 But in April 1918, the "Chicago Daily Tribune" reported on an encounter "El Occidente" had with two German submarines that had occurred on 2 February.In a 20-minute running gun battle, Naval Armed Guardsmen aboard "El Occidente" exchanged fire with two U-boats, one on the port and one on the starboard.The news item reported that "El Occidente"'s gunners had demolished the periscope of one of her attackers.