New-York tribune., 1917-12-18
British Destroyer and -Four
Mine Sweepers Lost With
Six Merchantmen
Second Warship Hit
In North Sea Attack
Vessels Prepared Only for
Submarines; Investi-
CATION Begun

LONDON, Dec. 17.-One British and
five neutral merchantmen, a British de-
stroyer and four mine sweepers have
been sunk in the North Sea by German
naval forces.
The losses were the result Of an at
tack on a convoy bound from Scotland
to Norway, Sir Eric Geddes, First Lord
Of the Admiralty. announced to-day.
The total tonnage of the lost merchant
men was 5000.
Eighty-eight Scandinavians, two Of
whom are women, and ten British were
rescued by four British destroyers, de-
tached from cruiser squadron, which
was hastened to the scene. Other sur
vivors reached Norway in boats.
Convoy Sunk
THO merchant vessels were being
convcved by the destrOyers partridge
and Pelew. TIE Partridge was sunk
and the Pelew was damaged.
Thomas J. Mcnamara, financial sec,
retarv to the Admiralty, also announced
i'm Commons that two neutral mer-
chant vessels and trawler we're sunk
of the Tyne on December II.
Mr. McNamara's information was
given in reply to question by ROBERT
p. W. Houston, Member for Liverpool,
who asked regarding an attack by a
aotilla of large German destroyers.
Mr.. Mcnamara added that anotner
trawler had been damaged, ana that
eight men had been Rilled on the TWO
trawlers.
had not been an Admiralty communica-
tion on the subject, Mr.. Mcnamara
laid he imagined the Admiralty did not
have all information on the SUBJECT at
its disposal. -:
Sir Edic Geddes, in continuing his
account of the attack upon the convoy,
aid that the circumstances so far as
available we're that the Partridge
sighted four enemy destroyers shortly
before noon and, with the Pclew, en-
eagcd them. while the convoy scat
tered. The Partridge was hit heavily.
Shortly aftarwaTd an explosion oc-
CURED aboard and she sank. The
Felew was pierced at the waterline and
her engines were disabled, but eventu-
allv she was brought safely 10 port.
The enemy Their attacked the convoy,
sinking the six merchantmen and four
armed trawlers.
The entire crew of the trawler Lord
Alveston was saved in one of its own
boats. The casualties on the Pelew
were one officer and three men killed
and two wounded seriously. 1nforma-
ton regarding the crew Of the Par
fridge. Sir Eric said, was incomplete,
but a report from Kiel told of the TAX
ing there of three officers and twenty
one men from the Partridge and of one
officer and twenty-five men from the
trawlers.
= Open TO Surface Attack
The Partridge and the Pelew, to-
gether with four armed trawlers, said
Sir Eric, comprised the anti-submarine
escort to the convoy. For some reason,
as yet unexplained, he added, the force
which was sent for the purpose of pro-
tecting the convoy against surface at
tacks, was not on the scene in time to
prevent the destruction of the convoy.
A court of inquiry had been appointed
C. investigate the circumstanc he an
nounced.
A second convoy, which also was be-
ing covered, was not attacked.
The German raid duplicates the sue
cessful enterprise of last October, car
ried out by two German raiders which
attacked a convoy in the North Sea.
They sank nine neutral merchantmen
and two Of the escorting British de-
stroyers. Five Norwegian, three
Swedish vessels and one Danish vessel
were sunk without warning, three other
merchantmen escaping. The raiders
were armed heavily and succeeded in
cvading the British watchers on the re-
turn as well as the outward trip.
BY penetrating the waters off the
mouth of the Tyne on December ~ the
Germans carried their operations close
TO the English coast for the first time
recently, so far as the official COM
munications have shown. The Tyne
flows through Northern England into
the North Sea at South Shields.
CHRISTIANIA, Dec. 17.-Sailors from
the ships sunk BIZ German warships in
the North Sea say that fire was opened
by the attacking cruisers at range of
$500 yards. and that within a half
hour the British armed ships, with the
exception of the destroyer Pelew, were
sunk. Crews from steamers in the con-
vov saved in all 1856 cailors, who were
landed on the west coast of Norway.
Fifty-nine of the rescued were
British.