New-York tribune., 1921-12-17
Panama Plunges Prov
Into Graham, 5 Miles
Off Sea Girt, and S O S
Call Brings Aid Quickly
lO7 From Canal
Zone on Vessel
None Hurt, but Firemen
on Wrecked U. S. Craft
Are Seriously Wounded

; bound from Cristobal with 107 pas
sengers on board, crashed at full
+ speed into the midship section of the
United States destroyer Graham about
five miles off shore from Sea Girt
n. J.
Six naval men were injured in the crash
They were transferred to the Panu-
ma, which arrived at Quarantine at 2
o'clock this morning. A tug dispatch,
sent from the Navy Yard, met the
steamer and took the injured sailors to
the Naval Hospital, in Brooklyn.
No members of the Panama crew
were injured when her sharp steel bow
plunged into the destroyer on the star
board side, bending her over to port.
the list causing a flood of water to fill
fire room No. l.. Six men at work in the
room were caught without warning and
seriously injured by fragments of Jag
ged steel
Comrades who realized their plight
worked their way into the flooded fire
room and, cropping in the dark, hauled
the helpless sailofMen to the deck. 1t
is believed that the injured men
! on the Graham are In serious condi-
ton, for urgent appeals for surgical
aid were sent by radio from the
Panama and the destroyer to the navy
yard in Brooklyn.
Soon after this call was received
destroyer Seneca and the cutter
Greshank both of the Coast Guard
service.
Holds DpSfrovar IN prow
Captain Oakley, master of the
messages received by the Naval Com
muhication Service, made no effort at
first to withdraw the bow Of his vessel
from the wedge it had made in the de-
stroyer.
1t is presumed that he, feared the
Graham was SO hard hit that she would
sink if she became disengaged from
the stem of his steamship.
At 6:34 p. IN. he sent a message say
ing that he could proceed to port un-
der his own steam as soon as he could
"cut free" from the Graham. Again, at
7:45 p M, he informed Edward A.
Drake, head of the Panama Railroad
Company, that, the destroyer was. still
lying easily on the bow of the Panama
awaiting the wrecking tugs Willard
and |. j. Merritt, Of the Merritt Chap
man Wrecking Company, to take her in
tow and support her in the event of her
filling.
Captain Oakley said that he had
taken aboard most of the crew of the
destroyer and six men who were seri-
ously injured, and had asked the navy
yard to send surgical aid to them as
, quickly as possible. The Panama, he
said was taking no water and his LOT
passengers were in no danger.
Help Starts at Once
The collision demonstrated in unus-
ual fashion the speed and efficacy of
in time of danger. The vessels came
together at 500 p. m. and five minutes
later two tugs of the Merritt Chap
man Wrecking Company were steaming
down the Narrows on their way to the
damaged vessels.
The first call for help, which was
triple S o S, was picked up the out
bound Panama liner General George w
Goethals, which left port at p. m. on
her way to Cristobal 1t was also heard
here by the Independent Wireless and
Naval Communications.
Captain Foster caught it, and after
getting the Panama's position changed
his course and proceeded at full speed
| to give assistance.
Following the triple S o S the oper-
ator on the Panama sent out a mes
sage to all ships saying that the
Panama was in collision and wanted
immediate assistance.
At 5:45 the Graham got message
through on her own wireless advising
the navy yard of the collision and Civ
ing her position At 5:55 p. m. the
Coast Guard cutter Gresham, which
had picked up the call, informed the
Panama that she was on her way to give
aid and expected to be standing by
about $3.50 p. m.
The radios sent out within five min
utes were more urgent than the subse-
quent messages, for at that time the
extent of the damage to both vessels
was not known. 1t was thought at frs
that both would have to be beached.
Up to late last night nothing cam'
through in the way of messages tina
would indicate how they came together
Marine observers along the coast re
ported fair, clear weather. 1T Il
thought that the low visibility OF th'
destroyer and her war gray paint made
it difficult for those on the bridge o
the Panama to observe her as she spec
by them. Nevertheless. it is supposed
her sailing lights could have been OBJ
served from the bridge of the Panama
At midnight the Naval Communica
ton Service received radio from thu
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