Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-04
IS PERISH
AT SEA IN
COLLISION
VESSEL OF BRITISH WAR
FLEET SINKS
---
ACCIDENT OCCURS DURING THE
MANEuVERs
Smaller Ships Attack Larger consorts
at Night of Isle of Wisht-The
Tiger Strikes the Berwick
in Darkness
By Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
PORTSMOUTH, England. April a.
Thirty-six men, including Lieut. MID
dleton the commander of the torpeuo
boat destroyer Tiger, lost their lives IN
the collision off the Isle of Wight last
night between that vessel ana the
British cruiser Berwick. The vessels
belong to the Portsmouth division OF
the British home fleet and We're en-
gagged i'm night maneuvers in the chan-
mel while on their way to Portland
The night was very dark and the ber-
wick WIS steaming slowly. Wneh tne
destroyer attempted to cross the plS
cruisers bow she was caught amid
ships and cut in half with knlfelike
precision. sinking almost immediately.
The deck crew, who were dressed III
heavy oilskins and boots, went down
with the vessel, not having time to
free themselves from their heaNy III
e1nlbrauces. OF the twenty-five men
who were rescued most of them were
engineers and stokers, who, havlns
light clothing, were able to Keep tnen-
selves afloat until boats from otne5
ships which were Immediately Launched
picked them up.
The collision occurred at S:lO last
night The ships were maneuverlnS
without lights. It Is believed that sew
eral of the men were killed by the I'M
pact. :,
the disaster at daylight today anu
divers made an attempt to rescue the
bodies of the men who were oro"heo'
In Absolute Darkness
Tho smaller naval vessels were in the
midst of an attack on their larger con-
sorts when the disaster occurred nc nc
entire fleet was under masked llgnls IN
absolute darkness and the Ilger was
suddenly struck squarely amldshlps py
the Berwick. The sharp stem OF TINS
vessel cut through the destroyer as
If she had been made of paper
The Tiger sank instantly. Most OF
the men went down before help could
raacb them. The warships in the i'm
mediate vicinity quickly had tnelr
boats overheard and the scene or the
tragedy was brilliantly illuminated py
a concentration of searchlights. Inc
after portion of the. Tiger floated ior q
minute or two, just long enough u
enable those on board to seize life
heIts They threw themselves into the
water and were able to keep afloat
until picked up. The captain was on
the bridge at the time of the disaster
and went down with the forepart. Ihe
Tiger had a complement OF fifty-nlne
men and was of 400 tons.
An officer who was an eyewitness tc
the sinking of the Tiger gave the fol-
lowing account of the accident:
Flash and Loud Report
-"The first we knew that anything
had happened was when we saw g
flash and heard a loud report. This
we supposed was caused by a gun
In reality, however, the flash and re
port resulted from the sea watel
reaching the boiler room of the Tiger
causing an escape of steam which mus
| have scalded to death everybody tha
1t touched. The mep In the stokehole'
must have met fearful end. 1t wal
horrible to see the forms struggling II
| the water. Many of the men wen
under just as help was within theil
reach. L don't think there Is any hop'
of saving the Tiger or recovering th'
bodies as the wreck lies too deep II
| the water"
The Tiger was in serious acciden
last September, when, during nigh
| maneuvers, she piled herself upon th'
Portland breakwater.