Evening star., 1941-06-15
American Relations With Germany S Strained by Topedong Of Robin Mo-

of Europe. In this connection the report
of one of the survivors Is Illuminating.
He said that an officer of the submarine
showed an interest in the automobiles
the ship was carrying when he came
aboard her before the torpedoing.
With varied cargo and passenger
list of eight, the Robin Moor cleared
New York Harbor May 8,
Ocean bound for the Union OF
Dromo South Africa, in the Brit
iSh Commonwealth of Ma
tions. She had crew and officers num-
bering 39, headed by Capt. Edward Myers.
Early in the morning of May 81, 800
miles off the coast of Brazil, it was
halted by blinking light signal. The
Robin Moor's mate was lowered in a
boat which headed toward the light,
flashed by q submarine which had re-
fused to identify itself. The submarine
commander was told that the Robin
Moor was an American ship, New York
to CapetoWn. The commander ordered
that the ship be abandoned in 20 minutes.
Then, on request, he extended this time
to 80 minutes.
The submarine was said to marked
with the name "Lorricke" and picture
of laughing COW. When the ship had
been abandoned the submarine put a
torpedo into her and then fired 80 shells
at her. She sank in % minutes. The
IS persons from the boat were in four
lifeboats. The submarine came to the
surface after the sinking and the COM
mander told the men and women in
the lifeboats that he would wireless their
position to expedite their rescue. Until
May 26 the boats stayed together Capt.
Myers instructed all to head for ST.
Paul's Rock on the Brazilian coast On
May 26 one boat was allowed to separate
from the rest.
This hfeboat, containing II persons,
was picked up on June by the Brazilian
trelghter OSorio. The statements by
these survivors provided the basis for
Consul Linthicum's conclusion that ths
torpedo was from German submarine.
Nothing has been heard of the IS per-
sons set adrift in the other three life
boats.
Later in the week the British struck a
{
Atlantic. The Air Ministry in London
announced Friday night that a torpedo
fired by British plane
Pocket Ship off the Norwegian coast
Torpedoed had hit German pock-
ct battleship either
the Admiral Scheer or the LuetzoW. the
only two pocket battleships left to Ger
ma II
the ship headed toward the Skaggerak,
entrance to the Baltic, at reduced speed.
1t was reported that the ship was headed
out to sea when sighted. "on a raiding
expedition" London believed.
Earlier in the week British planes
bombed German cruiser, believed to be
the 10,000-ton Prinz Eugen in an air at
| tack on the German naval base at Brest.
| The Prinz Eugen accompanied the Ger
man battleship Bismarck on her venture
into the Atlantic which ended in her
| destruction after she had sunk the Brit
iSh battle cruiser Hood.
That was Wednesday. The next day
it was reported in Alexandria, Egypt,
that German Stuka dive bombers had
sunk the gunboat Ladybird, 625 tons and
the monitor Terror, whose l5-inch guns
helped shatter Italy's shore defenses in
Libya. The Ladybird. once famous as
part of Britains Yangtze River patrol in
China, was fired on December IL. 1887, by
Japanese shore batteries-the same dav
that the United States gunboat Panay
was sunk in the Yangtze by japanese
airmen.