File No. 841.857P43/34a
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Turkey (Philip)
1786. Department is advised that December 30, 1915, about 300 miles northwest of Alexandria and about 40 miles southeast of Crete, the British steamer Persia, of the P. & O. Line, carrying a 4.7 [-inch] gun was sunk without warning by an explosion on the port side amidships caused by a torpedo, the wake of which was seen immediately before the ship was struck, and that the vessel sank in a few minutes so that only a small number of the ship’s boats could be launched. As a result of the sinking of the vessel two or more American citizens (one an American consul en route to Aden) lost their lives.
Please bring this matter formally to attention of the Turkish Government with the request to be informed as to whether the Persia was sunk by a submarine carrying the Turkish flag or operating under the instructions of the Turkish Government.
The Department has been advised by Germany and Austria-Hungary that the reports from their submarines have been received and there is no record of their sinking any vessel corresponding to the description of the Persia, but Department believes that the vessel was torpedoed and sunk by a submarine.