COLLISION IN THE SOLENT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9076, 28 April 1908, Page 5

COLLISION IN THE SOLENT.

MAN-OP-WAR RUN DOWN.

THREE OF THE GREW

DROWNED.

Received April 27, 8.11 .a.m.

, LONDON, April .26. When the blizzard was .at its height, on Saturday afternoon,'the American liner St. Pawl, outward bound from Southampton, .crushed in the port side of the cruiser Gladiator, off Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. The Gladiator heeled over, and was beached in about twenty minutes. The Admiralty report that the.craw, landed safely, except three, who were drowned. A lieutenant lis.missfhe St. Paul sustained lifefcle.damage, her bow plates were buckled. She returned to Southampton.

SPLENDID DICIPLINE OF 'JEHE WARHIP' CREW..

Received April 27, 05 a.m. LONDON, April 26. i Captain Lumndan was the last .to, leave th& Gladiator. Splendid discipline was .shown >.tjy; the crew. The men stood toiquar-, ters, and only leapt overboard when; the sea threatened to engulf them.. When the vessel capsized all hands! climbed on to the bottom, which was! out of the water. A passenger on the St. Hani reports that he heard the sailors on the overturned keel sing "Sons ,of the Brave." HOW THE COtLISION OCCURRED.

A LIEUTENANT AND THIRTY HANDS MISSING.

Received April 27, 11.58 p.m. LONDON, April 27. The Gladiator was returning from Portland to Spithead in a blinding snowstorm. When steaming past Port Victoria she was well -inside the first point and was going at a speed of ten knots. She sighted the St. Paul approaching rather faster. About two hundred yards away the hner gave orders to reverse the engines . full speed astern, but the collision was unavoidable, and the liner's bow crashed into the Gladiator on the starboard side nearly amidships, cutting into her up to her centre line, and into the engine room. The liner went astern and the cruiser began to list heavily. She steamed for the beach, taking ground about four hundred yards from the ahore, and then turned completely on tthe starboard side, her stern being almost dead ashore. When she heeled a number of the crew jumped into the water. Others were thrown iinto ths water, and tried to swi,m ashore The rest of the crew clanvibered over to the port side, which was standing well out of the water, tandrpmained thereuntil rescued by boats. An inrush of the sea into the boiler room followed the liner's backing: out. Some say that the inrush (Of vwater caused the boiler to explode, scalding and injuring many. The closing Of the watertight doors -prevented the foundering of the (Gladiator. With four boilera and .the engines working at high pressure 'tshe got close into the shorn, '.before she became unmanageable. A.stoker below at the time states tbhat the first warning was the crash i <af !.thp ( liner's bow into the messroom, killing a man on the spar. The'crew displayed perfect discipline,, iQuietly awaiting their turn to 'he taken ashore. The St. Paul's atem was injured both over and below water. It is known that six of thfi'.Qladiator's crew were drowned or .died from injuries received. Six more of the injured are in the hospital. Liemenant Graves and thirty hands are missing. The St. faul had 500 passengers on board. The'GladS«tor is on a soft bottom, and is in a ebeltcred position. It is expucted that the salvage operations will be successful. The crew, numbered 300. It is feared that the missing have perished.