Armed trawler Ethel & Millie

Last updated

History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NameEthel & Millie
Launched1908
In serviceFeb-Aug 1917
FateSunk 15 August 1917
NotesConverted to armed merchantman at Lowestoft
General characteristics
Typearmed smack
Tonnage58 gross tons [1]
Propulsionsail
Armament1 × 6 pounder naval gun

The Armed trawler Ethel & Millie was a British auxiliary warship which served during World War I. She was built in 1908 as the fishing smack Ethel & Millie, operating from Lowestoft and registered as LT 200. In early 1917 she was armed for defence against U-boat attack, and fought two actions against them. She was sunk in action on 15 August 1917.

Contents

Background

Ethel & Millie was a 58-ton trawling smack, built and registered at Lowestoft in 1908. Prior to the First World War she had an uneventful career as part of the fishing fleet there, operating out into the North Sea fishing grounds. In 1917 German U-boats had started to attack British trawlers, and in response to this, a number of trawlers were armed for self defence. Ethel & Millie was one of these vessels, being equipped with a 6-pounder gun and assigned a naval rating as gunner. In this manner she entered service in February 1917, under the command of skipper Wharton, and carrying the name Boy Alfred.

Service history

On 1 February 1917 Boy Alfred, whilst in company with another armed smack, I’ll Try under the command of skipper Tom Crisp, the boats were approached by two U-boats closing in on the surface. [2] One of the U-boats, which were not identified, closed in on Boy Alfred and ordered her crew to abandon ship. As it was in range Wharton opened fire and the U-boat sank from view, presumed destroyed ("and that was the end of that sub" [3] ). The other submerged and engaged in a two-hour cat-and-mouse game with I’ll Try, ending when the U-boat surfaced and attempted to torpedo her. This missed, and the U-boat sank under I'll Try's counter-fire. Both U-boats were adjudged to have been destroyed, and skippers Wharton and Crisp were awarded the DSC and an Admiralty bounty, but post-war examination of records showed no U-boats sunk that day.

Fate

On 15 August 1917 the trawler, now renamed Ethel & Millie and under command of William "Johnsey" Manning, was fishing off the Humber. She was again in the company of I’ll Try, now sailing under the name Nelson. In the afternoon of the 15th Nelson was attacked by an unidentified U-boat (believed to be SM UC-63 [4] ), which fired on her at long range. She was crippled with gun-fire and left sinking. Manning brought Ethel & Millie into the fray, attempting to close and return fire, but she was out-ranged and set ablaze by the U-boat's fire. Manning and the seven-man crew abandoned ship, taking to their lifeboat, but were picked up by the U-boat. They were last seen, by the survivors of Nelson, lined up on the U-boats deck. [5]

They were not reported as prisoners of war, and none returned to Britain at the end of hostilities. The suspicion at the time, and subsequently, is that they were disposed of by the U-boat crew, for example by being left to drown while the U-boat submerged. [6] The German government had made it clear they regarded the crews of merchant ships who fought back against U-boat attacks as francs-tireurs , and thus liable to execution, as had happened in the Fryatt case. [7]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ritchie p182
  2. ↑ Masters p
  3. ↑ Masters p
  4. ↑ Ethel & Millie, ships sunk by UC-63 at uboat.net
  5. ↑ Ritchie p124
  6. ↑ Ritchie p125
  7. ↑ Ritchie p159

Related Research Articles

Q-ship Heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry

Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them. The use of Q-ships contributed to the abandonment of cruiser rules restricting attacks on unarmed merchant ships and to the shift to unrestricted submarine warfare in the 20th century.

SM <i>UB-4</i> Type UB I submarine of the German Imperial Navy

Seiner Majestät UB-4 was a German Type UB I submarine (U-boat) in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. She was sunk by a British Q-ship disguised as a fishing smack in August 1915.

Thomas Crisp Recipient of the Victoria Cross

Skipper Thomas Crisp VC, DSC, RNR was an English posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross. Crisp, in civilian life a commercial fisherman operating from Lowestoft in Suffolk, earned his award after being killed during the defence of his vessel, the armed naval smack Nelson, in the North Sea against an attack from a German submarine in 1917.

Smack (ship)

A smack was a traditional fishing boat used off the coast of Britain and the Atlantic coast of America for most of the 19th century and, in small numbers, up to the Second World War. Many larger smacks were originally cutter-rigged sailing boats until about 1865, when smacks had become so large that cutter main booms were unhandy. The smaller smacks retain the gaff cutter rig. The larger smacks were lengthened and re-rigged and new ketch-rigged smacks were built, but boats varied from port to port. Some boats had a topsail on the mizzen mast, while others had a bowsprit carrying a jib.

ST Leukos

The ST Leukos was an Irish Commercial trawler that was sunk off the coast off the north coast of Ireland by a German U-boat on 9 March 1940. The vessel, which had been fishing in the company of British trawlers, was attacked by the German submarine U-38 off Tory Island. The submarine surfaced opening fire with its deck gun. All 11 crew members were lost.

SM UB-10 was a German Type UB I submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I.

SM UB-13 was a German Type UB I submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The submarine was probably sunk by a British mine net in April 1916.

SM UB-16 was a German Type UB I submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The submarine was sunk by a British submarine in May 1918.

SM UB-17 was a German Type UB I submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The submarine disappeared during a patrol in March 1918.

Naval drifter

A naval drifter is a boat built along the lines of a commercial fishing drifter but fitted out for naval purposes. The use of naval drifters is paralleled by the use of naval trawlers.

SM UC-63 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 12 January 1916, laid down on 3 April 1916, and was launched on 6 January 1917. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 30 January 1917 as SM UC-63. In nine patrols UC-63 was credited with sinking 36 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-63 was torpedoed and sunk by HMS E52 off Goodwin Sands on 1 November 1917; only one crewman survived the sinking.

His Majesty's or HM Armed Smack Inverlyon was a fishing smack that was converted to a Q-ship during the First World War. Q-ships served as decoys to lure German submarines near enough so that concealed weapons could be brought to bear and sink the submarines. On 15 August 1915, Inverlyon succeeded in luring German submarine UB-4 within range and sinking her with nine shots from her gun. The Royal Navy Gunner in command of the vessel, Ernest Martin Jehan, received the Distinguished Service Cross and members of Inverlyon's crew shared the bounty offered for German submarines. After Inverlyon's Q-ship career ended, she returned to fishing, but was sunk by U-55 on 1 February 1917.

<i>Rudyard Kipling</i> (ship) British steam trawler

The Rudyard Kipling was a British steam trawler launched in 1920 that undertook fishing operations off the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland for almost 20 years. On 16 September 1939, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, the trawler was captured 40 miles (64 km) west of Clare Island by the German submarine U-27. After removing food, equipment, and the crew from the ship, the Germans sunk her with the use of scuttling charges. Several hours later the crew of the Rudyard Kipling were cast adrift 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) off the coast of Ireland. They eventually landed their lifeboats at Killybegs.

<i>Davara</i> British steam trawler

Davara was a British steam fishing trawler. Launched in 1912, it was requisitioned in 1914 by the Royal Navy for service in World War I and fitted out as a minesweeper. She was returned to her owners after the war and began service as a trawler once more.

The action of 15 August 1917 was a naval engagement which occurred during the First World War. The action was fought between a German U-boat and two naval trawlers, Nelson and Ethel & Millie, in the North Sea.

Armed trawler Nelson was a British auxiliary warship which served during World War I. She was built in 1905 as the fishing smack G&E, operating from Lowestoft and registered as LT 649. In 1915 she was armed for defence against U-boat attack, and fought several actions against them. She was sunk in action on 15 August 1917. This action was fought between a German U-boat and two trawlers, Nelson and Ethel & Millie, off the English coast.

HMS Pargust was a Royal Navy warship that was active during World War I. She was a Special Service Vessel used by the RN in anti-submarine warfare. Pargust was active in this role during the last two years of the war, and was successful on one occasion, destroying the U-boat UC-29.

<i>Excelsior</i> (smack)

Excelsior is an authentically restored fishing smack of the Lowestoft fishing fleet and a member of the National Historic Fleet. She was built by John Chambers of Lowestoft in 1921 and worked until 1936 before being converted into a motor coaster.</ref> In 2021 Excelsior will celebrate her 100th birthday. During her time as a motor coaster she was known as Svinør and worked mainly in Norwegian waters before returning to Lowestoft in 1972.

Caldew was a British steam fishing trawler. Launched in 1914 as Maristo, she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for service in the First World War the following year. Maristo survived the war and resumed trawling for the next two decades, being renamed Caldew in that time. She collided with fellow trawler Ospray II in 1935, sinking the latter ship.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.