Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-08-23
How Campania Was Captured and Sunk
BySubp 80 t2s q V. After Last Shell Was
Fired, ~ - 80 ~ ~ Remaining Survivors
.BIuejaCketS on Boaro Seize
RevoIverS When Ammunition
Is Exhausted; Crew at
Mercy of German Com
mander.

Standard OH tank steamer Campana,
whose captain and FIVE of its navy
gunners were taken prisoners by a
German submarine on August 6, sur
rendered to the U-boat, but only be-
cause it had not another shot to FIRE.
The Campana's ammunition, after fir
ing 1870 shots, became exhausted.
This was the story told by ], H.
Bruce, third mate of the Campana,
who, with forty other members of
the Campana's crew and eight gun
ners, arrived today on a French bat
tleship. The battle. began at S a. m.
and was waged for four hours at a
range of between 1900 and $500
yards.
IGNORES WHITE FLAG.
The U-boat fred 400 shots. only
two of which hit the mark The
Campana, nevertheless, was out
ranged by the two guns, one four
inch, the other two-inch, with which
the submarine was armed. The u
boat also was fully as speedy as the
American vessel.
After the Campapa hoistcd the in
ternational signal of surrender, its
last she'll gone, the submarine never
theless continued to fire. Bruce said,
and all hands took to the boats.
The U-boat commander first ap-
preached the boat commanded by
Bruce, which had aboard the Cam
pana's thirteen naval gunners, and Or
dcred it alongside. He then went to
the lifeboat occupied by Captain Al
bert Oliver of the Campana and took
him prisoner.
Having room enough only for six
additional men aboard his craft. the
German skipper made only five OF
the gunners prisoners, Bruce said
These included the chief gunner and
two petty officers. One Of the gun
ners, whose name was Miller, was in
cluded because he could speak Ger
man, ..-..,....-
I The Submarine WIS the U-2, Bruce
did not lean, ihencommander's name.
The German told him, he said. that lie
had first feed torpedo at the Cam
pana, but had missed, the projectile
apparently passing under the steam
ship.
Threatens to Sink French Vessels.
The Campana was sent to the bot
tom by bombs after its crew had
been allowed to return and get their
personal effects. Directions were
given to Bruce by the submarine
commander how to reach the nearest
port. lie told him at the same time
that he had heard wireless messages
exchanged by two French war ves-
sells in the vicinity and warned him
not to allow himself to be picked up
by them.
Il am going to sink them" he said
Bruce and his men, nevertheless,
took the chance, encountering a
French warship after floating about
in small boats until E o'clock that
night. The warship took them
aboard and landed them in France.
Bruce said he was told by an officer
OF the war vessel that he had heard
a wireless message from another
French cruiser, saying that it had
sunk a German submarine in the
vicinity OF the place where the Cam
pana had been sunk. Bruce said it
was only matter of conjecture as to
whether this was the submarine that
attacked his vessel, but, if true, he
feared it meant that Captain Oliver
and his stgunners had perished.
Message From Oliver.
When Captain Oliver and the
other prisoners went below on the
submarine" said Bruce, they bid US
goodbye and the U-boat captain as
sured me they would be treated as
prisoners OF war and landed in a few
days at German base, where, the
captain said, they would be given
every opportunity to send word home
to their families. / was allowed to
take a personal message from Cap
tain Oliver to be delivered to his
wife.
THE blucjackets with us were a
game lot. When the last she'll had
SOuC llIy WOulu nave idShlCu llC
Germans with their revoIvers had the
word been passed to them. 1t would
have been useless sacrifice Of life,
however. as the Germans had Us at
their mercy,
Captain Favored Americans.
The captain said his Instructions
were to take all Americans gunners
and captains of armed ships prison
ers. He said, however, he was sorry
the United States was in the war, be-
cause he hated to fight Americans, as
he had always found them friendly
and good sports. Americans, he said
will always fight to a finish. He had
no use for the French or the Eng
Iish, though, especially the English. "