The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-08-20
LIFEBOAT USED
BY SUBMARINE
As SHIP DEC0Y
Periscope Hidden Behind
Empty Craft In Night
Attack on Liner

/ New York, Aug. 2o.-News was re-
ceiyed here yesterday from England
of the attack made upon an American
steamship on Aug. off the coast OF
Ireland by a big German U-boat which
used a, ships lifeboat as a decoy, and
missed hitting the liner with tor
pedo by a very narrow margin. There
were 500 passengers on board the
steamer.
According to eyewitnesses, who We're
on deck at the time the incident oc-
CURED, the liner was about 80 miles
off the Irish coast on her way to a
port in England. It was 10 minutes
past o'clock at night, and on ac-
count of the bright moonlight every
object could easily be distinguished
on the water as the vessel zigzagge
on her course at a speed of 1S knots.
On entering the danger zone all
passengers were warned not to dis
robe that night and to have their life
belts with them when they went on
deck for exercise. The lookout man
in the crows nest at the foretopmast
head sang out: BOAT four points
away on starboard bowl"
The captain and his officers on the
bridge looked through their glasses
and saw that it was a ships Ifeboat
of an extra large size bobbirg up and
down with the lazy swell of the sea
and apparently unoccupied.
| Going at eighteen knots. the liner
rapidly overhauled the boat and pass
ed it about 600 yards away so that
every one on deck could see plainly
that there were no occupants in the
drifting craft.
4 Just as it reached the quarter of the
liner the crew of the six-inch gun aft
saw a torpedo pass from port to star
board within five feet of the rudder.
The simmer of the wake could be
seen plainly in the moonlight as it
disappeared in the distance, the naval
gunners said. The officer on duty on
the after bridge Instantly warned the
Icaptain on the forward bridge, who
swung the liner hard over to star
/ board. and at the same time the gun
lners aft fred a shot at the submarine
which, appeared just above the sur
face on the port quarter about 55t
yards away.
i AS the head of the steamship came
round, the starboard gun was fired
and another shot from the after CUR.
s which had one of the crack navy
lmarksmen among its crew. The shells
1 struck the water and burst close tt
the submarine, but whether the!
and ships officers could not say, be-
cause the enemy craft was not. seer
after the second shell was fired. M
further attack was made on the liner
but the passengers remained ON decl
with their Hfebelts and drank coffee
to keep them awake until the vesse
reached port on the following fore.
noon.
One of the officers on board the
liner said that the U-boats were lying
|in wait for steamships bound for Eng.
land and France because they had tt
converge to make their. ports like en-
tering the neck of a big bottle. Leav.
ling for the United. States, he said, ths
vessels all separated and took differ
ent courses, which made it more diff
cult for the U-boats to attack them
Another inducement on the eastboune
; trip is that the steamships are al
:. loaded with supplies, which is bette
than sinking a ship in ballast west
bound the officer said.