The fire from the submarine now became more rapid, but was not always
effective, as Captain Parslow, heedless of the shells which were
dropping and bursting all round the vessel, kept the quartermaster
at the wheel constantly working his helm so as to keep the submarine
almost directly astern of us, thereby making the ship as small a target
as possible. Momentarily, however, the submarine drew nearer and the
shell-fire more and more deadly. Almost every shot now found its mark,
striking the vessel at various points on the quarters and round the
stern. Forsaking the wireless, their aim was now evidently the rudder
or propeller, so as to totally disable us and thus have the vessel at
their mercy.
When the firing first commenced our crew, including the horse
attendants, and numbering about a hundred and fifty all told, had been
warned to be ready to go to their boat-stations at a moment's notice in
case of emergency, and consequently everybody, with the exception of
the engineers and firemen working below, was now on deck.
No signs of panic were shown until a shell, bursting amidships, killed
three of the horsemen. Then a rush was made for the starboard after
lifeboats, and men began scrambling into and overloading them. The
result would have been disastrous if the captain, drawing my attention
to it, had not ordered me to go and threaten to shoot anyone who did
not immediately come out and wait until orders were given for the boats
to be lowered.
This had the desired effect, quelling the panic for the time being.
The submarine--she was the "U 39," we noticed--was now only about five
or six hundred yards astern, and our case began to look hopeless.
Not once, however, did the captain waver from his intention never to
surrender. His coolness and courage were remarkable, and went a long
way to inspire confidence in those under him.
The shells were now bursting all over the vessel and playing havoc with
the deck structures. They tore through the horse-fittings, killing
numbers of the unfortunate horses, and also wounded several of the men,
who were now clustered in groups near the boats.
Just at this moment a signal to us to "abandon ship" was observed
flying from the submarine, and the firing suddenly ceased, the
intention apparently being to give us time to get into the boats and
leave the vessel. This, however, our captain had no intention of
doing, and after hastily consulting the chief engineer and myself he
decided to get as many of the crew away from the ship as possible, as
they were in imminent danger of being killed by the bursting shells.
The remainder of us were to stand by him and keep the ship going until
the very last.
The man at the wheel was sent to take his place in the boats, and the
majority of the crew were ordered to do the same.
The firemen--who had up to this moment been working below--now came on
deck, and made a rush for the boats before the order was given. Driving
them out at the muzzles of our revolvers, we persuaded them to keep
cool and wait until they were told to take their places.
These firemen, who were Arabs, were now thoroughly frightened, and
would on no account return to the stokehold, though the captain offered
£20 to any man who would do so.
During the time the firing ceased--which was not more than five
minutes--we got the port after lifeboat away, full of men, and were
preparing to lower the others when we received a wireless message from
the patrol steamer, saying that they could see the smoke from our
funnel. They told us to keep going, and to hold the submarine at bay
as long as possible, as they were coming towards us with all possible
speed.
It was at this moment that the captain shouted to the firemen to return
to the stokehold, offering, as already stated, £20 to any man who would
do so, but this they refused to do.
The chief and second engineers, with the donkeyman, nobly responded to
the captain's request, and immediately rushed down to the stokehold and
engine-room, where they worked like Trojans to get as much steam as
possible to keep the vessel going.
As soon as it became apparent to those on the submarine that we were
not going to give in they commenced firing again, and with deadly
effect, for the boat was now only about a hundred yards behind us.
One of the shells, bursting directly behind the funnel, struck the
davit of the after lifeboat, which was now full of men and in the very
act of being lowered. It severed the tackle, causing the boat to drop
into the water, where it capsized, throwing all its occupants into the
sea.
Another shell, fired almost directly afterwards, struck the davit of
the port forward boat, cutting it completely in half. The boat, which
was hanging in the tackle with seven men in it, was blown almost to
fragments and nearly all its occupants killed.
There now only remained one boat fit for use, the other two remaining
ones being too badly damaged to put into the water. This boat was now
manned and rapidly lowered over the side, with the chief steward in
charge; and it was chiefly due to his skilful handling that she finally
got away clear of the ship, as she was in danger of being smashed to
pieces by the now rapidly-revolving propeller as she floated astern.