File No. 851.857Su8/30
The Ambassador in France (Sharp) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10 a. m.]
1341. My 1339.1 On return from Toulon naval attaché’s report regarding fragments found in Sussex as follows:
At the French Ministry Marine we were shown the plans of a late type of German mine. We carefully examined these plans with a view to determining [Page 221] whether or not any of these fragments we had found on the Sussex formed any part of such mine. We examined with particular attention not only the interior and exterior portion of the mine proper but also particularly the anchoring gear and other accessories.
We deduced from this examination that neither of the two screw bolts in our possession formed any part of such a mine (see later). Of the remaining 13 fragments we are also agreed that 7 fragments do not form part of a mine. The remaining 6 pieces we are unable to determine definitely whether or not they are fragments of a mine or torpedo or very possibly of some portion of the ship’s cargo.
The foregoing deductions from these plans were confirmed by an examination of somewhat similar plans of a German mine at Boulogne by Major Logan and Lieutenant Logan and Lieutenant Smith on March 27; by an examination of certain pieces of a German mine at Rochefort by Commander Sayles on March 25; and by an examination of a German mine at Toulon on March 31, Sayles, Logan, and Smith.
With the permission of the French Government we proceeded to Toulon where we were permitted to see a captured German torpedo and to have it disassembled in our presence. The two screw bolts in our possession, found on the Sussex by Smith, were stamped on the head as follows: viz., (a) on one surface, K, and on another surface, 56; (b) on one surface, K, and on another surface, 58. These bolts are shaped in the same general way for use on all torpedoes of all countries. They are the bolts used for attaching the war head of the torpedo to the air chamber and also for attaching the after-body to the air chamber. The German torpedo we saw at Toulon was numbered 1804 in white paint, its length was 5 meters, 666 to 450 millimeters. It had stamped on it the additional letters and figures J. P. Z. 57. We were given in addition complete plans of this torpedo. The torpedo that we saw was said to have been built about 15 years ago and was picked up by the French on the beach near Boulogne, April 1915, after it had been discharged by a German submarine at cargo ship. With the exception of the casing of the torpedo head, the entire torpedo, including engine cylinders and fittings, is made out of a bronze composition. The head of this torpedo was attached to the air chamber by 10 screw bolts and 10 screws. This made a total of 20 holes in the circumference of the forward end of the air chamber, each being consecutively numbered from 1 to 20. The screw bolts were set in the even numbered holes whereas the flat-head screws were set in the odd numbered holes. Each screw bolt was numbered with the corresponding numbered hole it occupied and in addition had the letter K on it. These screw bolts are identical in size, shape, and marking with those we had picked up on the Sussex. We have two of these now in our possession which we removed from the torpedo at Toulon. The letter K on the fitting of the head of a torpedo is said to be characteristic of German torpedoes and to represent the German word kopf or head, and this with its number shows at a glance the position of the hole where it is to be placed. While at Toulon we were also permitted to examine similar screw bolts used on British and French torpedoes. These had no letters or numbers and we were informed that they were not so numbered or lettered in either of the services. They were also of a slightly different size. We have one of each of these in our possession. The fact that the numbered pieces we have in our possession are numbered “56 K” and “58 K”, respectively, whereas the highest numbered “K” piece we saw on the torpedo at Toulon was numbered “20 K” leads us to believe that the torpedo from which the screw bolts found on the Sussex came, was of a slightly different model than that on the one at Toulon. The fact of the pieces being numbered, being the same size, and lettered “K” is however very important; and is, to say the least, a very convincing circumstance.
Of the seven fragments that we also agreed upon as forming no part of the mine, four of these we have agreed upon as having formed part of one of the engine cylinders used on a German torpedo. The engine in the German torpedo we saw at Toulon was a three-cylinder reciprocating engine. The four pieces we agreed upon have been carefully compared with not only the drawings but also with the actual engine parts, and are identical in shape and composition. The torpedo which may have hit the Sussex may have been a four-cylinder type in accordance with some of the later models, and likewise some of its outside surfaces may not necessarily be of a bronze composition. We have no fragments that we can positively identify as belonging to the exterior surface of the torpedo. A four-cylinder engine would not necessarily [Page 222] vary much in design in the engine cylinders. The remaining three fragments of the group which we are agreed upon as not forming part of a mine, we agree are parts of the same engine from which the preceding four parts have come. On account of the small size and shape of these pieces, and from the effect of the explosion, we were unable to definitely place their position on either the plans or the engine we saw. We consider these particular fragments, while not constituting as positive and convincing evidence as the screw bolts, to be nevertheless of the greatest possible importance in the consideration of the merits of the case and a very convincing circumstance.
I have directed Sayles and Smith to proceed to England to-night to endeavor to compare the fragments found in the Sussex with German torpedoes of a late type which I understand are in the possession of the British authorities.