Evening star., 1942-02-09
Survivors Of Tanker
Sunk OFF Delaware
Laud Enemy Skipper
Coptoin Of Submarine
Permits Crew of 81
To Escape SheIIing
specisl Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
LEWES, Del, Feb. 9.-Surviv-
ors Of the American tanker China
Arrow expressed the conviction
here today that their ship and
two other recent victims were
destroyed by the same enemy
submarine in nearby Atlantic
coast waters.
This raider. in the opinion Of Capt.
Paul H. Browne. 46. Of New York
City, is commanded by pretty de-
cent skipper" who refrained from
shelling the torpedoed ships until
their crews had cleared away in life
coats
Telling his story In the Lewes
Coast Guard Station, where he and
his crew Of 36 were brought ashore
by the Coast Guard after spending
Sc hours in three open boats, Capt.
Browne said three oil tanks were
ruptured and the ship set afire by
two torpedoes which struck about
Ills am. Thursday.
Capt Browne and Radio Operator
Kenneth w. Maynard, 20, of Bell
ingham, Wash, remained on board
the settling tanker for IS minutes
while the submarine circled 50 near
they could see the men in her
coming tower. The two Americans
were trying to get the damaged radio
in operation.
Raider Withheld Fire.
The raider, however, withheld fire
The other members of the tanker's
crew had pulled away in three boats,
and No. boat. under command Of
First Mate William D. Sinnett Of
Brooklyn. was standing by the sink
ing tanker to pick up the captain
and radio man.
At II noon the two men cut a line
of rigging, made 1t fast on deck and
slid down to the waiting boat. No
sooner were they clear, Capt Browne
said, than the submarine started
pouring shells into the tanker. FIJI
teen shells were fired from 500 feet
and the China Arrow slid under by
the stern at 12:15 pm.
The ship was the 2lst victim OFF,
cially announced by United States,
British and Canadian sources since
January IL when the present Axis
submarine campaign in American
waters began.
The China Arrows sister ship, the
India Arrow. was sunk Wednesday
night and the freighter San Gil
went down at midnight Tuesday.
In all three attacks the raider
withheld shell fire until life boats
could be launched and rowed to 4
safe distance.
Capt. Browne said the sea was
dead calm" when his lifeboats
pulled away. The raider fired from
point-blank range.
"The gunners could easily have
shelled or machine-gunned u.s."
Capt. Browne said, but they seemed
to have a pretty decent skipper.
I'll give the commander credit
for that. They did not touch the
men in the ifeboats. They did not
talk to us. They just hung around
until we were clear and then they
began shelling"
Capt. Browne lashed his three
lifeboats together and undertook
to keep them near the scene of the
sinking in the hope that radio
signals he and Maynard had sought
to send would bring help.
Some of the crew were lightly clad,
so those who had warmer outfits
traded around with the others until
everybody had about the same. Capt.
Browne gave his overcoat to a crew
member and their situation was not
bad until Friday, when it began to
rain.
1T rained all day." said the cap
tain, "and We were pretty damned
wet and miserable. We had to bail
and bail and there was still inches
of water in the boat"
High Tribute to Men.
He paid high tribute to the nerve
Of his men, IF we had had a pack
of cards we could have played" he
said. Nobody was afraid and all
were certain that they would be
picked up.
Friday night they sang and wise
cracked, while the captain sent up
parachute flares at regular intervals,
flares that burn with a red light