Evening star., 1939-12-18
German Cruiser
Destroyed by Sub.
English Claim
BY the Associated Press.

Dy VIC ASSOClhLtu FIeSS.
LONDON, Dec. l8.-Three British
ships were lost and fourth was
abandoned in sinking condition
as the result of large-scale German
air raids on North Sea shipping
involving at least 13 ships last night
and early today.
The trawler Pearl was abandoned
,, after three of her crew had been
wounded by the German raiders.
Two other trawlers, the New
choice and the Campagnus, and the
487-ton steamer Serenity were sunk
Trawler's Hull Damaged.
This new phase of warfare. pitt
Ing planes against small ships, also
sent the trawler Eileen Wray into
port with a damaged hull.
Acknowledgment of the air raid
losses followed a British admiralty
announcement that submarine
had penetrated German defenses at
the mouth of the River Elbe and
sunk a 6,000-ton German cruiser.
Ioss of a Nazi cruiser was
denied by German officials.)
Other ships reported attacked
without serious damage were the
motorship Tuscan Star, trawlers
Dervish, Arnold Bennett and Dromio
and the Italian steamer Valentino
Coda.
The British announcement said
machine guns were used in attack
ing the Tuscan Star and that Royal
Air Force defense planes engaged
the raiders in falling dusk and in
flicted damage" before they were
driven of.
Two Trawlers Overdue.
In addition the admiralty an
nounced the naval trawlers Evelina
and Sedgefly were so long overdue
that they INST be considered lost.
Their crews totaled Is men.
The announcement did not say
in the German raids over the North
Sea.
German planes bombed and sent
machine-gun bullets into shipping
center on Englands east coast last
night. From a seaside promenade
crowds watched Royal Air Force
planes and anti-aircraft batteries
chase of the German bombers.
Some witnesses in the coastal raid
said they believed one of the enemy
planes was shot down in the aerial
combat. Although gunfire was heard
over wide area, no air raid warn
ings were sounded.
Sub Ursula Credited.
The submarine Ursula was cred
tied by the British with sinking the
German cruiser.
The British Press Association, at
the same time, announced it had
learned on good authority that this
climactic stroke in heightening naval
warfare had no connection with
the torpedoing of slightly larger
cruiser last week. Apparently both
attacks took place last Thursday.
A strongly fortified German
naval base is located at the
mouth of the Elbe, with the harbor
of Cuxhaven on one side and Bruns-
buettel on the other. Hamburg. one
of Germany's main seaports, is
about 60 miles up the Elbe estuary
from Cuxhaven.
The Ursula'S commander was re-
ported to have notified the admiral
ty that the cruiser was identified
by her silhouette on the skyline as
one of the German Koeln class,
hence might be any one of three
of that type.
Feat Hailed by British.
The British hailed the feat of
the Ursula as daring attack,
avenging the sinking of the battle
ship Royal Oak, October IA, by a
submarine which penetrated the
Scapa Flow nava1 pase. Those lost
on the Royal Oak numbered 80.
They pointed out the Ursula was
small, only $40 tons, and had dared
to attack despite six destroyers
guarding the cruiser.
The German cruiser class consists
OF the Koeln, Koenigsberg and
Karlsruhe, all 6,OOO-ton warships
with normal compliments of 571
men each.
All are capable of 80 knots, and
each carries nine 59-inch guns.
twelve 2l-inch torpedo tubes and six
3.5-inch anti-aircraft guns, as we'll
(See LONDON, Page A-5.)