chards, the gunnery officer, rushed aft to attempt to set the charges
on "safe," but was unable to get further aft than the after deck house.

[Sidenote: Impossible to use radio.]

As soon as the torpedo struck I attempted to send out an "S. O. S."
message by radio, but the mainmast was carried away, 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.

[Sidenote: Confidential publications are weighted and thrown overboard.]

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 rafts. Weighted confidential publications were thrown over
the side. There was no time to destroy other confidential matter, but it
went down with the ship.

[Sidenote: Men jump overboard.]

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 struck.

[Sidenote: The ship sinks stern first. Depth charges explode.]

Before the ship sank two shots were fired from No. 4 gun with the hope
of attracting attention of some nearby ship. As the ship began sinking
I jumped overboard. The ship sank stern first and twisted slowly through
nearly 180 degrees as she swung upright. From this nearly vertical
position, bow in the air to about the forward funnel, 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, including Lieutenant Kalk and myself and several men, some of
whom are still disabled but recoveri