The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-10-24

18th of October 1918.
Geo. H. Brown, County Clerk.
u. S. Transport Amphion Attacked
by Submarine.
In the Kansas City Times of last
Friday there appeared a news item
of the U. S. Transport Amphion be-
ing attacked by a submarine at a
point eight hundred miles from the
coast of the United States. 1t may in
terest our readers to know that this
is the ship upon which James E.
Shuts is doing duty in the Armed
Guard Service, and upon which he
was returning from his second trip
to France. We give below his letter
to home folks describing briefly the
encounter. His letter is dated Coto-
Der 18th.
This morning we notice by the
Navy Wireless Press, that it has been
given out that Amphion was attacked
by a submarine, and that six men
were wounded, so 1 know you must
be worried about my safety. 1t will
be a great relief to me when 1 get
ashore and send you a wire that you
may know I am safe. The following
is brief account of our engagement.
On October 18th Saturday., the
good ship Amphion was steaming at
about ten knots per hour on her re-
turn trip to the United States, after
discharging her cargo at Bordeaux,
France. I was standing watch on the
after gun platform when day broke.
The sky was clear and the surface of
the water was like glass.
I went off watch at eight bells,
went below and had breakfast, after
aft and sat down underneath the gun
platform, (as it is a rule with the
gunners to keep close to the gun
when off watch.) 1 had been reading
about an hour, when I heard the re-
port of pistol, which 1 knew to be
signal that submarine had been
sighted. ran to the gun. The men
on watch already had the gun train
ed on the submarine, that was about
one point aft our starboard quarter.
I had no more than taken my position
at my pointers telescope, when I saw
flash from the submarine. Before
| the shell from the submarine had hit
| the water, we had fired at her from
our after gun, at a range of 1000
yards. Our shot fell at least 1000
/ VIC -1c cI1aT4 cT7h bod &IoV,
to use two guns. The second shot it
fired, hit our wireless room, and
wounded six men. They were using
shrapnel and had our range. We
were using our forward gun as well
as our after gun, but the forward
gun was too small, it being three
inch fifty caliber, and we gave up
trying to use it. After we had fired
four shots we had the subs range,
but it was hard TO get the right de-
Election at the range we were firing.
The submarine then dropped back,
evidently thinking she could out
range our gun, but she did not know
we had big six inch gun. Shots were
dropping all around US. One shot
went right over the port side of the
gun platform and hit the coaning of
the after hatch, but did very little
damage. After firing ten or twelve
shots my right eye had become so
swollen could no longer use it, then
in addition to keeping the gun on the
submarine I had to fix the telescope
to fit my left eye. We had been firing
maybe half hour when looked UP
and saw a shrapnel burst in the air
about twenty-five yards astern of US.
We had by that time expended all the
ammunition we had on the gun plat
form when the engagement began,
and, while the civilian crew were
bringing US ammunition from the mag
azine I had a chance to look around
and see where the subs shells were
lighting. III admit I was scared
when I looked up and saw that shell
burst SO close. knew we were fight
ing for our lives against great odds,
for the sub had two guns that must
have been nearly the same size as ouT
after gun, and making about the same
speed as the Amphion. Also, we were
a great deal larger target for the
sub than the sub was for US, but there
was only one thing to do and that we
did, we stuck to our gun. After ii
was over we were thankful to be
alive. The last five shots we fired
were good, because we had gotten
the range of the sub, at which time
the Commanding Officer gave the
order for rapid fire, and we let 90
three shots IN fifteen seconds, and
that was the last we saw Of Mr. Hun