At first her shots fell short, but eventually he got our range and hit us five times. One shot passed through the after-gun platform, through the wood shelter house, through the iron deck, breaking a deck beam, exploding in the hold, and passing out through the side of the ship. One shot exploded in the armed guard's mess room, wrecking the place completely. Two shots exploded in a steam locomotive on deck, doing some damage. One shot hit the stern of the ship, but did not go through. About 11:15 the submarine had our range good again. The ship zigzagged a little, which caused his shots to fall a little to the right or left of our ship. At the same time, I had his range and fired four shells quick at 7,800 yards, causing him to come broadside to and keel over, then suddenly disappeared just as he had our own range good. This leads me to think he did not quit from choice, but from necessity. The engagement lasted two hours and 30 minutes. I fired 92 rounds, and the submarine fired approximately 200. Admiral Wilson highly commended the _Nyanza's_ master, her second officer and the armed guard, while Admiral Sims wrote: "The _Nyanza_ was undoubtedly saved by the prompt work of the ship's personnel and by the efficient work of the guns' crew." The _Navajo_ had a lively encounter with a submarine in the English Channel July 4, 1917, and the court at Havre, which investigated the matter, reported to the French Ministry of Marine that "the fight was very well conducted," the men showing "a very fine spirit, doing honor to the American Navy," and "the conclusion may be drawn that the submarine was hit and probably sunk." Describing the engagement, Chief Boatswain's Mate H. L. Ham reported: On July 4, at 9:20 a. m., heavy gunfire was heard to starboard and shortly afterward the _Navajo_ ran out of the mist and sighted a submarine firing on a British topsail schooner about two miles away. The _Navajo_ changed her course, the fog shut down again and the "sub" was lost sight of. This was about 55 miles northwest of Cape La Hague, France. About 2:55 p. m. the same day the fog lifted and two shots were heard from a point 1,500 yards distant. Upon observation a submarine was seen firing with both guns at the _Navajo_. The first shot dropped 50 yards short on the starboard beam; the second one went over the ship. The _Navajo_ was swung, bringing the submarine about three points on the starboard quarter, and opened fire with her after-gun. The submarine fired about 40 shots during the engagement, which lasted 40 minutes, one of which hit the _Navajo_ underneath the port counter. This shell exploded before hitting the ship and displaced some of the plates, causing the _Navajo_ to leak.