Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1917-10-26
TRANSPORT IS SUNK
BY GERMAN NTORPEDO
PROBABLY SEVENTY LIVES LOST
WHEN AMERICAN TRANS
PORT IS ToRPEDoED.
SHIP WAS HOMEWARO BOUND
Number Of Survivors Is 167-First
Tragedy Of the Sea in Which Amer.
lean Ship Engaged in War Duty
Has Been Lost.

Washington.-The American army
transport Antilles. homeward bound
under convoy, was torpedoed and
sunk by German submarine in the
and probably lost.
All the army and navy officers
aboard and the ships master were
among the 167 survivors. The miss
ing are members of the crew, three
civilian engineers, some enlisted men
or the navy. and 16 of 33 soldiers re-
turning home for various reasons.
Neither the submarine nor the tor
pedo was seen and the transport hit
squarely amidships. sank I'm five min
utes.
The tragedy OF the sea. the first i'm
which an American ship engaged in
war duty has been lost is the first OF
its magnitude to bring home to the
people OF the United States the rigors
or the war in which they have en-
gagged against Germany. 1t carries
the largest casualty list OF the war.
so far. OF American lives. and marks
the first success Of a German subma-
rine attacks on American Transports
That the loss of life was not great
er is due to the safeguards with
which the navy has surrounded this
transport service, and the quick res
cue work of the conveying warships.
Secretary Daniels announced the
disaster in a statement based upon a
brief dispatch from Vice Admiral
Sims which gave few details and did
not say whether 1t was a day or night
attack. An accurate list of the miss.
ing cannot be issued until General
Pershing reports the names of the
or the merchant crew.
Secretary Daniels authorized the
following announcement OF the An.
TILES disaster:
THE department is in receipt OF a
dispatch from Vice Admiral Sims
which states that the S. S. Antilles.
an army transport. was torpedoed on
October II while returning to this
country from foreign service. This
vessel was under convoy of American
patrol vessels at the time.
THE torpedo which struck the An
titles was not seen, nor was the sub.
marine which fired It, The torpedo
hit abreast of the engine room bulk.
head. and the ship sank within five
minutes. One hundred and sixty.
seven persons out of about two hun
dred and thirtyy-seven on board the
Antilles were saved. About seventy
men are missing.
"All the naval officers and officers
OF the army who were on board the
ship at the time were saved. as were
the officers of the ship, with the ex-
ception of the following: Walker.
third engineer officer; Boyle. junior
engineer officer, and O'Rourke, junior
engineer officer
"The following enlisted naval per-
sonrel were lost: e. l.. Kinney, sea.
man second class. next Of kin, Thos.
M. Kinney. father, Water Valley.
Miss; ]. w. Hunt, seaman second
class, next OF kin, Isaac Hunt. father,
Mountain Grove, Mo. r. No. 2, Box
A; c. l.. Ausburn, radio electrician
first class. next OF kin, r. Ausburn,
brother, $500 Louisiana avenue, New
Orleans, La and Fl. F. Watson. radio
electrician third class, next Of kin.
Mrs. w. l.. Seger. mother. Rutland,
Mass.
There were about 33 OF the army
enlisted personnel on board. OF whom
~ were saved. The names of the
missing Of the army enlisted person.
mel and Of the merchant crew OF the
ship cannot be given until the muster
roll in France OF those on board has
been consulted. AS soon as the de.
partment is in receipt of further de.
tails concerning the casualties they
will be made public Immediately"