Middletown transcript., 1918-07-13
BIG TRANSPORT
SUNK BY U-b0AT
Former Liner Sent Down on
Homeward Voyage
THE THIRD TRANSPORT SUNK
Slx Of Crew Are Missina-No Army
Personnel Or Passengers
Aboard coving-

W2ShlngtOn.-Ihe American GfIH!
transport Covington. homeCard bound
after landing several thousand soldiers
in France, was torpedoed and sunk
in the war zone. Six members of the
crew are missing, but all the other
men. with the ships officers, have
Ieen landed at a French port. Nc
army personnel or passengers were
aboard
The Navy Departments announce
ment of the torpedoing of the Coving
ten said none of the officers and men
landed was seriously injured" APP
parently some Of them were hurt, but
the number probably was noE given
in Vice-Admiral Sims dispatch.
The Covincton was struck, While
proceeding with fleet Of other trans
ports. conveyed by t!estroyers. The
submarine was not sighted.
1.-THE torpedo struck just forward Of
the eneine room hulkheads," said the
Navy Departments announcement,
land the engine room and fire room
were rapidly flooded. With its motive
power gone, the vessel was helpless
and, facing the possibility Of the tor
pedoing of another ship in the convoy.
the COvingtOn was temporarily aban-
doned. This was done in excellent
order and the officers and crew were
taken on board a destroyer. The
submarine was not seen.
lat daybreak, the captain. several
officers and a number of members c.
the crew returned to supervise salvag-
ing operations. Another vessel and
two tugs took the Covihgton in tow
in the effort to get her TO port, but
she was too badly damaged to keep
afloat and sank.
There was no explanation by the
department as TO whether the six men
were missing after the transfer OF the
crew from iie troop ship to the de-
stroyer or after the transport actually
went down. It was feared, however,
that they either were killed by the
force Of the explosion or were caught
by the thrush of water into the engine
and fire rooms.
The Covington was formerly the
Hamhurg-American liner Cincinnati.
which vas laid up at Boston and was
taken over when the United States
entered the war; She was COS feet
long, of $3.50 gross tonnage and had
a speed of 15h knots an hour.
The Covington is the second of the
great German liners seized at the out
break of the war to be sent down by
GerMany's sea wolves and is the third
American troop ship to be destroyed
All Wee homeward bound. The for
mer Hamburg-American liner Presi-
dent Lincoln was sunk last May 81
and the Antilles. formerly a Morgan
liner. was sent Gcwn last October II.
Officers here believed that the SUBJ
marine was on the surface recharging
its batteries when theRconvoy came
along and that it submerged imme-
diately after dischargins the torpedo
without attempting further attack on
the fleet. The theory that the sub
marine made off in haste would seem
to be borne out by the fact that the
transports crew was transferred to
one of the destroyers without apparent
incident. Some surprise was occa-
stoned by the fact that the submarine
did not return after the fleet had
proceeded and undertake to finish the
sinking of the CovingtOn.
The Covington was the first Ameri-
can transport to be sunk while in con-
voy, President Lincoln and the An
titles having been destroyed when re-
turning home without the protection
Of war craft.