Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1917-08-24
AMERICAN CUNNERS
LOST ON SUBMARINE
Campana Survivors Believe the U-2
That Sank Her Was Destroyed.
HAD 6 PRISONERS ABOARD
German Craft, With Capt. Oliver and
Five Blue Jackets. Probable Vic
tim Of French Warships.


OF the naval gun crew, of the Stand
ard Oil tanker Campana, which was
sunk on August about 175 miles off
the French coast, arrived Wednesday
at an Atlantic port with the news that
|Nthe German submarine which took
away five of the gun crew and the
captain of the ship as prisoners had
been destroyed later in the day by
disguised French cruiser This in
formation was given to the survivors
by the officers of a French warship
which rescued them from their life
boats at o'clock on the evening of
August g.
! French officers had received the re-
port by wireless, they explained, from
the disguised cruiser an hour pre-
viously, and, putting the facts to-
gether, there was a strong possibility
that it was the U-2 which sank the
Campana with bombs hat-morning.
Members of the Campana's gun
crew said they fired shots from their
three-inch gun aft until the ammuni-
tion was all expended. Three of the
shots struck the U-boat but did not
injure the craft in a vital spot The
firing was all done at $500 yards, and
as the submarine had four-inch gun
forward she could outrange the Cam
pana's guns.
The names of the men who are re-
ported to have been drowned on the
U-2 are Captain Alfred Oliver of the
Campana, Chief Gunner's Mate James
Delaney, Third Glass Gunner's Mate
Charles Klein, Second Glass Boats
vain Root, and ordinary seamen
Jacobs and Wilhelm Miller.
The story of the fight was related
by Third officer Bruce, who was on
board the German submarine for
three hours and would have been
kept there as prisoner If the COM
mander of the U-boat had not decided
that he could not accommodate more
than six extra men on board his
craft.
Battle mt Long Range.
I'VE left from this side on July 6,
said Bruce, "and arrived safely at
port in France where we discharged
our cargo of oil and left again in
ballast for Spanish port on August
| S. At 5 o'clock next morning | was
on the bridge when a shell passed
over our stern, and looking aft saw a
big submarine about 5000 yards away
firing at us from her bow gun. Our
crew opened fire with the three-inch
gun aft and blazed away until s
o'clock without apparently damaging
the enemy craft, as the range of 1900
yards and over was a little too far
We heard later from the commander
that three of our shells had struck
him near the coming tower. One
shell from the U-boat hit the upper
deck of the Campana aft, but did not
do any serious damage. During the
| three-hour gun duel the Campana
was going at her best speed and zig
Tagging. The submarine, which was
a large one of the latest type, could
easily have overhauled us as she had
a speed on the surface of eighteen
knots, but her commander did not
wish to come too close to our guns.
BY o'clock we had fired $50 shots
and the submarine had fired about
It's. Then we knocked off for break
| fast and ignored the enemy for half
an hour. and his crew apparently did
the same, as they did not fire another
shell until $40 o'clock. After our
gunners had expended 800 shells they
reported to Captain Oliver that the
ammunition was all gone and he
hoisted the international code signal
at the main masthead: Am abandon
ing ship
'sThe crew left the Campana in
four lifeboats after the engines had
| stopped. and | had the thirteen men
of the naval gun crew in my boat.
| Our total crew, including the captain
| and the gunners, was fifty-two men.
| When we started to pull away the
submarine continued shelling the
steamship until it had fired another
| twenty-five shots Then the U-boat
ceased firing and signaled for the
lifeboats to go alongside. which was
little after 10 o'clock The naval
| crew. with myself, Captain Oliver.
/ and the other officers of the Campana
were invited on board by the COM
mander, who spoke English, and | be-
lieve had been an officer on one OF
the big German transatlantic liners
before the war.
/ After sending his boat to get some
| stores from the tanker the COM
mander ordered his men to place
bombs in the hold and blow her up
which was done. He asked how much
draft we had aft. and when the cap
tain replied Thirteen feet he said
Well. | fred torpedo at your ship
at a depth of fifteen feet, and ii mus
have missed her.
After noting down the tonnage and
details of the voyage OF the Campana
| in a log look, the commander turned
to Captain Oliver and said: 1 have
been instructed to take all American
captains and gunners prisoners tc
Germany, but have only stores and
accommodation for six. l am going
direct back to Germany because the