Evening star., 1939-12-17
War at Sea

w VI NJ WV
Warfare of the spectacular and blood
tingling kind flashed in the South At
lantic last week.
Scourging commercial lanes south of
Equator. Nazi pocket battleship Graf
Spec, newest of three formidable fight
ers in small German Navy, Thursday at
dawn, crossed trail of French freighter
Formose, wallowing way from Brazil to
Uruguay at stolid l2-knot speed. Scarcely
had Nazi raider set herself to relatively
easy task of catching and destroying
merchantmen, however, when British
cruiser Ajax, lighter armed but faster
than German, came foaming up within
range.
Her wireless cracking calls to other
Britishers known to be in vicinity and
her single stack belching protective cloud
Of black smoke in which Formose soon
became lost to sight, terrier-like Ajax
initiated action against Graf Spec.
Under forced draft, companion cruis-
er Achilles was soon on heel of Ajax
and close on top of them came heavier
inch guns of two
Bottle OFF smaller cruisers, Graf
Monteyideo Spec concentrated on
running away while
pouring her 11inch shells into Exeter.
To point of eventually Gripping Exeter,
tactics of Nazi vessel were successful but
8-inch fire of Britisher and angry snap
ping OF two smartly maneuvered light
cruisers took heavy toll on German.
AS darkness closed in, she rolled into
harbor of Montivedeo, gaping holes in
her armor, her two airplanes damaged
beyond repair, one gun turret tilted, SO
of her crew dead and more than 100, in
cluding her captain, wounded.
Outside, the Ajax and Achilles sat
down to lick their own wounds, await
reinforcements or relief; Exeter crawled
slowly away for repairs.
Although todays neutrals are being
more positive in their dislike of infringe
ment by belligerents than in World War,
1t was recalled here that British boldly
entered Chilean waters in early 1915 to
sink German raider Dresden, only one
engagement off Falkland Islands Chile
protested, both at Dresden being inshore
and at Britishers attacking her there.
London apologized-gladly; Berlin tenn
porized.
In present instance, Secretary of State
Hull indicated on Friday that United
States would give sympathetic consider
To ioiy,f LOFT toI
by South American governments.
Uruguayan officials, harassed, accord
ed Graf Spec prudent time'-later de-
fined to mean
Sundoy Limit Sunday night
On Grof Repoirs to make repairs
or risk intern
ment. permitted burial of Nazi dead.
plates quantities of fuel and foodstuffs.
Landed were masters of four British
freighters and 81 seamen from nine
merchantmen destroyed by Graf Spec
In past weeks Of raidng.
To reinforce two valiant little cruisers
British hurried 10,O00-ton Cumberland;
reported on way were British aircraft
AIN 1GOydl, UdlolColllp 1eCIOW1l
and 26,50O-ton Dunkerque, French bat
tleship Latter pair are among few YES
sells Of allied navies holding statistical
edge on pocket battleships in both
speed and armament. Perhaps also on
way, however are Admiral Scheer, COM
panion ship of Spec, and other Nazi re-
Inducements.
of hrnof or,.iuo
Of Graf Spec, Formose calmly nosed into
harbor beside Nazi raider-safe.
Not strangely, engagement was hailed
as spectacular success in both Berlin
and London. But happy though they
might be about Graf Spec, Britons boiled
last week about the Bremen.
Pride of German merchant marine, the
sleek, black-hulled transatlantic speed
ster was caught in New York in fateful
days just before war broke in Europe.
That she was so caught was partly an
achievement of official Washington, on
whose orders the 500O0-ton vessel was
searched from stem to stern for possible
concealed armaments. A bare 36 hours
before Chamberlain told solemn House
of Commons that I'VE are now at war
with Germany" $20,0O0,000 prize slipped
out of New York Harbor for unan-
nounced destination.
For days, then for weeks, inaccurate
rumors and authentic silence surrounded
fate of ship. but most frequently came
stories that Bremen had fled to north
ward, escaped British searchers, and
rooobad Coviot Arctic mort nf M,lrmanSk
Finally, Dutch member of crew returned
to Holland to tell how blacked-out liner
actually had accomplished this feat.
With craft safely berthed in port of
friendly neutral, 1t was assumed that
she would remain out of service for du-
ration of war. But not so.