Jackpot

Converted German merchant raiders, long on speed and cruising range, have harried Allied shipping with painful success. Last week the German merchant raider Steiermark met the Australian cruiser Sydney off the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean. The Sydney had survived 60 attacks by Axis dive-bombers, covered 80,000 miles of war service, fired 4,000 shells, not lost a man. The first salvo from the German ship caught the Sydney, apparently not suspecting that she was dealing with an enemy ship, in the fire-control tower. But the Steiermark, only a converted merchantman, was no match for the Australian warship. After a few salvos the Germans abandoned their flaming ship and took to their boats. The Sydney, damaged and apparently fearful of torpedoes, steamed quickly away without picking them up. In a few days the Germans were rescued, but the Sydney was not sighted or heard from again. Somewhere over the horizon, the Sydney apparently sank with all hands, for reasons that could only be guessed at.

Two other German raiders sunk:

> The British cruiser Dorsetshire, which fired the final shot into the Bismarck, downed a converted 10,000-ton merchant ship somewhere in the South Atlantic.

> Operating in the same area, the cruiser Devonshire, "hoodoo ship" of the British Navy, surprised a raider as it was putting fuel into small boats probably for submarines. Placing a fatal shot in the raider's magazine, and fearing the presence of a U-boat, it sped away without picking up survivors.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.