On July 29, 1916 the Letimbro was sailing from Benghazi to Syracuse, Sicily when the U-39 shelled and torpedoed her. Of at least 208 people aboard, 52 survived. Other sources do not include the 80+ soldiers among the 150 passengers, increasing the number of people aboard to at least 288 and the number of victims to at least 236.
LETIMBRO SUNK; OVER 50 KILLED
Shells of Attacking Submarine Shatter Lifeboats.
RAIDER'S NATIONALITY IN DOUBT
Teutons Apparently Are Pushing New Submarine Crusade--
Eighteen Ships Destroyed in 36 Hours
Eighteen Ships Destroyed in 36 Hours
London, Aug. 5. A Rome dispatch says:
"More than fifty persons, most of them passengers, perished when the Italian mail steamship Letimbro was sunk by a submarine in the Mediterranean, according to the latest reports available.
"The bombardment of the vessel while the passengers and sailors were taking to the boats was declared in high quarters to be a violation of the pledge that Germany made to the United States to wage its submarine warfare in the future with due regard for the safety of non-combatants. It is not yet known whether the submarine which bombarded the Letimbro was of German or Austrian nationality, but it is expected that the United States will order an investigation.
"That the Letimbro tried to escape was not denied in the reports received, but they asserted that the loss of life occurred after the steamship had been overtaken, had come to a stop and was putting all on board into small boats. One of the messages giving meager details stated that two of these boats were shattered by the submarine's fire."
Twenty-eight survivors have arrived at Malta, says a Reuter dispatch from that place. Two boatloads of survivors have also started at Syracuse.
The Letimbro carried a crew of fifty-seven and her passengers numbered 118.
Survivors report that a submarine was observed at a distance of about 6000 yards. It fired a warning shot and then gave chase, firing continuously for half an hour. It finally overtook the Letimbro, which had begun to lower boats.
"The submarine," adds the dispatch, "continued its bombardment, smashing five boats, the occupants of which perished. Some of the survivors say many were killed by shellfire."
