Talk:SS Lesbian (1915)

A fact from SS Lesbian (1915) appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 1 April 2009 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that German seamen forced a lesbian to go down during the First World War, and the French did the same during the Second World War?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2009/April.

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Co-ordinates[edit]

The coordinates as given suggest that Lesbian was sunk in the Sahara Desert. I'm guessing, but this might not be wholly accurate.--Jackyd101 (talk) 23:36, 1 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps it's not right, but it's about verifiability, not truth, right? ;) The coordinates in the article are what are in the source (i.e. no typos), but since they are probably wrong, I've removed them. — Bellhalla (talk) 02:17, 2 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Good call, although perhaps we're wrong and Lesbian was actually a very big aquacar.--Jackyd101 (talk) 12:09, 2 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Verifiability[edit]

Using the wonders of Google Books I found what appear to be the correct coordinates. I also found an account of the sinking of Lesbian in Cornford. The Merchant Seamen in the War. pp. 180-183:

http://books.google.com/books?id=F2dHAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA180&dq=Lesbian+1917+sunk

http://icanhide.com/index.php?q=aHR0cDovL2Jvb2tzLmdvb2dsZS5jb20vYm9va3M/aWQ9RjJkSEFBQUFJQUFKJnBnPVBBMTgwJmRxPUxlc2JpYW4rMTkxNytzdW5r

One of those links ought to work for someone. The book was published in 1918 which helps explain why it was assumed to be an Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian submarine which sank Lesbian. The account of the crew is interesting, as it also helps judge the number of crew aboard (37 I should think). --Simon Harley (talk | library | book reviews) 07:36, 2 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Great find, Simon. About the Austro-Hungarian v/ German sub thing: When German submarines first appeared and began operating in the Mediterranean, Germany and Italy were not at war, even though Austria-Hungary and Italy were. So, the German subs operating in the Mediterranean were also assigned an A-H number and A-H flags for use when making attacks. In this case the number was the same, so U-35 (Austria- Hungary) = U-35 (Germany), no matter which flag it was flying. It's confusing now, nearly a hundred years later, never mind in the midst of a war… — Bellhalla (talk) 10:16, 2 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]