On 8 August 1917,[1] 130 miles southwest of Ushant in the Bay of Biscay, disguised as the collier Boverton and commanded by Gordon Campbell, VC, Dunraven spotted UC-71, commanded by Oberleutnant zur SeeReinhold Saltzwedel. Saltzwedel believed the disguised ship was a merchant vessel. The U-boat submerged and closed with Dunraven before surfacing astern at 11:43 am and opening fire at long range. Dunraven made smoke and sent off a panic party (a small number of men who "abandon ship" during an attack to continue the impersonation of a merchant).
Shells began hitting Dunraven, detonating her depth charges and setting her stern afire. Her crew remained hidden letting the fires burn. Then a 4-inch (102mm) gun and crew were blown away revealing Dunraven's identity as a warship, and UC-71 submerged. A second "panic party" abandoned ship. Dunraven was hit by a torpedo. A third "panic party" went over the side, leaving only two guns manned. UC-71 surfaced, shelled Dunraven and again submerged. Campbell replied with two torpedoes that missed, and around 3 pm, the undamaged U-boat left that area. Only one of Dunraven's crew was killed, but the Q-Ship was sinking.
The British destroyerHMS Christopher picked up Dunraven's survivors and took her in tow for Plymouth, but Dunraven sank at 1:30 am early on 10 August 1917 to the north of Ushant.
"It had been a fair and honest fight, and I lost it. Referring to my crew, words cannot express what I am feeling. No one let me down. No one could have done better."[citation needed]
Winchester, Clarence, ed. (1937), "Salute to a Hero", Shipping Wonders of the World, pp.129–135 illustrated account of Gordon Campbell, "the most famous Q-ship officer", including his time with HMS Dunraven
German submarine U-556 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down on 2 January 1940 at the Blohm & Voss yard in Hamburg as yard number 532, launched on 7 December 1940, and commissioned on 6 February 1941 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Herbert Wohlfarth, who commanded her for her entire career. U-556 conducted only two patrols, sinking six ships totalling 29,552 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging one other of 4,986 GRT, before she was sunk on 27 June 1941.
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.
Vice admiral Gordon Campbell, was a British naval officer, writer, politician and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was also awarded the Croix de Guerre and appointed a chevalier of the Légion d'honneur for his actions during the World War I.
Lieutenant Commander William Edward Sanders, was a First World War New Zealand recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that could be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces at the time.
Ernest Herbert Pitcher was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Ronald Niel Stuart, VC, DSO, RD, RNR was a British Merchant Navy commodore and Royal Navy captain who was highly commended following extensive and distinguished service at sea over a period of more than thirty-five years. During World War I he was awarded the Victoria Cross, the Distinguished Service Order, the French Croix de Guerre avec Palmes and the United States' Navy Cross for a series of daring operations he conducted while serving in the Royal Navy against the German U-boat campaign in the Atlantic.
HMS Bergamot was an Anchusa-class sloop of the Royal Navy, which had a short career during World War I. Built by Armstrong Whitworth, the ship was laid down on 1 January 1917, launched on 5 May, and commissioned on 14 July.
SM UC-29 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 29 August 1915 and was launched on 15 July 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 15 August 1916 as SM UC-29. In an eight-month career, the UC-29 performed seven combat patrols into the Atlantic Ocean during the German war on Allied trade (Handelskrieg). In these patrols she was very successful, sinking 18 allied ships, totalling 21,909 GRT. She also damaged 4 ships of 17,154 GRT. On 7 June 1917 she torpedoed the British Q-ship HMS Pargust off the Irish coast, but was ambushed by her hidden armaments when she approached too close and was sunk with 23 hands. Pargust was commanded by British submarine hunter Gordon Campbell and had on board Ronald Niel Stuart and William Williams, who were awarded the Victoria Cross for their actions in the engagement.
SM UB-10 was a German Type UB I submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I.
SM UC-18 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 29 August 1915 and was launched on 4 March 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 15 August 1916 as SM UC-18. In 6 patrols UC-18 was credited with sinking 34 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-18 was sunk by the British Q ship HMS Lady Olive on 19 February 1917.
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.
SM UC-71 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 and was launched on 12 August 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 28 November 1916 as SM UC-71. In 19 patrols UC-71 was credited with sinking 63 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-71 sank on 20 February 1919 in the North Sea while on her way to be surrendered.
The U-boat Campaign from 1914 to 1918 was the World War I naval campaign fought by German U-boats against the trade routes of the Allies. It took place largely in the seas around the British Isles and in the Mediterranean. The German Empire relied on imports for food and domestic food production and the United Kingdom relied heavily on imports to feed its population, and both required raw materials to supply their war industry; the powers aimed, therefore, to blockade one another. The British had the Royal Navy which was superior in numbers and could operate on most of the world's oceans because of the British Empire, whereas the Imperial German Navy surface fleet was mainly restricted to the German Bight, and used commerce raiders and unrestricted submarine warfare to operate elsewhere.
HMS Farnborough, also known as (Q-5), was a Q-ship of the British Royal Navy that saw service in the First World War. Farnborough was a heavily armed merchant ship with concealed weaponry that was designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. Farnborough sank two submarines in her service in the First World War. The first submarine was SM U-68 which involved the first successful use of depth charges. The second submarine was SM U-83, which was sunk on 17 February 1917 in an action for which Captain Gordon Campbell of Farnborough received the Victoria Cross. HMS Farnborough was severely damaged in the action and was beached the same day.
SM U-21 was a U-boat built for the Imperial German Navy shortly before World War I. The third of four Type U-19-class submarines, these were the first U-boats in German service to be equipped with diesel engines. U-21 was built between 1911 and October 1913 at the Kaiserliche Werft in Danzig. She was armed with four torpedo tubes and a single deck gun; a second gun was added during her career.
HMS Penshurst was a Royal Navy warship that was active during World War I. She was a Special Service Vessel whose function was to act as a decoy, inviting attack by a U-boat in order to engage and destroy it. Penshurst fought a number of engagements against German U-boats during her service, and was successful on two occasions, destroying UB-19 in November 1916, and UB-37 in January 1917. Penshurst was sunk following an action with U-110 in December 1917.
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.
Result is a three-masted cargo schooner built in Carrickfergus in 1893. She was a working ship until 1967, and served for a short time in the Royal Navy as a Q-ship during World War I. She currently rests on land at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, and in 1996 was added to the National Register of Historic Vessels.
HMS Prize was a schooner converted to a Q ship during the First World War and commanded by Lieutenant William Sanders of the Royal Naval Reserve.
Captain Cedric Naylor was a Royal Navy officer of the First and Second World Wars. Naylor was a merchant seaman before joining the Royal Naval Reserve on the outbreak of the First World War. In November 1915 he was posted as first lieutenant to HMS Penshurst, a Q-ship, a warship disguised as a merchant vessel intended to fool German U-boats into surfacing so they could be sunk. Naylor received the Distinguished Service Cross for his part in the sinking of SM UB-19 on 30 November 1916 and a bar for further operations in February and March 1917. Naylor was granted temporary command of Penshurst after its captain was incapacitated in June and the next month damaged a submarine, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Further distinguished service in the following months saw him receive a bar to the medal and a transfer to the Royal Navy. Naylor was hunting for SM U-110 on Christmas Eve 1917 and Penshurst was struck by a torpedo fired by the submarine. Despite suffering heavy damage Naylor remained onboard with two gun crews, hoping the U-boat would surface to finish off the ship. When U-110 surfaced it was hit twice and damaged before Penshurst sank. Naylor survived and was awarded a second bar to his DSO. He commanded the sloop Polyanthus for the remainder of the war.
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