Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-06-14
WO TINY BOATS
FIGHT SQUADRON
lizzo Describes His Attack
on Austrian Dread.
noughts
pESTROYERS OUTWITTED
Tells How Motorboats Slipped
Inside Lines, Got Big
Warships -.
9ESTROYERS OUTWITTED
London Times.Public Ledger Serricc
Special Cable Dispatch
~ Copprtoht Iois BIZ Public Ic6osy I'm


"a Venice, June IA =
Your correspondent has just seer
Commander Luigi Rizzo. the nava
Qnicer who commanded the motorboat
4otflla which on Monday morning tor.
pedoed two Austrian battlships of the
viribus Units class. He had come
straight from the exploit and had had
no sleep for two nights, but he showed
few traces of fatigue.
He was cruising off the Dalmatian
coast, along its islands. in one of those
nnotorcraft flotilla which he com.
mlnds. One other boat was with him.
commanded by a nlidshipman named
Aonxo. He was Just below the Island
Of 'Lussin,. thirty miles southeast of
The two small craft, which between
them had thirty men aboard were
quietly going along the coast when a
great column of smoke was seen.
wondering what it was" said Com.
rriander Rizzo. Il changed our course
ana was soon running northward.
could make out in the dim dawn-it
was about 2:15 Sunday, and strangely
enough, the anniversary day of the
sinking OF the Wien six months ago
that a powerful enemy squadron was
approaching. There were two ships
OF the Viribus Units type, preceded
and fianked by ten destroyers.
Rizzo Describes Encounter
II said to myself. You'll never get a
chance like this again: you've got t.,
80 about IT, I ordered Aonzo to at
tack he thought best T made
straight for the squadron. They did
not see nor hear me. When I judged
the moment had come I slipped be.
tween the second and third escorting
Aaf Ae
caught sight of me and her alarm
whistle was blown violently - She
began firing, but her shells passed
over US. was already through the
line a distance of between 400 and
500 feet.
81 let go my torpedoes One struck
on a line with the tunnels. The sec.
ond struck further aft, but also ex.
ploded with full force"
There was Commander Rizzo inside
the Austrian. line in motorboat, with
his torpedoes gone and weaponless; so.
~ least. the second Austrian destroyer
seems to have Judged, for it turned to
run him down.
IS But he had another resource left
IN two depth charges. Judging from
the speed of his own little vessel that
Of the destroyer. he flung one In. It
cid not explode. Another lightning
CUlCulatfOn ana III went tne second.
II saw the destroyer lift in the sea"
he said. "and roll like drunken man"
She was badly hit and in the gap.
though the third oncoming destroyer
tried to ram him. Rizzo slipped away.
The whole thing had not lasted more
Z than twenty minutes.
Midshipman Scores a Hit
Meanwhile Aonzo's boat had its turn
sidled up in the rear of the convoy and
fred two torpedoes at the second
dreadnought. The first slipped past
her bows, but the second hit her full
toward the stern. Those in Aonzo's
boat saw the first battleship heeling
over deeply. Aonzo's boat sped away
nfter its companion. There was a
little desultory firing in their direc-
ton, but they were not pursued
Sixteen hours later, Italian aircraft
nying over the scene saw masses OF
!. wreckage drifting away toward the
North Adriatic. That so much wreck.
age should have been seen so lone
after may confirm the loss of the big
vessel. The damaged destroyer was
seen earlier, being towed back to Pola
90 the wreckage did not come from
her.
The aircraft visited Pola and re
ported there is now only one dread
8 I,oueht there. where once there were
four. One dreadnought was recently
5 f6roedoed at Pola,