Evening star., 1939-11-24
British Steomer Sunk by. Nine;
Five From Dutch Ship Rescued
After y Days in Open Boot
Britain Seeking
Defense Against
New Sea Menace
By the Associated Press.

6y the Associated PreSS.
LONDON, Nov. 24.-Mines off
Englands east coast sank another
British vessel today, the 8,886-ton
steamer Mangalore, as British naval
experts struggled to check shipping
losses
German planes flew over the
Shetland Islands again, causing two
air raid warnings, one of 80 minutes
and the other of AZ. These islands,
off the north coast of Scotland,
were bombed Wednesday.
In addition to the Mangalore,
whose crew of II was saved, the
sinking of the 5,133-ton Netherlands
tanker Sliedrecht by a submarine a
week ago was disclosed today, when
five survivors were landed at a
northwest coast port. Twenty-six
crewmen were missing.
The Mangalore was the 83d Brit
ish vessel, naval and merchant, lost
since the start of the war.
One of the Sliedrecht's survivors
asserted the submarine commander
examined the ships papers and said
he would have to sink the vessel,
although told she was a neutral
bound for neutral port.
The commander, the survivor
added, refused to take the crew
aboard his submarine for transfer
to another ship saying there was no
room.
Two SinkingS Last Night
Disclosure last night of two more
sinkings raised the additions for
yesterday alone to eight. One was
the 515-ton British minesWeeper
Aragonite, which the admiralty said
struck mine Wednesday.
The other was the 974-ton London
steamer Lowland, which, it was dis
closed, sank in the North Sea with
nine men missing and one dead.
The cause of the sinking was not
given.
Two vessels damaged in previous
mishaps were beached today to keep
them from sinking They were the
Italian steamer Fianona, $3.50 tons.
which struck a mine Tuesday night
off the southeast coast and had been
under tow, and the Greek steamer
Nicholaos Piangos, 4,450 tons, which
was in collision Wednesday with the
Norwegian ship Brarena.
Shape Anti Mine Methods.
British naval experts shaped
methods to combat mines which
are taking a rising toll of merchant
shipping along the British east
coast.
Britons, apprehensively watching
the list of sunken ships grow, Won
dered whether the secret weapon
which Germany has limited she pos
sesses might have entered the. war
at sea.
Within the past six days about 27
British and neutral vessels have
been sunk, some by German subma-
rines, but most by mines.
The British press charges Ger
many with sowing magnetic, high
explosive mines in shallow east coast
shipping lanes with mine-laying
airplanes and small submarines.
Aerial Mine Laying Reported.
The admiralty made no pro-
nouncement on reported eyewitness
stories by persons who said they saw
dark objects splash in the Thames
Estuary, near London, from German
planes Wednesday night.
Naval experts, however, said the
splashes came from lightweight,
high explosive mines dropped on
parachutes. They said airplanes
could SOW the mines in shallow
water where submarines could not
navigate but that they considered
the aerial minelayers easier to sight
and attack than those beneath the
sea.
Naval authorities asserted the ad-
miralty was profiting by its expert
ence in combating mines during the
World War. They said it was aware
of the reported new devices and of
methods of coping with them.
One indicated method was through
development of new minesweeping
technique, possibly with wooden
minesweepers or vessels insulated
against magnetic mines. Another
was through intensified air and sea
patrols against enemy minelayers.