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Show MERCHANTMEN BUTTLE FLEET OFSUBIflES One U-Boat Is Sunk Off French Coast and Two Steamers Probably ! Are Lost. ! DETAILS OF FIGHT ARE NOT RECEIVED One American Vessel Believed Be-lieved to Have Been in Flotilla Attacked by Germans. NEW YORK, Sept. 11. Reports indicating that the American steamship Susana, a vessel of 3613 tons gross register, which left here August V for Genoa, has teen sunk by a submarine were re-coived re-coived in shipping circles today. Records here show that she carried a crew of thirty-seven, of whom nine claimed American citizenship. WASIUXGTON, Sept. 11. A typo-graphical typo-graphical orror in transcribing a statement state-ment for, the press toilay from an official of-ficial report to the navy department mado it appear tliatix German submarines sub-marines probably had been sunk off iho French coast when they attacked a fleet of merchantmen, including at least one American vessel. Tho facts : arc, so far as is known tonight, that ono submarine probably was destroyed and two or the steamors went down. ; A corrected statement was issued by , Secretary Daniels. The department has only a meager account of tho fight and additional do-tails do-tails have been asked for by cablo. The report came from the American tanker Westwcgo through Paris, the vessel apparently having reached a French port after the fight. The names and nationality of the two 6hips were not given. Tbe Westwcgo, an armed vessel, was ou route to Europe, and from the fact that she was cruising in company with other merchant craft, navy officers assumed as-sumed that the fleet was under convoy con-voy of naval vessels, probably of American destroyers. The tanker reported re-ported September 8, tho fight having occurred September 5. The brief statement state-ment received from Paris said that six submarines had made a massed attack on tho merchant flotilla, that two of the steamers wero sunk and that ono 'of the submarines probably was lost. Report in Error. In preparing for the press in the bureau of operations of the navy department de-partment a statement of the contests of tho dispatch it was announced that ' all ' 1 of the six submarines probably had been lost. Later, on chocking the message and statement issued to the press, it was found that the word was "one' in the dispatch. v The fact that the submarines attacked at-tacked the merchant, fleet in such force led to the conclusion that the German commander erroneously thought he had to deal with troop transports or with army supply ships. Secretary Daniels late today issued the following statement: My attention has just been called to a serious prror made in transcribing tho report to. the press this morning exactly as it. was presented pre-sented to mo, stating that "two of tho steamers, attacked were sunk and probably all of the submarines sub-marines were lo-t. ' ' The cablegram cable-gram L now "find stated that "one" of the submarines probably was lost. Built by Germans. The Westwcgo, an oil tank Fteamer, was hniit in Germany in 1914 for Rumanian Ru-manian ar-roLint, under the name of the Steaua Humana. Later ln-r registry was ('hanged to American and aiter-wrd aiter-wrd her name was made Westwcgo. The vessel wan of :'AK)'J tons and carried car-ried a crow of forty -two. Latest reports re-ports show she was i ti an A merit' an port August 8 and later sailed on a transatlantic voyage, commanded by Captain Mulcoy. it was announced recently that a policy of convoying fleets of merchant ships across tho Atlantic had been adopted, and since the Westwcgo and the other merchant craft which were the objects of tho submarines' attack were bound for Europe, it is regarded as more than probable that American warships guarded the merchant ships on the way across. American warships all have been equipped with depth bombs for fighting fight-ing submarines. This weapon has been highly perfected by American ordnance experts and pro vet I very deadly. Similar Experience. The Westwcgo had an experience with a German submarine before the United States entered the war, having been attacked by one -January 1, last, while off the coast of England. She was proceeding from an American port with a cargo of oil for Europe when a submarine fired five shots at her from astern. The Westwcgo 's captain, J. S. Mul-coy, Mul-coy, brought h js vessel to a stop and sent a boat with his papers, whereupon tho German submarine commander demanded de-manded a supplv of oil, threatening to sink tho ship if his demands were not complied with. The submarine commander com-mander also demanded that tho vessel's $1,000,000 cargo of gasoline be thrown overboard, saying he vyould give Captain Cap-tain Mulcoy until the next morning to comply. Four barrels of cylinder oil were sent to the submarine and the Westwcgo proceeded. She bhw no more of the submarine. |