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Show Sinkihg-ofBritisH-Vessel Off Brazil Laid to Sea Raider Ship Declared Victim of Nazi Pocket Battleship; 13 of Crew Rescued, Taken to Port After Attack Off South America Br REUEL 8. MOORE LONDON, Oct 1 (UP) The admiralty today ordered a search for a German sea raider which lank the British steamship Clement off the Brazilian coast and which messages from Bahia described as a nazi pocket battleship. Thirteen of 48 or 49 officers and crew of the Clement first victim of a sea raider since the spectacular spectac-ular German exploits of the World war were reported rescued, but the fate of the other 35 or 36 was unknown. The admiralty experts said that the attacking vessel first was believed be-lieved to be a fast merchantman equipped abroad since the war started, but that later advices said without final confirmation that It was one of the heavily-armed iiasi pocket battleships of about 10,000 tons. They believed that. If the presence of German warship Is confirmed, K would mean that the Admiral Scheer, one of Adolf Hitler's Hit-ler's crack ships, had eluded the British blockade and was on the high seas, where it could strike at allied shipping. The raider wfll be hunted down relentlessly, officials said, as were such German raiders as the Era-den, Era-den, the Moeve and the Seeadler of Count Felix von Luckner during dur-ing the World war. The sinking of the Clement about 70 miles off the Brazilian coast appeared to have been within the probable limits of the "safety lone" which the 21 American republics meeting at Panama City are seeking seek-ing to establish as a deadline for belligerent sea activities. The admiralty said that It had received "a report from Brazil that a German pocket battleship sank the Clement, but there has been no confirmation of the report." The admiralty previously had warned all ships that Germany, in a radio- broadcast, was threatening threat-ening that nazi U-boats would sink vessels on sight because the admiralty ad-miralty is now arming merchantmen. merchant-men. Thus two of the most drastic phases of the World war fighting at sea were apparently being revived re-vived quicV surprise attacks by submarines and sudden assaults on merchantmen by raiders hiding along the sea lanes. Crew Reported Safe The admiralty understood that the crew of the Clement, a 5050-ton 5050-ton Booth Line vessel, was landed safely at an unnamed port. Authorities pointed out that it had long been suspected that German Ger-man merchantmen, especially one nazi vessel, wss carrying four six-Inch six-Inch guns secretly In Its hold even before the start of the war. This vessel, they said, could have been outfitted for action in some neutral port within the last month and could now be at sea. Naval experts said, however, that they did not believe there was (CoaMMuoO oo PaK Sown 4CQWIOW lm SINKING OF SHIP LAID TORAIDER ((Mail Tram Pass Oa much chance of the raider escaping escap-ing detection for a long period because be-cause of present long-range reconnaissance recon-naissance by aircraft. The Booth Hue office at Llver-pool Llver-pool said the Clement carried 48 or 49 men, and no passengers. Naval experts, pointing out that the attacker of the Clement probably prob-ably was an armed German merchantman, mer-chantman, said that out of three nasi pocket battleships, the Graf Spree had been damaged by British Brit-ish aviators bombing the Kiel canal ca-nal and the Deutschland had been bombed by Spanish fliers during the Spaiusn war. Both were believed to be undergoing under-going repairs at present. Seen Battlrehlp Guilt The experts bellved It was unlikely un-likely that the third pocket battleship. battle-ship. Admiral Senear, or any nasi cruiser could have eluded tht British blockade. Therefore, they believed that the Clement, which makes under 10 knots, must have fallen easy prey to. fast armed merchantman. RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 2 (INS) Carrying IS rescued members of the crew of the British steamer Itatinga arrived at the port of Mucelo today. The survivors said the Clement was torpedoed off the Brazilian coast, presumably by a German submarine. |