Evening star., 1943-05-31
Five Nazi Submarine!
Sunk by Raj Planes
In To-Day Period
Additional Craft Also
Believed Destroyed
During Same Time
By the Associated Press.

LONDON, May 31.-At least five
Axis submarines have been sunk in
the Atlantic by RAF planes in weird
air-sea battles and more of the
U-boat pack may have been added
to the toll in a Today period, the
British Air Ministry has announced.
Planes of the coastal command
fought Adolf Hitlers submarines
with depth bombs and withstood
lively gunfire to sink the U-boats,
one west of Iceland, one south of
Iceland and three near the Bay of
Biscay. it was announced yesterday.
Several other attacks were made
by the coastal command aircraft
during the same Today period" the
bulletin said. The destruction Of
submarines in these further opera
tions is not confirmed, but on sew
eral occasions spreading patches Of
oil and wreckage on the surface in
dicated that the U-boat had been
damaged"
The Admiralty also announced
that four German trawlers and two
motor gunboats were set ablaze in
45-minute clash with light British
naval forces off Dunkerque Saturday
morning, with the British losing one
boat.
Subs Fire at One Another.
At last account, the German boats
were wildly firing at one another
in the melee, the Admiralty said.
One of the trawlers blew up and
another was seen sinking.
A German communique appar-
emily referring to the same action
asserted five British speedboats we're
sunk and two crippled.
The aerial forays against the sub
marines pointed up recent official
assertions that the U-boat menace
was being met and a German high
command communique gave support
to the claims with a statement that
Our submarines in recent days
were engaged in the severest con-
voy struggles in the Northern and
Southern Atlantic which were waged
by our brave U-boat crews with a
daring spirit of attack and great
embitterment.'
1t went on to make the entirely
unsupported claim that IS Allied
ships totaling 10000 tons had been
sunk in this warfare, but did not
indicate the length of the period.
The British Air Ministry news
service said the coastal commands
feat provided new evidence of the
power of air attack on submarines
and of the strength Of the U-boats
defensive flax. In all five cases the
U-boats attempted to give battle
on the surface with their guns"
Slight damage was caused to two
planes.
Shells Whizzed Past.
Pilot Flying Officer Robert L.
Convey. telling how he pulled his
Flying Fortress throttles wide and
screamed down in dive against a
submarine 8 miles south of Iceland,
declared 1T was the biggest U-boat
l ever saw and its battleship gray
was shining brightly in the morn
ing sun. The shells whizzed past
us. 1 was blinded by the sun, but
viz Aeoi SullIlCl SdlQ OuI SUCK OIL
depth charges fell snugly across
the submarine as it attempted to
dive at the last minute.
"As I made the turn I saw
plumes of water from the depth
charges subside and the bow of
the U-boat sticking up at steep
angle. Oil spread in two colors over
the sea, followed almost immediately
by pieces of light-yellowish wood"
Some 80 of the U-boat crew bobbed
10 the surface after the sub sank.
Between 80 and 40 men were seen
to stream out of the submarine
sunk by Liberator bomber west of
Iceland.
Two planes Joined to sink one sub
marine in Bay of Biscay waters.
More than 45 men were seen to
emerge from the three U-boats sunk
In that area. The Air Ministry COM
munique did not say what their fate