With their nets deployed, the trawlers could not quickly escape. Four were damaged, six fishermen were wounded, and one of the wounded later died. The captain and first mate of Crane were killed when the trawler sank. Seven Russian battleships also bombarded the cruisers Aurora and Dmitrii Donskoi as rumors of torpedo hits and Japanese boarders spread through the squadron. Some sailors put on life vests and lay on deck, while others drew cutlasses and fought members of their own crews. The battleship Oryol reportedly fired roughly 500 shells without hitting a target. A blue-light signal finally stopped the firing after about twenty minutes. Panic had turned faulty identification into civilian casualties, friendly fire, false damage reports, and a collapse of command coherence.
Chapter · 8:39-10:32
Casualties, friendly fire, and panic
Russian gunfire sinks the trawler Crane, wounds fishermen, hits Russian cruisers, and triggers false reports of torpedo strikes and boarding parties.