File No. 841.857M331/51
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain (Page)
4116. Your 5807, October 30.1 Report of the German Government on the sinking of the Marina, which the Department has [Page 314] received, states steamer was painted gray, displayed no flag, and had a wooden superstructure on deck for the transportation of horses similar to those he had observed in use in the Dardanelles operations, and that the Marina was actually used as a horse-transport steamer in the service of the British Government.
Please ascertain officially and definitely as to whether Marina was in any way in the service of the British Government at time of sinking, and if so, how long she had been in such service, and if not, when she ceased to be in the British service. Was it customary for her to be in the service of the British Government while transporting horses from the United States to Europe and in private use on the home voyage? Was she coming to the United States to take another ship-load of horses to Europe?
- Not printed.↩