Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-01-06
RISKED LIVES
TO BLOW UP AN
AUSTRIAN BOAT
Italians Swim to Ship and
Attach Bombs Cap
tured and Escape.

Rome, Dec. 10.-(Correspondence,
of the Associated Press,)-It was by
swimming into Pola harbor and
steering two small submarine motors
| towing bombs that the two Italian
naval officers destroyed the Austrian
dreadnaught Vitbus Units just before
the signing of the armistice between
Italy and Austria. The swimmers
were in the water nine hours and had
to penetrate four barriers across the
harbor entrance, two of which were
composed Of steel submarine. nets.
After they had attached their, bomb
to the side of the dreadnaught, they
were captured and taken on board
the vessel and were there when the
warship was blown Up.
They escaped without injury and
have returned to Rome to tell Of their
exploit which is characterized as one
of the most daring and successful in
the historygso f naval warfare. Only
the fact that the Viribus Units had
been destroyed by Italian naval forces
previously had been known, out now
the details have been given out by
the Italian admiralty. t
The officers who thus sent to the
bottom a 10000 ton ship, one of the
most powerful in the Austrian navy,
were Lieutenant Raffaele Paolucci
and Major Rossetti. The attack was
delivered on the morning of Novem-
Der /, 1918.
To tow the bombs into Pola harbor,
the two Italians invented small comr
pressed air motors to which were at
tached bombs. For six months the
two naval men practiced in long dis
lance swimming. The italian adj
mi .'alty gave them the use of a motor
boat.
Reaching the harbor, entrance at
nightfall, the two daring men started
on their expedition, swimming beside
their little motors and steering them.
To escape detection by sentries on a
wooden pier across the harbor mouth,
Paolucci -and Rossetti had hats
shaped like bottles, and the sentry
saw nothing but a couple Of bottles
being tossed about by the waves.
vanced and safely passed the first
barrier.
After infinite labor they fought
the Austrian fleet lay before them.
Reaching the side of the Viribus
Units, they attached the bomb to her
hull beneath the ladder, which led to
her deck and timed the bomb to ex-
plode at $3.50 a. m.
BY this time they were exhausted,
having been in the water more thar
nine hours. AS they were leaving,
they were discovered and taken on
board the dreadnaught. At first they
refused to answer the questions asked
them by Admiral Voucovich. At 6:15,
however, they told the admiral what
they had done and he gave the order
to abandon ship. ,Paolucci asked the
also try to ave themselves and he
shook hands, saying: You are
brave men and deserve to live" They
plunged into the water and swan
away, but ten minutes later the ad-
miral began to suspect the bomb story
and sent a launch to bring them
back. They We're made to walk up
the ladder under which they had set
the bomb which was due t explode
+ in two minutes. The ladder was
crowded with sailors returning to
their ship.
Run. Run for your lives" shouted
Paolucci, struggling to reach the deck
before the explosion took place. He
and Rossetti had reached the deck
n ran to the stern of the dread
naught when a terrific explosion rent
the air land a column OF water 800
feet high shot upward. Admiral
T, Voucovich again CAV them permits
sion to save themselves, and they had
been swimming away from the ship
five minutes when they heard, an
other explosion and saw that the
other bomb which had been left
alongside the large Austrian liner
Wien and had there eyn1oded