The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-05-03
STR. ROCKINGHAM IS SUNK BY SUB,
 CAPITAL REPORTS
Thirty Three of American Vessels Crew Picked Up One Boat Missing.

London. May -3-Thirty-eight Brit ish merchant vessels of more than l, 800 tons each and 13 of less tonnage, were sunk during the past week oy German submarines, according to the official bulletin issued yesterday by the British Admiralty. Twenty-four
 lBritish vessels attacked by subma- rines escaped Four of the sinkings i and two of the escapes occurred dur ing tho previous week; but were moi reported
 In the same period 2,16 merchant ships arrived at British ports, and 2,6so cleared from them Flight Brit iaA cshing vessels are reported sunk, all but two in the past week. cThess Neres are slightly less than those of last week. which gave 40 yes sells over 1.6O0 tons; 15 under that fig ure, and nine fishing vessels, sunk. Those for each week, however, arc far ahead of aAy previous week since the vampaign began.)
 The American steamer Rockingham formerly the Nebraskan. which once before survived a German torpedo, has been sunk by a German submar- inc it was learned today. Two boats, containing th1rty-three of her crew,
 were picked up yesterday, but one boat with thirteen men in 1t is still
 missing. tl
 Capt Harris of the lost American
 steamer Vacuum and seven men from
 that ship who had been given up as
 lost have been saved and landed at
 a British port, but all hope has been
 abandoned for Lieut.. Thomas, U. s.
 ..., who commanded the Vacuum's s
 naval guard The men with Capt
 Harris include five of the naval
 guard, the third mate and the boat
 swain
 Oscar Gales, first officer of the Vacuum, who with other survivors landed at Liverpool today. gave strik- ing story Of seaworthiness of the Ger man submarine.
 'sIt was blowing gale," he said. land the seas were coming over the Vacuum, yet the submarine, a very large one, came to the surface and circled around the Vacuum several times. The mountainous seas aip- peared to present no terrors for it" Besides Lieut. Thomas, g of the vacuum's company, about B of them Americans, and four of them members of the naval guard, were lost One of the latter, & H. LOree, died of ex- posture in the captains boat, and his
 body was brought ashore. Besides Capt. Harris those in his boat now known to be saved include James and John williams, George w, Parker, O. H. Lucke and Henry J. Musshorn of the navy, third officer Husted and
 Boatswain O. Nelson
 l Leslie Hattpn, the vacuum's wire 1ess opefator, says he saw the sub-
 marine, and also caught a glimpse of
 the torpedD. from the wireless room After they left the ship, he said, the submarine came to the surface and fired 8 shell at the sinking Vacuum, 1 which smashed the wireless room.
 The Vacuum was sunk, Capt Harris says, between 100 and 120 miles from land
 It is remarkable that the survivors of the Vacuum who landed at Liver
 pool, and who were all in the mate s
 boat, were positive that they had seen
 the captains boat capsize in the tre- mendou5 seas about quarter of a
 mile from them The news that the
 captain was safe surprised them The
 third boat, in, which Iieut. Thomas
 was drowned, was swamped alongl side the steamer before it could get clear.