Evening star., 1922-08-27
3 SAILORS MISSING
AS WARSH|P SINKS
French Dreadnaught Goes to
Bottom in Hour After
Striking Rock.
897 men ARE RESCUED
Attempt to Beach Vessel Fails as
Water Pours Into
Hold.
8e7 MEN ARE RESCUED
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press
LORIENT. France, August 26.-The
battleship France, $4,000 tons, one OF
the prides Of the French navy. struck
rock off Quiberon bay in the dark
ness of early morning today and went
to the bottom in seventy-five feet of
water.
All but three of the 900 officers
and men of the crew were rescued
from RATS and lifeboats launched
from the battleship before she took
her final plunge.
The wrecked warship, whicn was
one of four French battleships OF
the nrst line, was returning from
night maneuvers to her anchorage
at Port Haliguen when at o'clock
this morning she ran on a hidden
rock lying twenty-five feet below the
surface. A great cash was torn in
the steel hull Of the dreadnaught.
She remained afloat an hour, giving
the crew enough time for hlrried
| escape in boats Then the doomed
craft slowly settled. turned cn her
side. and went down She lies on the
bottom and is considered total
wreck.
Hits Submerged Rock.
The wreck occurred in the tortuous
! waters of Quiberon bay about twenty
miles southeast of here on the Brit
tany coast. The swift currents
abounding there are supposed to have
f, swept the warShip slightly from her
course. The detection was sufficient,
! however. to carry her sQuarely and
head-on over the pointed rock known
and charted. but dangerously con-
cealed beneath the water in this part
| of the bay. The momentum drove
the huge ship forward onto the rock.
! 1t was hoped at first to dislodse her
! with the help of a side current which
was travelling twelve knots. But this
| proved to be impossible, as the war
ship was pinned solidly on the rock.
| which projected into her hold
| The water rushed into the hold.
! flooding the boilers and short circuit
ing the electricity. The vessel was
in complete darkness. but the night
was bright and clear and the surface
| Of the sea was smooth
| The engine crew quickly took every
| precaution to avoid explosions. They
| closed all compartments and tried
! every emergency measure to keep the
| ship af1oat as long as possible The
officers were unable to do much ma
neuvering with all power gone, but
they managed during the hour before
: the ship sank to steer driftingly
| toward shallow water. hoping to
| beach her.
MtdHWHiie, ere" DeSdn
! ing boats while awaiting help from
her sister dreadnaught. the Paris, and
many torpedo boats and other small
craft which had been asked by wire :
/ less for help.
| Only Three Missing.
I Most of the members of the crew
were kept at their posts until the
! France began settling on the shallow
! rocky bottom alongside the channel
port known as Basse Nouvelie. When
| it was seen that there was no hope
| of the vessels remaining upright
, wireless messages were sent out that
! the crew was about to abandon lhe
| ship. and small boats and life RATS
which had been made ready were
quickly launched.
The crew got off safely before the
dreadnaught slumped over on her side
! and the 900 officers and men anoat
| by other vessels. The rescue re-
/ quired several hours. and a: noon
! today it was announced that fifteen
r, members of the crew were missing.
! Twelve of these were found later, and
final roll call showed that only
! three were lost.
The France and the Paris were the
second pair of dreadnaughts of the
same type built in 1912. Their sister
! ships. the Jean Bart. which success
i fully resisted an Austrian torpedo
! during the war, and the Courbet
! were completed year earlier. These
! four have been considered the back
/ bone of the French navy.
Minister of the Navy Raiberti is on
, his way to the scene of the wreck.