on the forward turret killed outright eight out I of 15 of the crew of the gun turret s and made havoc of the bridge im- 8 mediately above. When the salvo hit the bridge the I captain was unscathed. He said the men of the engine-room staff were ‘ beyond praise and raised full speed in. 20 minutes. It normally lakes two 1 hours. « The Exeter closed, receiving three 1 or four more hits from the 11-inch i shells and coming under fire of the ( Admiral Graf Spec's 5.9-inch guns. I She returned shot for shot until only i one 8-inch gun could be fired and that by hand. 1 Numerous shells which (ell along- i side riddled the ship's side and upper j works on bursting. The steering gear • was damaged just, after 7 a.m. ( Chain of Men For the following 45 minutes Ihe | captain steered by the beat compass from the after control just forward of the main mast. Through a chain of about ten sailors directions were conveyed from man to man to the after steering wheel and the engine-room I until the ship was no longer service- j able as a fighting unit and fell out of the action. Numerous fires broke out. on 1 board, where they were kept under by I the gallant men throwing the burning | materials into the sea, and below ■ deck, where the outbreaks were most j numerous, by the staunchness of fire I parties. The intrepid and cool officers I and men were one and al), in the J captain's words, “superb.” LATIN AMERICAN STATES i ' UNITED FRONT UNDER ! GERMAN PRESSURE Received Dec. 21, 1 a.m. NEW YORK, Dec. 20. | The Montevideo correspondent of j II he New York Times states that it is ; learned on the unimpeachable author- ( | ity of diplomatic sources, that if Com- ' mander Langsdorff had disobeyed iUruguay’s order to depart, the Latin | (American nations were prepared to I I send warships to act as policemelf | and escort the Graf Spee to sea. It | ; was said that Uruguay was under Ger- ■ man diplomatic pressure and con-j suited her neighbours, who promised full support, especially Argentina and! ‘Brazil. PRIDE IN ACHIEVEMENT OF ACHILLES GIFT TO NAVY LEAGUE | LADY BEAUCHAMPS CHEQUE i [Per lYesa Association.] WELLINGTON, Dec. 20. I I Lady Beauchamp, who always shared the interest of the late Sir Harold Beauchamp in the Navy League, has sent a cheque for £5O to the league in order to express her gratitude at the achievement of the Royal Navy and in particular of the Achilles in dealing with the German pocket battleship, Graf Spee.