Evening star., 1940-04-12
Skogerrok Mined
To Bar Return of
German Fleet

by the Associated freSS
LONDON, April 12.-Amid re-
ports of a raging war at sea
along the far-flung Scandinav-
ian front, with new warplane
successes, Britain today bull
warked her air and navy against
Nazi conquest of Norway with
vast mine fields in waters vital
to Germany's campaign.
British flyers ranging over the sea
lanes from Germany's Baltic coast
to Norways Oslo Fjord during the
night were announced officially to
have blown up a large ship, de-
scribed as apparently an ammuni-
ton ship of about 5000 tons, in the
Great Belt of Denmark. while far
ther north they were believed to
have damaged a 5.000ton supply
ship.
(The sinking of vessel of con-
siderable tonnage in flames in
the Skagerrak was witnessed to-
day from Stroemstad, Swedish
coastal town near the Norwegian
border Heavy clouds of smoke
billowed up from burning oil or
gasoline. The ship sank in an
hourJ
The Admiralty gave notice of the
mining OF four areas in the North
Sea, the Skagerrak and the Katie
gat, interpreted as a move to block
German traffic between the North
Sea and the Baltic except through
the Kiel Canal.
Mines Two-Edged Weapons.
The mines were seen as a two
edged weapon against Germany
aimed at damming the sea-borne
flow of men and munitions to aid the
invasion or Norway and at prevent
ing the German fleet now in Nor
wegian waters from returning to
Germany.
The mined area touches Nor
Wegian, Danish and German coasts
and also territorial waters of Sweden
and the Netherlands. it was an
nounced, but no mines are to be
laid in channels extending 10 miles
on both sides of certain points.
Naval sources explained that the
fields covered the entire entrances
TO the Skagerrak and Kattegat ard
extend as far as the middle of tn
latter, the sea way between Sweden
and Denmark.
Besides the attacks on German
ammunition and supply vessels dur
ing the night. British flyers also were
announced to have bombed a Ger
man seaplane base on the Baltic
coast.
Aircraft Rocked by Blast.
The ammunition ship was one of
line of eight to 10 vessels and
the official announcement said it
was blown up with such force that
the attacking aircraft were rocked
by the force of the explosion"
Darkness, it said, kept the flyers
from learning the true effect of the
attack on the supply ship inter-
cepted farther north.
An authoritative British source
said there had been no major naval
engagement in the Kattegat today.
Reports of heavy detonations
heard in these waters, naval Off
cial said, may have been due to
depth charge explosions, since there
is no doubt that the Germans have
made vigorous search for British
submarines there.
It was understood that British
submersibles have been very active
on the German supply ship routes
between Germany and Norway.
Speculation on Trondheim.
The Norwegian port of Trond-
helm, in whose deep fjord a naval
battle was reported in progress, was
picked by neutral experts as the
most likely base for allied and Nor
wegian operations to drive the Ger
mans from Norway.
Four other ports besides Trond-
helm were seen as possible British
military bases, because they are on
railroads. They are Namsos, north
Of Trondheim; Aandalsnes. on
Romsbals Fjord to the South: Mar
vik, in the Arctic, and Bergen, in
the southwest.
Trondheim, however, with rail-
roads leading north, south and east.
and situated on wide inlet that
slashes nearly across Norway, was
described as the best jump-of point
as military strategists and British
War Office brains" pored over
maps to visualize land campaign
which must follow the present wide
open sea warfare between the
British and German fleets.
Winston Churchill, First Lord of
(See LONDON, Page ADD