The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-10-21
Two British Destroyers Sunk
With All on Board in Tn.
equal Contest
NINE SCANDINAVIAN
| MERCHANT CRAFT LOST
Two Large German Cruiser.
in Daring Dash Take Heavy
Toll of Ships and Lives

London. Oct. 20.--On what appears
to have been the last lap of its voy-
age from Norway to England fleet
of twelve merchantmen conveyed by
two British destroyers was attacked
and virtually wiped out by two Ger
4 man raiders Wednesday.
Only threeof the mercantmen
escaped. The two destroyers went
down fighting. Not single life of
either crew was saved.
The Teutons got away before the
British patrol forces appeared on the
scene. The raiders had left the crews
of their victims to shift for them
selves Thirty Norwegians and some
| others as yet unidentified were picked
up. The raiders prey consisted of;
| Two British destroyers. the Mary
Rose and Stronghow, both of the new
est type built during the war.
| Five Norwegian ships,
Three Swedish ships.
| One Danish ship.
| n was a short and unequal en-
gagement," according to the British
admiralty description. The raiders
were very fast and heavily armed"
The statement adds:
Crews of Destroyers Lots.
| 1.-THE enemy raiders succeeded In
evading the British watching squad
rons on long dark nights, both on their
hurried outward dash and their home
ward fight.
I! 1T fs regretted that all the eighty
eight officers and men of Fl. NJ. s.
Mary Rose and forty seven officers and
men of H NJ S. strongbow were lost"
| The desertion of the sinking ships
| by the two Teuton ferrets OF the sea Is
| referred to thus by the British adj
injraltx: .4>.,-
Anxious to make good their escape
| before the British forces could inter-
cept them, no effort was made to res
cue the crews OF the sunken British do
stroyers and the Germans left the
| doomed merchan. ships while these
were still sinking, thus enabling the
British patrol craft which arrived
| shortly afterward to rescue some thirty
| Norwegians and others, regarding
whom the details are not yet known
The German navy by this act once
more has further disgraced itself by
this disregard OF the historic chiyalry
of the sea-"
The German admiralty asserts that
twelve vessels including two modSrr
destrovers were sunk within terrific
rial waters In the neighborhood of the
Shetland Islands" and that only one
fishing sseamer escaped. Both these
assertions are disputed by the British
| admiralty.
The British official account states
the encounter took place midway
between Shetland Islands and .hs
Norwegian coast"
sour fighting forces" concludes the
German account returned without
loss or damage"
The belief prevails that the twelve
Scandinavian chips presume bly, laden
with foodstuffs, were conveyed for
the greater part o. the voyage from
a Norwegian port by more than the
two warships mentioned and that up
onnearing the Shetland Islands all but
the two destroyers detached them.
selves from the merchantmen be-
ltevtng them safe The usual practice
for ships coming to England from
Norway is to dash as fast an possible
across the North sea to within safe
distance from the rugged Shetland
coast strip and then hug territorial
waters until Kirkwall " reached. The
nearest Norwegian port from the Shet-
land Islands is Bergen. 100 miles to
the East From Bergen to Kirkwali
the distance is 500 miles.
The dash of the Teuton raiders to
the waters where the fray took place
between 500 and 600 miles either
from the western exit OF the Kiel
canal or around the Skagerak.