Bonn Protests Shelling of Its Ship by Poles

BONN — The West German government filed a formal protest Tuesday with Poland over Monday’s shelling of a German warship in the Baltic Sea.

Chief government spokesman Friedhelm Ost said the Polish government and the Warsaw Pact powers have been asked for a “full explanation of this serious incident.”

On Monday, the West German tender Neckar was hit by eight rounds of 30-millimeter cannon fire from a Polish missile corvette taking part in Warsaw Pact exercises in the Baltic Sea.

West German authorities initially indicated that the firing was accidental but took a tougher line Tuesday. Ost, the government spokesman, said there is a possibility that his government will seek damages. He said the West Germans have “determined that the conduct of the Polish commander deviated from the standards of all naval forces.”

In Warsaw, government spokesman Jerzy Urban said the Polish navy was not aware that any ship had been hit in the course of the exercises, which took place in international waters.

No Indication Given

“In the absence of signals from the West German ship,” he said “there was no indication it had suffered harm.”

Three crewmen on the Neckar were injured by shell splinters. The German vessel was damaged but returned to its base at Kiel.

Its commanding officer, Diethard Gatz, told reporters Tuesday in Kiel that when he came under fire, he ordered his crew to battle stations and his guns readied but decided not to return the fire.

Asked if he had considered opening fire, Gatz replied: “Never. The political consequences would have been terrible.”

Gatz, 49, said he was monitoring the East Bloc exercises, involving two Soviet-built Polish corvettes and four fast patrol boats, about 25 miles off the Polish coast, when the incident occured.

A pilotless drone was launched as a target, Gatz said, and was above the Neckar when one of the corvettes opened fire. He said that in his view the Polish warship had acted irresponsibly.

“I didn’t think anything like that could happen here,” he said, “that anyone would shoot when a ship was in the line of fire. I don’t think it could have been intentional. It doesn’t fit into the present political arena.”

The Neckar’s gunner, Hans-Juergen Schindel, said he thought the Polish corvette’s radar must have locked onto the Neckar’s mast, confusing it with the drone. The corvette is armed with missiles, a 76-millimeter gun and two multi-barrel Gatling guns that fire 30-millimeter ammunition.

‘Picture of Irresponsibility’

A spokesman for the West German Defense Ministry, Capt. Ulrich Hundt, told reporters that the incident reflected “a clear picture of irresponsibility.”

“We don’t rule out that it was an error,” he said, “but since we have had no reaction from the other side, we cannot yet regard it as a mistake.”

Hundt said the incident took place within a mapped maneuver area but that the Warsaw Pact had not issued any formal notification that the area was being activated for live fire. The notification, required by international rules, was issued Monday night, hours after the incident, he said.

“That makes the case more serious. . . . This was particularly careless practice.”

Hundt also said the Polish ship involved in the incident had a duty to report it. He said it is unthinkable that West German efforts to clarify the matter through diplomatic channels had been ignored.

Another naval officer, Rear Adm. Gustav Liebig, said the Neckar was 1,000 yards from the Polish ships and that the Poles “should have made sure that their line of fire was clear.”

“They took a risk,” he added.