New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-05-20
GERMAN AIRMEN
SAW U. 5. FLAG
ON THE CUSHING
Captain Says Attack Was
Made Before Night
Had Fallen.
CALLS COMMANDMENT
ATTEMPT AT MURDER
Herland Makes Full Report on
"Dastardly Act"-Ship 0razed
Floating Mine.

Philadelphia, May 1s.-Captain Lars
Larsen Herland of the American OIL
tank Cushing arrived here to-day with
his ship and submitted to his employ
ers a report dealing with the attack
made on the Cushing on April % by
German aeroplane, which dropped three
bombs, one Of which struck the rail OF
the vessel.
In this report the captain refers to
the bomb dropping as "dastardly act,
a deliberate attempt to sink an I'M
armed vessel and murder the members
Of the crew" A copy will be forwarded
to the State Department at Washing
ton.
The German airmen swept in narrow
circles over the tanker, trying to gf
directly over the funnel, with the idea,
apparently. of dropping bomb down 1t
and wreckng her engine room.
The crew, which at first swarmed to
the deck, quickly beat a retreat to the
forecastle. and no one was hurt by the
explosion of the bomb which did strike
the Cushing.
The attack occurred while the Cush-
ing was about twenty-five miles from
Antwerp and eight miles from the
North Hinder Lightship. II was near
o'clock in the evening, but the sun
had barely touched the horizon and
there was ample light for the officers
and crew to see every detail OF the at
tack and for the pilot of the biplane to
see the words "Cushing, New York,
United States Of America" painted on
each side of the vessel in letters eight
feet high and TO note the Stars and
Stripes at the masthead and the tafrall.
Narrowly Escaped Mine.
On her return journey from Antwerp
10 this port the Cushing grazed float
ing mine in the North Sea. off the Eng
lish port of Deal. Clever seamanship
by the first mate. Charles Christopher
who was at tie wheel. enabled the ship
to avoid this mine. but by such mar.
row margin that though the stern OF
the vessel touched the mine it struck
so gently that no explosion followed.
Word Of the attack on the Cushing,
which at the time was bound for Rot
terdam with 1000 tons Of crude oil,
consigned 70 the government of fiol-
Land, was cabled 10 this country two
DAYS later and was referred to Presi-
dent Wilson in his note of protest TO
the German government.
Members Of the crew Of the Cushing
have kept as souvenirs dozens of jag
ged pieces of iron found on the decks
Of the vessel.
When the arship was first noted by
the lookout it was several thousand
feet in the air and was coming ap-
parently from the coast of England.
The airship began TO drop rs 1t APP
preached the ship and soon was only
about 500 feet in the air. Everybody
watched with interest the skilful way
in which the lone pilot of the biplane
handled his machine. An attack was
not even considered a possibility, for
up to that time all thought the flying
machine an English aircraft
Attack Was Unexpected.
Suddenly the biplane swooped down
until Il was only 800 or 400 feet above
the Cushing A second later there was
a tremendous explosion and solid
wave of water flooded the stern deck.
The crew fed for the nearest hatch
ways and Owed down just AS a second
bomb fell, missed the port quarter by
foot or so and dropped into the sea.
Another explosion sent another wave
cascading over the lower deck.
The biplane swung up into the wind,
hung motionless for second or so,
then came the third bomb. which just
grazed the starboard rail and shot
into the sea.
The airshp hung around for few
minutes, then headed for the Dutch
coast.
When the biplane dropped down so
close TO the ship it was seen that she
was flying a white flag with black
cross in the centre, the admitted PEN
nant of the German air feet. This
fact. together with the circumstance
that the bipane made off in the direc-
ton Of the Dutch coast after the bonn
bardment, is regarded as convincing
evidence that the airship was a Ger