“I PICKED that shell right up as it came out of the gun—I saw it go
through the air in its flight, and I saw it strike a foot in front of
that periscope!”
That is the way Lieut. Bruce R. Ware, Jr., U. S. N., who commanded
the gun crew of the steamship _Mongolia_, told of the first American
shot fired in the war at a German submarine. He related the story at
a testimonial dinner given to him and to Capt. Emery Rice, of the
_Mongolia_, upon the arrival of the steamship at New York. The dinner
was attended by many persons prominent in business, steamship, and
naval circles, some having traveled hundreds of miles to be present.
As reported by the New York _Times_, Lieutenant Ware told the story as
follows:
At 5:21 the chief officer walked out on the port bridge. The captain
and myself were on our heels looking out through the port. I saw the
chief officer turn around, and you could have seen the whole ocean
written in his face, and his mouth that wide (indicating), and he could
not get it out. He finally said: “My God, look at that submarine!”
The captain gripped my arm and said: “What is that?” I said: “It is a
submarine, and he has got up.”
I followed the captain out on the bridge and I looked at my gun crews.
They were all agape. The lookout was all agape. I threw in my starboard
control and I said: “Captain, zigzag.” I did not tell him which way to
go. We had that all doped out. The captain starboarded his helm and the
ship turned to port and we charged him (the _U_-boat) and made him go
under. I went up on top of the chart house with my phones on, and I had
a long, powerful glass, ten power. Right underneath it I always lashed
my transmitter, so that where I was my transmitter went, and I didn’t
have to worry or hunt for it. It was always plugged in, and I said:
“No. 3 gun, after gun, train on the starboard quarter, and when you see
a submarine and periscope or conning tower, report.”
The gun crew reported control. “We see it—no, no—it has gone. There
it is again.” I picked it up at that moment with my high-powered
glass, and I gave them the range—1,000 yards. Scale 50. She was about
800 yards away from us. I gave the order, “No. 3 gun, fire, commence
firing.”
I had my glasses on them, gentlemen, and I saw that periscope come up.
“No. 3 gun, commence firing, fire, fire, fire.” And they did, and I
picked that shell right up as it came out of the gun—a black, six-inch
explosive shell. I saw it go through the air in its flight, and I saw
it strike the water eight inches—a foot—in front of that periscope and
it went into the conning tower. I saw that periscope go end over end,
whipping through that water, and I saw plates go off his conning tower,
and I saw smoke all over the scene where we had hit the enemy.
When Captain Rice was called upon for a speech he said:
“Gentlemen, I’d much rather take the _Mongolia_ through the war zone
than make a speech. All I will say is that I am ready to go again, and
I hope I have another chance at a _U_-boat.”