THE SLOWLY SINKING SHIP.
"The ship settled aft immediately after being torpedoed to a point at which the deck just forward of the after deck house was awash, and then, more gradually, until the deck abreast the engine room hatch was awash. A man on watch in the engine room attempted to close the water-tight door between the auxiliary room and the engine room, but was unable to do so against the pressure of water from the auxiliary room. The deck over the forward part of the after crew space and over the fuel oil tanks just forward of it was blown clear for a space athwartships of about twenty feet from starboard to port, and the auxiliary room was wrecked. The starboard after torpedo tube was blown into the air. No fuel oil ignited and apparently no ammunition exploded.
"The depth charges in the chutes aft were set on ready and exploded after the stern sank. It was impossible to get to them to set on safe as they were under the water.
"As soon as the torpedo struck, it was attempted to send out an S.O.S. message by radio, but the mainmast was carried away and antennae falling and all electric power had failed. I then tried to have the gun sight lighting batteries connected up in an effort to send out a low power message with them, but it was at once evident that this would not be practicable before the ship sank. There was no other vessel in sight, and it was therefore impossible to get through a distress signal of any kind. Immediately after the ship was torpedoed every effort was made to get rafts and boats launched. Also, the circular life belts from the bridge and several splinter mats from the outside of the bridge were cut adrift and afterwards proved very useful in holding men up until they could be got to the raft.
STRUGGLING MEN IN THE WATER.
"The ship sank about 4:29 P.M. (about eight minutes after being torpedoed). As I saw her settling rapidly, I ran along the deck and ordered everybody I saw to jump overboard. At this time, most of those not killed by the explosion had got clear of the ship and were on rafts or wreckage. Some, however, were swimming and a few appeared to be about a ship's length astern of the ship, at some distance from the rafts, probably having jumped overboard very soon after the ship was torpedoed.
"Before the ship sank, two shots were fired from No. 4 gun with the hope of attracting the attention of some nearby ship. As the ship began sinking I jumped overboard. The ship sank stern first and twisted slowly through nearly one hundred and eighty degrees as she swung upright. From this nearly vertical position, bow in the air, to about the forward point, she went straight down. Before the ship reached the vertical position the depth charges exploded, and I believe them to have caused the death of a number of men. They also partially paralyzed, stunned, or dazed a number of others, some of whom are still disabled.
SAFEGUARDING THE SURVIVORS.
"Immediate efforts were made to get all survivors on the rafts and then get the rafts and boats together. Three rafts were launched before the ship sank and one floated off when she sank. The motor dory, hull undamaged but engine out of commission, also floated off and the punt and wherry also floated clear. The punt was wrecked beyond usefulness and the wherry was damaged and leaking badly, but was of considerable use in getting men to the rafts. The whale boat was launched but capsized soon afterwards, having been damaged by the explosion of the depth charges. The motor sailor did not float clear, but went down with the ship.
"About fifteen or twenty minutes after the ship sank, the submarine appeared on the surface about two or three miles to the westward of the raft, and gradually approached until about eight hundred or one thousand yards from the ship, where it stopped and was seen to pick up one unidentified man from the water. The submarine then submerged and was not seen again.