New Britain herald., 1916-01-01

1 weather at a distance roundly 5000 meters and one point to starboard, the 1 outlines of a large Italian steamer. He ] took it at first for a transport steamer l and turned about and fired from his rear gun warning shot far from the vessel. .:
 ! Simultaneously he displayed the signal: Leave the ship The steamer did not stop, but rather turned aside and sought to escape. The com mander at first remained stopped for some minutes in order to increase the distance, since he feared that the steamer had a stern gun and would fire at the submarine with it.
 Observed Three Hits.
 "When the distance had reached 4,500 meters he had the pursuit taken up with full power and fired from his forward gun at a decreasing distance sixteen shells, among which he ob- served three hits
 During the chase the steamer went zig-zag. and stopped only after the third hit. Thereupon the com nlander ceased firing.
 During the flight the steamer had already, while at full speed let some boats with persons in them fall, which imm mediately capsized. After stopping, the steamer began launching boats
 Six Boats Filled.
 From a distance of about 1000 meters the commander saw that SIX boats were filled and rowed hastily away from the steamer. Another boat was capsized and flooded, keel I'D. The people held onto the hanging lines and to the capsized boat.
 During the further approach of the submarine the commander saw that a great panic reigned aboard and that he had to deal with a passenger steamer, namely the Ancona, from Genoa. Therefore he gave the occu- pants of the steamer more time than was required to leave the ship in life boats.
 Ten Iifeboats Aboard.
 At least ten lifeboats were still oboard which would have more than sufficed for the rescue of the persons still aboard One of these boats hung, full of people, half turned outward on the davits.
 Since, however, except for this, no further move was made to lower boats, the commander decided after lapse of forty-fve minutes to torpedo the ship in such manner that 1t should remain considerable time afoat, in order that, on the one-hand, the getting of the people into the life boats should be hastened, and that, on the other, adequate opportunity should remain for rescuing the per- sons still aboard
 Steamer Became Visible.
 Shortly thereafter a steamer be- came visible which was throwing out heavy clouds of smoke and headed l toward the Ancona. It apparently had been summoned by the Ancona's wireless.
 "Since the submarine commander had to reckon on an attack by steamer which he took for an enemy cruiser, he submerged, after having, at 12:35 o'clock in the afternoon, had torpedo fired into the forward bag gage hold of the Ancona from a dis tance of 800 meters. The Ancona listed about ten degrees to starboard after this shot.
 Iifeboat Broke Loose.
 '1Thereupon an effort was made to lower the lifeboat, which already was half turned out on the davits. It broke loose, however, and fell into the 1 water The lifeboat hoated keel down and the people held fast to the gun whale.
 of the other boats none was low cred into the water, although persons could still be observed aboard. The l steamer gradually righted itself to an even keel and settled so slowly that | the submarine commander at first l doubted whether the steamer would l -iv,I- -ot +. 3o1n sink, after a lengthy parallel settling, l with the bow first.
 During these further fortyfv 1 minutes, all persons yet aboard could 1 have been saved without difficulty l with the boats still on hand
 Crew Abandoned Passengers.
 From the fact that this, contrary to his expectations, was not done, the 1 commander concluded that the crew, contrary to all seamen's customs, had | accomplished their own rescue with the first boats and abandoned to themselves the passengers entrusted to their protection.
 "The weather at the time of the in cident was good and the sea calm, so that the lifeboats could have reached the nearest coast without danger, as, indeed the lifeboats actually were damaged only by unskiller lower ing but not after they had struck the water.
 The loss of human lives is, in the first instance, by no means ascrib- able to the sinking of the ship. but And in all obability in a much high CT measure to the rapid lowering (hinunter werfen) of the boats during f,,I the crew, concerned only for itself did not rescue the psssengers of the ap- sized boats" @