The ship's Armed Guard ordered the machine guns to be turned on the torpedo racing towards them. "Newport"s merchant seamen loading the guns lost their nerve and scrambled to the ship's port side. One gunner remained at his post, directing bullets at the torpedo; but these were deflected by the water. The torpedo slammed into the ship's engine-room, tearing a gaping hole and knocking the steering gear out of action with an enormous explosion. The helpless ship was yawing out of control across the sixth and seventh columns of the convoy, narrowly missing collisions with other ships, before she lurched round in the opposite direction to that of the convoy and slowed to a standstill. The surviving ships rolled past her, and the convoy sped on in the fog. "Christopher Newport" (code-number in the convoy, 'Penway' ) wirelessed the leading ship : 'Hit by aerial torpedo.' The Convoy Commander, Jack Broome, ordered "Ledbury", and to '... take all possible action to keep U-boats down.' "Ledbury" was one of the ships chosen to stay behind to tend to, and if necessary scuttle, the torpedoed ship and they themselves could have been an easy target to any submarines; however, none of the U-boats had maintained contact with the convoy.