Suddenly shot from forward gun hit just in front of periscope, making it submerge, and a light blue smoke came up from astern of the submarine. Periscope appeared again, range now 600 yards, when a shot from the after-gun hit it square on the water line, making small bits of steel fly, which may have been bursting of shell, and causing a great commotion of bubbles, etc., in the water.
In the meanwhile the captain, seeing the submarine getting closer all the time and expecting another torpedo any second, ordered all engineers on deck, causing the ship to be absolutely still in the water during most of the firing. Hoisted in all boats, laying to from 6:30 until 9:05 p. m., seeing no more of submarine, which was apparently either sunk or badly damaged.
"It seems certain that the submarine was either sunk or disabled," Lieutenant Commander Foster wrote in the ship's log, which gave every detail of the encounter.
On June 8, 1917, when the steamship W. H. Tilford was off Spezia Bay, Italy, a periscope was sighted, 1,500 yards off the starboard beam. Twenty rounds were fired rapidly from the ship's gun, the armed guard commander reported; and "the submarine came to the surface and made for the beach," where an Italian torpedo boat took charge of her.
Off the Spanish coast, two or three miles from Sabinal Point, the Chincha at 7:25, the morning of January 18, 1918, sighted an object like an enormous whale. Chief Gunner's Mate E. E. Nordquist, commanding the armed guard, had a good look at it and decided it was one of the latest type submarines. In his report, he said:
I commenced firing, range 2,200 yards. After third shot all shots fired were good. Fired 10 shots, when submarine disappeared. At 8:15 submarine again showed itself about 2,000 yards off our starboard quarter. Commencing firing fifth shot, which caused an explosion and a volume of black smoke was seen. Submarine now turned around and headed away from us. As submarine did not dive, I continued the fire. Although nearly all shots seemed to hit, but five exploded. The fourth explosion caused another volume of black smoke. The submarine did not try to dive, but seemed to be trying to come up. As I thought she was trying to come up for shell fire at us, I kept on firing.
The submarine now headed for the beach about 1-1/2 miles away; 29 shots had been fired at her the second time. One of the last shots had hit and exploded close, or at, where her propellers were churning. As she was heading for the beach and quite a ways off, I ceased firing. The bow swells of the submarine could still be seen, but the churn of the propellers had ceased. Shortly all disappeared, about 4,000 yards away.
On March 21, the Chincha, whose armed guard was then commanded by E. D. Arnold, chief boatswain's mate, encountered a large type submarine, which was driven off. But one of its shots struck the vessel, killing one member of the armed guard, and two of the ship's crew.
El Occidente had an exciting fight on February 2, the armed guard commander, Chief Boatswain's Mate Dow Ripley, reporting that the ship was apparently attacked by two submarines. One discharged a torpedo, then came toward the vessel with a rush. The Navy gunners got the range, Ripley reported, and "as their shots were hitting on top of her, she suddenly disappeared, acting as if in distress."
When the Santa Maria was torpedoed, February 25, Chief Boatswain's Mate John Weber and his armed guardsmen stood at the guns until the water swept around them. Chief Gunner's Mate Joseph E. Reiter and the gunners on the Paulsboro, when that vessel was attacked, held their posts while shells burst above and shrapnel fell all around them, drove off the U-boat and saved the ship.