Bisbee Daily Review/1917/04/03/U. S. Armed Steamer Aztec Sunk Off France By German U-Boat
U. S. ARMED STEAMER AZTEC SUNK OFF FRANCE BY GERMAN U-BOAT; MANY AMERICAN SAILORS MISSING
NEW YORK, April 2.—The steamship Aztec, first armed American merchant vessel to sail from a port on this side of the Atlantic, was sunk last night by a German submarine off an island near Brest, France. The cable message from the American consul at Brest to her owners, the Oriental Navigation Company, gave no indication as to the fate of her crew. An Associated Press dispatch from Paris said, however, that while some of the men aboard the Aztec were rescued, a number of them were missing and probably had perished.
The Aztec, under command of Captain Walter O'Brien, was manned by a crew of seventeen, including the captain, were American citizens.
The Aztec's owners believe she had no chance to fight because she was sunk at 9:15 p. m. in a heavy sea. The vessel was armed with two 5-inch guns, one forward and one aft, manned by naval gunners, under command of a warrant officer.
The Aztec, a slow moving freighter of 3277 gross tonnage, steamed from New York for Havre March 18 with a full cargo of food stuff and general supplies valued at more than $500,000. She was due at Havre tomorrow and probably was less than 100 miles from that port when torpedoed.
PARIS. April 2.—French patrol picked up 19 of the crew of the Aztec. Twenty-eight men are reported missing.
WASHINGTON, April 2.—French adfiralty dispatches to the French embassy here tonight announcing the sinking without warning of the first armed American merchant ship, the freighter Aztec, by a German submarine, said apparently Lieut. Fuller. Gresham and 12 American bluejackets constituting the armed guard of the vessel, had been saved, but all 12 firemen were reported missing.
The guard with the captain and three other members of the crew in the second boat to put off apparently were picked up by the French patrol boat Sirrius after three hours. Eleven men are thought to have been drowned when the first boat to put off was smashed. The third boat, containing the second officer and 18 men, is not directly accounted for, but the fact that only 11 are reported missing, leads to the belief that it must have been picked up.
The admiralty report said the Aztec, bound from New York to Havre was torpedoed without warning yesterday off Ouessant. The torpedo struck squarely amidships, emitting a powerful gas and putting the wireless out of commission.
Officials said the disaster would not affect the policy of arming ships, which will be continued in the most efficient manner possible. Secretary Daniels declined to make public the list of naval officers and gunners who manned the two five-inch guns placed fore and aft on the Aztec.
"Until the survivors are listed and the department is officially advised concerning those whose lives may be lost," he said. "I will not announce the naval personnel of the Aztec."