The destroyer's commander, David W. Bagley, noted in his official account of the sinking, that about 30 minutes after the Jacob Jones sank, the German U-boat U-53, commanded by Hans Rose, surfaced about two to three miles from the rafts and took one of the American sailors on board. According to the Uboat.net site, the Germans took on board two badly injured American sailors.
In addition, Hans Rose radioed the American base at Queenstown with the approximate coordinates of the sinking before departing the area. That was a very nice thing to do.
Bagley, unaware of Hans Rose's humanitarian gesture,left most of the food, water and medical supplies with Lieutenant Commander John W. Richards, whom he left in charge of the rafts. Then he, the Jacob Jones' executive officer, Norman Scott and four crewmen and rowed to the nearby Isles of Scilly for aid.
At 13:00 on 7 December, they were spotted by a British patrol vessel just six nautical miles from their destination. They were relieved to hear that the British sloop HMS Camellia had found and taken aboard most of the Jones' survivors earlier that morning. In addition, a small group had also been rescued on the night of the sinking by the American steamer Catalina.
--Cooter
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