Middletown transcript., 1918-02-16
WERE GIVEN TINE
TO GET AWAY
rhe Tuscania Remains Afloat
Two Hours
But SHE IS BADLY LISTED
Makes II Hard To Lower Boats-Some
Jumped Into Sea, Others Thrown
Out-Wards -
Hotels.

tor removal of all those on board the
Tuscania. as she remained afloat for
about two hours after being torpe
doed. The Tuscania was one OF 3
convoy of troop and provision ships
which, after a long passage across
the Atlantic, was entering what uati'
recently were considered comparative
" safe wetc-s. TIE ships were With
in sight of land, which was just els
tinguishable in the dusk OF evening
when a torpedo hit the Tuscan:
amidships.
The steamer took heavy lis;
which made proper lowering OF tht
boats impracticable. Some rle'
jumped into the sea. Others woe
thrown into the water when the boat
were lowered.
Two Torpedocs Fired.
Survivors report that two to-pedoe
we're fred. The first passed just astor'
Of the vessel. The second struck i;
the vicinity Of No. l boiler.
The behavior Of the create" p"
Of the soldiers and members G. /
crew was splendid. A few OF the,
became excited, hindering the lowel
ing of the boats. In some cases ths
entire crews were thrown out whl'<
the boats were being lowered. CtAe:
boats were let down hurriedly or
men who were swimming around the
liner. Many casualties were occa
stoned in this way.
Women volunteer nurses at Larnt
attended to slightly injured men
Wards were i:nprovisei in hotels
Thirty seriously injured men were dis
patched to local hospitals. where They
are receiving careful treatment. Thu
resources OF Larne were taxed to thu
utmost to provide food and ciothin:
for the survivors.
One of the men, who SWAN abou
for two hours before he was rescued
jokingly said he had had enough swim,
ming to satisfy him for the rest o
his life.
Many Jumped Over.
Thomas Smith, of Glasgow, boat
SWANS mate on the Tuscania, SAFE
the steamer was proceeding to al
English port under convoy.
AT 5.45 O'Clock on Tuesday even
ing" he continued, II was in No.
room talking with a fellow boatswai1
when l heard a terrific explosion am
felt the vesse, keeling over. sait
to my mate: They've got her now.
I'VE commenced lowering boats OF
the starboard side. The soldiers .we1'
lined up or deck waiting for the boats
Unfortunately many jumped over
board.
Il found the boat at No. staten
to which proceeded, had been blow
to pieces. l then helped to get boat
ga, 9-B and &C away with full! com
plements and the second officer go
boats to safely away.
after seeing these launched l pre-
ceeded to the other deck where
| launched raft. l picked up IA sol
diers and two Of the ships compan'
who were swimming about. We he
no oars and had to paddle along wit
our hands. We were picked up q
9 o'clock in the evening and lande.
Wednesday morning."
| The first survivors were landed a
4.30 o'clock Wednesday mornine
From then until A. NJ. many patro
boats arrived. each bringing a full
complement Of survivors, the numbe
Of whom by that time had reache,
$50, including 40 members Of tn
| crew.
Hard To Lower Beats.
James Alison burlington, of New
Hampshire, college student, said:
Il was on the upper deck when til
torpedo struck the vesse! on the sta,
board side. There was q terrific ez
plosion. l went to the stairs to reacl
my station.
"The dynamo was blown up by tn
explosion. but the auxiliary plant wa
put into operation Immediately.
There was great difficulty in low
ering our .ife5oat, the chains bein
broken and the tackles entangled
Several boats capsizel and the struc
| gle in the water OF the men throw!
| out added to the tragedy
II entered the boat with 20 others
but it became fled with water an
we had to jump cut. caught tw
oars which had been .asheI togethe
and he'd or. l was in the water 70
three hours before l was picked up.