Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 100, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 May 1918 — SINKS SUBMARINE UNDER HEAVY FIRE [ARTICLE]

SINKS SUBMARINE UNDER HEAVY FIRE

Seaplane Persists in Attack While Shelled by Six German Ships. THREE OTHERS DESTROYED British Airmen Calmly Drop Bombs as Enemy'* z Shells Burst—Depth Bombs Prove Effective When Aviators Sight U-Boats. London. —Under a heavy attack from three German submarines and three 7 ' German destroyers, a British seaplane recently . persisted in her efforts against another enemy U-boat and succeeded in sinking it before being damaged by the fire of the other enemy warships. The -seaplane was on patrol duty at 8:30 o’clock in the morning when a submarine was sighted on the surface with a man standing forward by the gun. Increasing her speed, the seaplane dropped to an altitude of 600 feet and released a bomb. As she swooped around to repeat the attack a shell from the U-boat burst in the air 50 feet from the propeller. It was seen that the bomb had made a direct hit, a big rent being visible -in the deck of the submarine. Just then out of the mist ahead three more enemy submarines, followed close by three destroyers, appeared. Attacked by Six Vessels. , All six vessels maintained a hot fire against the seaplane. However, a second bomb dropped on the disabled boat. It exploded 15 feet ahead of the bow of the submarine. The whole craft shook and thehzsank quickly in a pool of oil, bubbles and wreckage. The seaplane, having no more bombs, and a« the destroyers were coming near, returned .to its base. Seaplanes also have accounted for three other submarines. In one case two large seaplanes attacked a submarine on -he surface, with two Germans standi rig on the conning tower. One plane dropped a bomb to the starboard of the U-boat while the other placed one squarely in front of the conning

tower. The explosion of the second bomb was followed by several explosions within the submarine, which disappeared. Sank Two Others. Diving from a height of 4,000 feet to 1,200 feet, another seaplane dropped a depth charge on the,spot where a submarine had disappeared. When the water subsided, the shape of the submarine could still be seen below the surface and a second bomb was dropped, “after which the ship disappeared.”. An enemy submarine with two periscopes and about 200 feet In length was sighted by a seaplane on patrol duty. The seaplane descended 3,300 feet to a height of 80 feet and dropped two bombs as the German submerged. One of the bombs made a direct hit just behind the conning tower. The submarine turned upside down and sank. Oil and wreckage later came to the surface.