Evening star., 1940-03-22
British Sub
Torpedoes
Nazi Vessel
English PIone Shot
Down in Air Fight
Near German Border
~ the Associated Press.

y the Associated Press.
LONDON, March 22.-The first
torpedoing of German merchant
man by British submarine and the
increase to six of the Danish mer-
chantmen sunk by German sub
marines in the last two days today
marked the ceaseless sea war while
Good Friday also failed to bring a
lull in aerial fighting
A British pursuit plane crashed
IN flames on Netherlands soil today
after an aerial battle between Ger
man and British flyers above the
German frontier, dispatch from
Amsterdam said.
The plane fell in a marsh about
q mile west of Lobith, where the
Rhine enters Holland. Netherlands
soldiers, because of the nature of
the terrain, were unable to reach
the wreckage Immediately. It was
presumed, however, that all the crew
were killed.
10 or II Planes Involved.
witnesses said the battle started
when four British planes, flying
rather low, were attacked by six or
seven German craft.
They were uncertain whether the
fghting began over German or
Netherlands territory.
The British planes quickly climbed
TO about 10000 feet and three of
them streaked off in a northwesterly
direction and disappeared.
Accounts differed as to how many
German planes attacked the lone
British plane which was brought
down. Two German craft, however,
were seen to drop smoke curtain,
and a big Nazi plane was believed
TO have scored a direct hit with a
small cannon.
Sunk Eight Miles Of Denmark.
The British submarines victim
was the 4,947-ton Heddernheim.
which the admiralty announced went
down miles off the Danish coast
shortly before midnight last night.
OF the 36-man crew, the Danish
coast guard cutter Skagen rescued
IS; one man was taken aboard the
submarine.
The German ships sinking
brought to so the number of German
vessels the British claim to have ac-
counted for since the outbreak of the
war, Is of them captured.
Previously recorded German mer-
chant ship losses from submarine
action have been the Bolheim, sunk
IN the Gulf of Bothnia December IL,
allegedly by Russian submarine,
and an unidentified ship captured
IN mid-Atlantic in October by the
French submarine Surcouf, worlds
largest undersea vessel, of 1880 tons
surface displacement.
Newest Danish Losses.
Newest Danish losses, announced
by the British to have been caused
by German submarines. we're:
The 3,270-ton Christiansborg, re-
ported torpedoed without warning.
whereabouts of the crew was un-
known.
The 1,2o6-ton Charkow, sunk off
me Scottish east coast, with the
whereabouts of her crew unknown.
Gn New York shipping agents
said today that the Christians
borg was carrying United States
grain bought by the Danish gov
ernment. They said the ship
loaded at Philadelphia, Baltimore
and New York and was bound for
Copenhagen, neutral port.)
The other Danish losses, which
brought to 13 the number of Brit
ish or neutral ships sunk or dam
aged in the last three days, were re-
ported yesterday.
They included the 1,654-ton mo-
torship Algier, torpedoed in the At
lantic Wednesday midnight with
loss Of four of her crew and one
woman passenger; the 1,229-ton
Minsk, II men missing; the 2,109-
ton Bothal, Is missing, and the L.
i53-ton Viking, Is missing.
Torpedoed Without Warning.
Authoritative British sources said
that all six Danish ships, except
possibly the Charkow, had been
"torpedoed without warning by Ger
man submarines"
The Norwegian ship Svinta yes
terday was listed among ships
damaged by air attack. Three sea-
men on another Norwegian ship,
Tora Elise, it was disclosed today,
were killed when the vessel was
attacked by German warplanes
Wednesday while she was travelling
In a British convoy. Crew members
said on their arrival in an English
port that 10 planes participated in
the attack and that British fighters
shot down one of the planes.
The skipper of the Aberdeen
trawler Star of Peace reported his
ship had struck what he believed to
be German submarine in the
North Sea last night.
The trawler hit a large metal
object" the captain said, but no
sign of wreckage was found when
he circled the spot. His ship was
undamaged.
Damaged Ships Reach Port.
Two vessels which were damaged
BY German bombs in the air war
during the last few days, but reached
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