Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-08-02
SENSATlONS;IN
UBOAT TOLD BY
SHIP CAPTAIN
British Official is Held Pris-
oner Fifteen Days on ,
Submarine.

4 the Associated Press. )@SenSatlonS
experienced in a German submarine
while depth bombs were being dis
charged overhead were described re-
Gently by a British merchant ship
captain who was a prisoner for fif-
:een days aboard a U-boat.
In an interview the English COM
nasder, captured by the Germans
.fter his vessel had been torpedoed,
related how the depth bombs shook
he under sea craft and created con-
formation among the sailors. In one
Instance the faces of the Germans be-
came white with fear and all stood
trembling after the first shot, which
was not near enough to destroy the
submersible. All were expecting a
second charge.
The English commander reached
his Native land after having been i'm
prisoned for months at Brandenburgt
where, he said, he and other ship
officers at times had been harnessed
to carts which were used to haul mail
and packages from the ~pOStoffice to
the prisoners camp.
Seven vessels were %torpedoed by the
Germans while the British captain
was aboard the U-boat. Previously the
English officer had been in command
of a merchant vessel which had also
met its fate at the hands of a subma-
rine crew.
ION the third day after I had been
taken prisoner" said the captain,
'.just after the midday meal. I gath
bred that the submarine was about
to carry out an attack or a convoy
which had just beer sighted. The
U-boat approached submerged for
some distance and torpedoed a large
steamer. Our whereabouts apparently
were detected, I was told, by an allied
light cruiser, for we dived rapidly to
a great depth.
Hardly had the submarine reached
an wen keel when we heard and felt
a tremendous explosion which caused
stern. 1t was a depth charge from the
cruiser.
1.-The effect on the crew was evident.
All stood trembling with faces blanche
ed with fear, not attempting to speak,
expecting q second charge, the result
of which might mean the destruction
of the boat and without the slightest
chance for us to escape.
There is no doubt in my mind of
the mental attitude of the crew, for it
was not the first experience of the
men with a depth charge, and they
had learned from others in the serv-
4SS LAG "Sopo1i' NSpSA
bombs were in the hands Of skillful
seamen.
For some moments we waited; en-
gines were stopped and all means
were taken to prevent giving indica-
ton of our position. Minutes seemed
like hours in such a situation. I'll ad-
init that I was turning over in my
mind whether 1 should see my family
again. No additional explosions took
place, however, and after remaining
some eighteen fathoms deep for a long
period we continued u voyage.
"a few days later we had another
experience with depth charges, or
'wasser bomben,' as the German sail
ors call them. A sailing vessel had
just been sunk by she'll fire when two
down we went. By the ~microphones
the propellers could be heard, and as
the vessels came nearer and nearer
we in the submarine could hear the
thudding quite distinctly. To and fro
the d~estroyers went searching for us.
Evidently they picked up a clue. for
there were two explosions ahead but
not sc near US as that from the cruis-
err, but quite close enough to cause
the submarine to itremble and Their
roll about as though in a heavy sea-
Prison camp conditions in Germany
were described by the. British captain
as being deplorable.
although we were merchant shir
captains imprisoned at Brandenburg
we were made to suffer various indig.
nities," he said.
w were compelled to harness
ourselves to carts which we had tt
draw through the streets to the sta.
ton or postoffice in order to fetch
our parcels and any commodities t.
camp. 1t was at this camp also that
saw three hundred Russian soldier.
working, all of whom were in the las
stages of tuberculosis. The poor fell
lows could not get enough to eat, ant
they woul eagerly scrape discarded
tin cans in the hope Of finding par
ticles of food. / have even seer Ger
man soldiers do the same thing. w,
were glad to search the cinder path:
at any opportunity in anticipation O
finding bits of coke or coal with which
to cook our food"
The captain said his ship was tor
pedoed without warning and that aft
err he and all his men were afloat il
life boats the submarine appeared OF
the surface and he was taken prison
er, the mates and seamen being per
mitted to start in the direction O
land. Describing the submarine tn
British captain said:
'She was a fairly large craft, of re
cent numbering, having three torped
tubes, two in the bow and one aft, an,
carried ten torpedoes. She was ais
armed with a gun for shell fire jus
forward Of the coming tower.
My first meal aboard the U-boa