The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1918-07-11
BIG TRANSPORT
SUNK BY U,BOAT
Former Liner Sent Down on
Homeward Voyage
THE THIRD TRANSPORT SUNK
Six OF Crew Are Missing-No Army
Personnel Or Passengers
Aboard coving-
tom

WaSnlnStOn.-In American army
transport Covington homeward 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
been landed at French port. No
amy personnel or passengers were
aboard
The Navy Departments announce
ment Of the torpedoing of the Covng
ton said none OF the officers and men
landed was seriously injured" Ap-
parently some of them were hurt, but
the number probably was not given
in Vice-Admiral Sims dispatch.
The Coyington was struck, while
proceeding with a fleet Of other trans
ports, conveyed by destroyers. The
submarine was not sighted.
THE torpedo struck just forward OF
the engine room bulkheads," said the
Navy Departments announcement,
"and the engine room and fire room
we're 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 destroyer The
submarine was not seen.
"At daybreak, the captain, several
officers and a number Of members Of
the crew returned to supervise salyag-
ing operations. Another vessel and
two tugs took the Covington in tow
in the effort to get her to port, but
she was too badly damaged to keep
afoat and sank
There was no explanation by the
department as to whether the six men
were missing after the transfer Of the
crew from the troop ship to the de-
stroyer or after the transport actually
went down. II was feared, howevcr,
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
Hamburg-American liner Cincinnati,
which was laid up at Boston and was
taken over when the United States
entered the war She was sos feet
long, of 6339 gross tonnage and had
a speed OF 151S 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
Ge"many's sea wolves and is the third
American troop ship to be destroyed.
All were homeward bound. The for.
mer Hemburg.Amercan liner Presi.
dent Lincoln was sunk last May 81
and the Antilles, formerly Morgan
linor. was sent down last October II.
Officers here believed that the sub.
marine was on the surface recharging
its batteries when the convoy came
along and that 1t submerged imme.
dia'elv after discharginC the torpedo
without attempting further attack on
the feet. 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 feet had
proceeded and undertake'to finish the
sinlting Of the Covington.
The Covington was the first Ameri-
can transport to be sunk while In con.
vov. President Lincoln and the An.
TILES having been destroyed when re.
turning home without the protection
of war craft