The Wilmington morning star., 1940-04-09
GERMAN ARMADA
NEARING NORWAY
Continued From Page One)

pedo boats and two minesweepers
going northward."
The reported approach Of the
fleet and the smashing aggressive
ness of the British admiralty i'm.
pressed all Scandinavia that it had
the European war once more on its
very doorstep, after a narrow es.
cape from the Finnish Russian con.
flict.
. Mysterious Sinking
Perhaps more mystifying even
than the advance of the German
warships on their undisclosed mis-.
sion, was the sinking yesterday by
a British submarine Of the German
troop transport but four miles off
Norway's southern coast.
Five hundred German infantry.
men, calvarymen and airmen were
aboard and 800 of them were killed
or drowned. Also lost were all the
80 horses aboard.
The reason for the German trans.
ports presence in these waters was
not Immediately clear, but Norway
realized with trepidation as the bod.
les of the German dead were tossed
upon her shores of the historic
Skagerrak that the war at last was
at her door.
Tonight only a huge blot Of oil,
tangled wreckage and floating bod.
les showed the spot where the Rio
de Janeiro went down.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Halvdan
Koht told parliament that Norway
had protested to both Paris and Lon.
don against the mining of her waters
at dawn today, a sudden move by
which the Allies hoped to cut off
Germany's Swedish ore shipments
through Norway's western coastal
waters.
Charges Law Violation
In a public statement Koht charg.
ed the Allies with an open breach
of international law" and demanded
that the mines "be removed at once
and that the guard by foreign war.
ships cease" Britain was p~atrolling
Norway's waters near the new mine
fields, stating such action would be
for AZ hours to warn away neutral
vessels.
Then came news Of the sinking of
the German transport. Norwegian
residents at Lillesand and Kristian-
sand, where survivors We're landed
by Norwegian schooners, said those
who were brought ashore wore green
uniforms Of the German army,
The transport was the 5,261-ton
freighter Rio de Janeiro, normally
out of Hamburg in the South Amer.
lean service.
No record of any previous war
service by the Rio de Janeiro has
appeared In news dispatches.
Jump Overheard
Norwegian fishermen said the Ger.
mans began jumping overheard into
the S~kagerrak, entrance to the Bal.
TIC Sea from the North Sea, when
the first British torpedo struck.
Then the second torpedo was fired
and many Germans were killed nv
flying debris as they swan in the
water.
There was more British.German
activity in the Skagerrak, but de.
tails were vague. The German steam.
er Kreta reported she was attacked
by a submarine but was still afloat
or Faerder, Southern Norway, not
1ar ron the scene Of the trans.
ports sinking.
Residents of the Norwegian coast
reported during the day that they
hearo explosions at sea and saw
alrplanes out over the water which
they could not IDENTIFY
IN all Scandinavia, statesmen. in
realization that the dreaded day had
arrived bringing the European war
70 the north, gathered to discuss the
ciouoy future and await a feared re.
tal1ation from Germany.
Leaders Called
Leaders of the Norwegian parlia.
ment which was called into special
session, said they were behind the
governments action in the crisis.
"A OIL meeting was held in Oslo
WHICH military and naval leaders at.
tended.
u+ioe Of all Of Denmark's po-
10y parties met in Copenhagen,
ano IN Stockholm Swedish leaders
"atclea sravely. The Swedish for.
elsn office announced there had
oeen no violation of Swedish waters.
ried. "eie "or
one OF the main questions excited
w "eslans asked one another was
ne reason for the reported move.
ment OF part Of the German f1est