Evening star., 1939-12-31

The difficulty of running down an
isolated commerce raider like the
Graf Spec and her elusive sisters
may be appreciated by looking back
into the records of the World War.
At one time no less than 10 allied
Warships were engaged in hunting
the Emden alone The German
converted cruiser MoeWe, which sank
total of 80 ships, was at sea 1879
days unmolested by the large allied
forces hunting for her and then
slipped back home safely.
Mid-November brought from Ber-
lin the threats of sterner cam
paign at sea. which since that time
has materialized in the sinking Of
scores of allied and neutral vessels
by submarine, commerce raiders,
mines and air bombs and torpe-
does. Britich retaliation has been
no less stern. 1t already has cost
the Germans the Graf Spec, the
third largest of their luxury passen-
ger liners, the Columbus, scuttled
of the American coast, and other
naval and commercial ships. A little
British submarine is credited with
having crept through German naval
defenses to sink a Nazi cruiser in
her own harbor.
So the British Navy repaid the
Germans In their own coin for the
sinking of the World War battle
ship Royal Oak by German SUBJ
marine which slipped through the
British defenses into the main feet
base at Scapa Flow, in the Ork-
neys.
World War Event.
The Scapa Flow raid had its
precedent very early in the World
War. The British grand fleet was
moved into Scapa Flow during the
latter part Of July, 1914, when the
outbreak of the World War became
imminent. This remarkable natural
harbor, in the Orkney Islands, had
been decided upon as fleet base
some months earlier, but no steps
had been taken to fortify it or
safeguard its entrances against Ger
man raids, particularly by subma-
rines.
Scapa Flow has three main en-
frances navigable by all ships, the
HoXa, the Switha and the Hoy
channels, and some additional mar
row, tortuous entrances on the east,
mainly at Holm Sound. The diff
culties of entrance to Scapa Flow,
due in large part to the strong and
varying currents which race through
the Orkneys, were counted upon to
assist in the defense against raids
from the German bases, only $50
miles away. The British mounted
some small guns on shore and es-
tablished patrol.
Nevertheless, during the early part
OF the war, the British Grand Fleet
was forced to sea several times in
hurried fight by reports of Ger
man submarines, according to the
memoirs of Admiral Viscount Jelli-
coe.
Il have often wondered why the
Germans did not make greater ef-
forts to reduce our strength in cap
ital ships by destroyer or subma-
rine attacks on our bases in those
early days." Admiral Jellicoe said.
They possessed, in comparison with
the uses for which they were re-
quired, almost supernuity of de-
stroyers, certainly a superfiuity as
compared with ourselves, and they
could not have put them to a bet
ter use than In an attack on Scapa
Flow durling the early months of
the 1914-5 winter"
In Scapa Flow.
On September /, 1914, a large part
of the battle fleet was in Scapa
Flow when a German submarine
entered at about 6 pm. The British
got out as rapidly as possible, and
by II pm. all ships which could be
moved had left. despite the dangers
of a dense fog through the unlighted,
twisting, rock bound channels
through which the swift currents
roared and raced.
The dangers to battle fleet which
could not afford the loss Of any
capital ships when face to face with
a navy as powerful as that Of Ger
many in 1914 were keenly appreci-
ated. The British undertook con.