From: Everette (194cbteng@bellsouth.net)
Date: Sun Feb 05 2006 - 03:49:04 PST
February 5
1918 U.S. steamship Tuscania is torpedoed and sinks
On February 5, 1918, the Anchor line steamship Tuscania, traveling as part
of a British convoy and transporting over 2,000 American soldiers bound for
Europe, is torpedoed and sinks off the coast of Ireland by the German
submarine U-77.
The German submarine U-77, with its crew of 34 men under the command of
Lieutenant Commander Wilhelm Meyer, spotted the Tuscania and its convoy on
the evening of February 5, just eight miles off the Irish coast. After
moving into position, Meyer fired two torpedoes at the Tuscania. The first
torpedo missed, but the second torpedo scored a direct hit on the starboard
side, causing a terrific explosion. The 14,384-ton steamer immediately took
a great list and crewmembers were plunged into darkness as they began
lowering lifeboats into the sea. Of the 2,397 American servicemen on the
Tuscania, the convoy was able to rescue 2,187, along with the majority of
the ship's British crew.
Of the 1.1 million American troops transported in convoy to Europe between
May 1917 and November 1918, only 637 were drowned as a result of U-boat
attacks.
Everette
Deo adiuvante
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