Q: SHIPS 
 
 and their 
 stor:^ 
 
 E.KEBLE CHATTERTON
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 Corunodore %ron McCandless
 
 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY
 
 BOOKS ON THE SEA BY 
 E. KEBLE CHATTERTON 
 
 HISTORICAL 
 
 SAILING SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 SHIPS AND WAYS OF OTHER DAYS 
 
 FORE AND AFT: THE STORY OF THE 
 FORE AND AFT RIG 
 
 STEAMSHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 THE ROMANCE OF THE SHIP 
 
 THE STORY OF THE BRITISH NAVY 
 
 KING'S CUTTERS AND SMUGGLERS 
 
 THE ROMANCE OF PIRACY 
 
 THE OLD EAST INDIAMEN 
 
 CRUISES 
 
 DOWN CHANNEL IN THE "VIVETTE" 
 
 THROUGH HOLLAND IN THE 
 "VIVETTE"
 
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 <B 1;; 
 
 2 « 5 
 
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 0-SHIPS AND THEIR 
 STORY 
 
 BY 
 
 E. KEBLE CHATTERTON 
 
 AUTHOR OF " SAILING SHIPS AND THEIR STORY, ' 
 LATK I.IEUTENANT-COMiMANDER R.N.V.K. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 SIDGWICK AND JACKSON, LTD. 
 
 3, ADAM STREET. ADELPHI, W.C. 
 1922
 
 D 
 
 ^ 
 
 TO 
 
 ADMIRAL SIR LEWIS BAYLY, 
 
 C.V.O., K.C.B., K.C.M.G., 
 
 COMMANDER-IX-CHIEF OF THE IRISH COAST DURING 
 THE STRENUOUS YEARS OF THE SUBMARINE CAMPAIGN, 
 WHO BY HIS ENCOURAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT 
 OF THE Q-SHIP SERVICE DID SO MUCH TO THWxVRT 
 THE OPERATIONS OF THE ENEMY AND TO PROTECT 
 OUR MERCANTILE MARINE 

 
 PREFACE 
 
 The wonderful and brave story of ships and men here pre- 
 sented needs but the briefest introduction. The deeds will 
 forever remain one of the most glorious chapters in the chronicles 
 of the sea. No excuse is offered for adding another volume to 
 the literature of the war, for the subject is deserving of greater 
 attention than has hitherto been possible. Lord Jellicoe once 
 remarked that he did not think English people realized the 
 wonderful work which these mystery ships had done in the war, 
 and that in these vessels there had been displayed a spirit of 
 endurance, discipline, and courage the like of which the world 
 had never before seen. 
 
 To few naval historians, I believe, has it ever been permitted 
 to enjoy such complete opportunities for acquiring authentic 
 information as is here presented. Unquestionably the greatest 
 sphere of Q-ship operations was off the south-west coast of 
 Ireland, owing to the fact that the enemy submarines from the 
 summer of 1915 to 1918 concentrated their attacks, with certain 
 intervals, on the shipping in the western approaches to the 
 British Isles. It was my good fortune during most of this 
 period to be at sea patrolling off that part of Ireland. These 
 Q-ships were therefore familiar in their various disguises at sea 
 or in harbour at Berehaven and Queenstown during their well- 
 earned rest. Throughout this time I kept a diary, and noted 
 down much that would otherwise have been forgotten. Many of 
 the Q-ship officers were my personal friends, and I have enjoyed 
 the hospitality of their ships. Valuable data, too, were obtained 
 from officers of merchant ships who witnessed Q-ships engaging 
 submarines. 
 
 A considerable number of authentic manuscripts has been 
 examined. By the courtesy of commanding officers I have 
 been lent documents of priceless historical value, such as copies 
 of official reports and private diaries, plans, sketches, photo- 
 graphs, and so on. All this information has been further 
 
 vii
 
 viii PREFACE 
 
 augmented by personal conversation, correspondence, and 
 valuable criticism. I submit, therefore, that with all these 
 sources of information available, and with knowledge of much 
 that has been published from the German side, it is possible 
 to offer a monograph that is at once accurate in detail and 
 correct in perspective. 
 
 * With respect to single-ship actions,"" wrote James in his 
 monumental Naval History a hundred years ago, ' the official 
 documents of them are also very imperfect. The letters are 
 generally written an hour or so after the termination of the 
 contest, and, of course, before the captain has well recovered 
 from the fatigue and flurry it occasioned. Many captains are 
 far more expert at the sword than at the pen, and would sooner 
 fight an action than write the particulars of one.' That state- 
 ment is true to-day of the Q-ships, and it would have been 
 negligent not to have availed oneself now of the calm and 
 considered version of the chief actors in the great mystery- 
 ship drama while they are still alive. Although the time for 
 secrecy has long since passed, nothing has here been included of 
 a confidential nature that can be of assistance to enemies past 
 or potential. In one instance, for political reasons and in the 
 interests of the service, I have made a certain omission. Those 
 concerned will recognize this and understand : the rest will not 
 notice it. 
 
 Among those who have rendered me the greatest assistance 
 in regard to information, advice, criticism, the loan of manu- 
 scripts, illustrations, and in other ways, I desire especially to 
 return thanks to Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, C.V.O., K.C.B., 
 K.C.M.G.,and Miss Voysey, C.B.E. ; to Captain F. H. Grenfell, 
 D.S.O., R.N., Captain Gordon Campbell, V.C., D.S.O., R.N., 
 Captain W. C. O'G. Cochrane, R.N., Commander Godfrey 
 Herbert, D.S.O., R.N., Commander Stopford C. Douglas, R.N., 
 and to Lieutenant G. H. P. Muhlhuuser, R.N.R. 
 
 E. KEBLE CHATTERTON. 
 
 Afarcli, 1922.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. The Hour and the Need - - _ _ i 
 
 II, The Beginning of Success - - - - 13 
 
 III. Q-Ship Enterprise - - - - - 26 
 
 IV. The Story of the ' Farnborough ' - .39 
 V. The ' Mystery ' Sailing Ships - - - 52 
 
 VI. The 'Mary B. Mitchell' - - - - 67 
 
 VII. More Sailing Ships - - - - - 77 
 
 VIII. Submarines and Q-Ship Tactics - - - 92 
 
 IX, The Splendid 'Penshurst' - - - _ 109 
 
 X. Further Developments - - - - 132 
 
 XI. The Good Ship 'Prize' - - - - 143 
 
 XII, Ships and Adventures - - - - 158 
 
 XIII, More Sailing-Ship Fights - - - - 177 
 
 XIV. The Summit of Q-Ship Service - - - 192 
 XV. Life on Board a Q-Ship - - - - 213 
 
 XVI. Q-Ships Everywhere . _ . . 228 
 
 XVII. Ships of all Sizes ----- 242 
 
 XVIII. The Last Phase - - - - - 255 
 
 Index - - - - - 273 
 
 IX
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Q-Sailing-Ship Mitchell . . _ - Frontispiece 
 
 TO FACE PAGE 
 
 An Early Q-Ship [Antwerp) - - - - - 6 
 
 Q-Ship Antwerp - - - - - - 6 
 
 Commander S. C. Douglas, R.N. - - . - 8 
 
 Commander G. Herbert, D.S.O., R.N. ... 8 
 
 Q-Ship Antwerp - - - - - - 12 
 
 Gun's Crew of Q-Ship Antwerp - - - - 12 
 
 Q-Ship Redbreast - - - - - - 22 
 
 Q-Ship Baralong ------ 22 
 
 Q-Ship Baralong (Two Illustrations) - - - 28 
 
 Officers of Q-Ship Farnhorough - - - - 42 
 
 Captain Gordon Campbell and Lieutenant C. G. Bonner - 42 
 
 Q-Sailing-Ship Mitchell - - - - - 68 
 
 Q-Ship Penshirst - - - - - - 114 
 
 Q-Ship Penshurxt (Two Illustrations) - - - 1 1 6 
 
 Q-Ship Penshurst (Two Illustrations) - - - 120 
 
 Captain and Officers of Q-Ship Pens/mrst - - - 124 
 
 Men of Q-Ship Penshcrst - - - - - 124 
 
 Q-Ship Ttdip - - ■ - - - 138 
 
 Q-Ship Tamarisk - - - - - - 138 
 
 Q-Ship Caiidytnft - - - - - - 174 
 
 Q-Ship Candytuft - - - - - - 176 
 
 Q-Sailing-Ship Fresh Hope - - - - - 188 
 
 Q-Ship Record Reign - - - - - 188 
 
 Q-Sailing-Ship Rentonl - - - - - 190 
 
 Q-Sailing-Ship Rentonl (Gun Crew) - - - - U)0 
 
 The Master of the Collier Farnhorough - - - 192 
 
 Q-Ship Famborough - - - - - - 192 
 
 Q-Ship Famborough - - - - - - 194 
 
 Q-Ship Farnhorough - - - - - - 196
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi 
 
 TO PACK PACK 
 
 S.S. Lodorer - - - - - - - 196 
 
 Q-Ship Pargust - - - - - - 198 
 
 Q-Ship Sarah Jones - - - - - - 198 
 
 Q-Ship Dunraven ...... 200 
 
 Bi-idge of Q-Ship Dunraven ----- 202 
 
 After the Battle --...- 204 
 
 Dimraven Doomed ------ 206 
 
 Q-Ship Dunraven ------ 208 
 
 Q-Ship Dimraven - - - - - - 212 
 
 Q-Ship Du7iraveti - - - - - - 214 
 
 Officers and Crew of the Q-Ship Dimraven - - - 21 6 
 
 Q-Ship Barranca (Two Illustrations) - - - 220 
 
 Q-Ship Barranca (Two Illustrations) - - - 222 
 
 Q-Ship Transformation - _ . . - 234 
 
 Q-Ship Barranca at Sea . . - . - 234 
 
 DIAGRAMS, ETC., IN THE TEXT. 
 
 PACK 
 
 1. Action of Bur along on August 19, 1915 - - 21 
 
 2. Action of Baralong on September 24, 1915 - - 27 
 
 3. Action of Margit on January 17, 191 6 - - 34 
 
 4. Action of Werribee on February 9, 1916" - - 37 
 
 5. Action of Famhorough on April 15, 1916 - - 45 
 
 6. Action of Helgoland on October 24, 191 6 - - 63 
 
 7. Action of Salvia on October 20, 19 1 6 - - QQ 
 
 8. Action of Saros on November 3, 1916 - - 103 
 
 9. Action of Penshumt on November 29, 1916 - - 110 
 
 10. Action of Penshurst on November 30, 1916 - - 113 
 
 11. Action of Penshurst on January 14, 1917 - - 118 
 
 12. The Humorous Side of Q-Ship Warfare - - 127 
 
 13. Faruborough's Farewell - - - - - 196 
 
 14. Action of Pargust on June 7, 1917 - - - 201 
 
 15. The Great Decision ----- 2O8 
 
 16. Letter from the First Lord of the Admix-alty to Captain 
 
 Gordon Campbell - - - - - 210
 
 ' The necessitie of a Historie is, as of a Sworne 
 Witnesse, to say the truth (in just discretion) 
 and nothing but the truth.' 
 
 Samuel Purchas m ' Purchas His 
 Pilgrimes^ 1625.
 
 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE HOUR AND THE NEED 
 
 Ai.L warfare is merely a contest. In any struggle 
 you see the clashing of will and will, of force against 
 force, of brain against brain. For the impersonal 
 reader it is this contest which has a never-ending in- 
 terest. A neutral is just as keenly entertained as the 
 playgoer who sits watching the swaying fortunes of 
 the hero in the struggle of the drama. No human 
 being endowed with sympathetic interest, who him- 
 self has had to contend with difficulties, fails to be 
 mov^ed by the success or disaster of the contestants in 
 a struggle of which the spectator has no part or lot. 
 If this were not so, neutral newspapers would cease to 
 chronicle the wars of other nations, novels would 
 cease to be published, and plays to be produced. 
 
 Human nature, then, being what it is, man loves to 
 watch his fellow-man fighting, struggling against men 
 or fate or circumstances. The harder the fight and 
 the nearer he is to losing, so much the more is the 
 spectator thrilled. This instinct is developed most 
 clearly in youth : hence juvenile fiction is one mass of 
 struggles, adventures, and narrow escapes. But the 
 instinct never dies, and how few of us can resist the 
 temptation to read the exciting experiences of some
 
 2 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 entirely fictional character who rushes from one 
 perilous situation to another ? Is there a human 
 being who, going along the street, would not stop to 
 watch a burglar being chased over roofs and chimney- 
 pots by police ? If you have once become interested 
 in a certain trial at the law courts, are you not eager 
 to know whether the prisoner has been acquitted or 
 convicted ? You despise him for his character, yet 
 you are fascinated by his adventures, his struggles, 
 his share in the particular drama, his fight against 
 heavy odds ; and, contrary to your own inherent sense 
 of justice, you almost hope he will be acquitted. In 
 a word, then, we delight in having before us the 
 adventures of our fellow humanity, partly for the 
 exciting pleasure which these arouse in us, but partly 
 also because they make us wonder what we should 
 have done in a similar set of circumstances. In such 
 vital, critical moments should we have played the 
 hero, or should we have fallen somehow a little short? 
 The following pages are an attempt to place before 
 the reader a series of sea struggles which are unique, 
 in that they had no precedent in naval history. If 
 you consider all the major and minor sea fights from 
 the earliest times to the present day ; if you think of 
 fieet actions, and single-ship contests, you cannot 
 surpass the golden story of the Q-ships. As long as 
 people take any interest in the untamed sea, so will 
 these exploits live, not rivalling but surpassing the 
 greatest deeds of even the Elizabethan seamen. 
 During the late war their exploits were, for very 
 necessary reasons, withheld from the knowledge of the 
 public. The need for secrecy has long since passed, 
 and it is high time tliat a complete account of these 
 so-called ' mystery ships ' should be published, not 
 merely for the perpetuation of their wonderful achieve-
 
 THE HOUR AND THE NEED 3 
 
 ments, but for the inspiration of the new race of sea- 
 men whose duty it will be to hand on the great 
 tradition of the sea. For, be it remembered, the 
 Q-ship service was representative of every species of 
 seamen. There were officers and men of the Royal 
 Navy both active and retired, of the Royal Naval 
 Reserve, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and men 
 from the Royal Fleet Reserve. From warship, bar- 
 racks, office, colony, pleasure yacht, fishing vessel, 
 liner, sailing ship, tramp steamer, and elsewhere these 
 seafarers went forth in unarmoured, slow-moving, 
 lightly-armed vessels to perform the desperate ad- 
 venture of acting as live-bait for a merciless enemy. 
 It was an exploit calling for supreme bravery, com- 
 bined with great fighting skill, sound seamanship, and 
 a highly developed imagination. The successes which 
 were attained were brought about by just this com- 
 bination, so that the officers, especially the command- 
 ing officers, and the men had to be hand-picked. The 
 slow-reasoning, hesitating type of being was useless 
 in a Q-ship ; equally out of place would have been 
 the wild, hare-brained, dashing individual whose 
 excess of gallantry would simply mean the loss of 
 ship and lives. In the ideal Q-ship captain was found 
 something of the virtues of the cleverest angler, the 
 most patient stalker, the most enterprising big-game 
 hunter, together with the attributes of a cool, unper- 
 turbed seaman, the imagination of a sensational 
 novelist, and the plain horse-sense of a hard business 
 man. In two words, the necessary endowment was 
 brains and bravery. It was easy enough to find at 
 least one of these in hundreds of officers, but it was 
 difficult to find among the many volunteers a plucky 
 fighter with a brilliant intellect. It is, of course, one 
 of the happy results of sea training that officer or man
 
 4 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 learns to think and act quickly without doing foolish 
 things. The handling of a ship in bad weather, or in 
 crowded channels, or a strong tideway, or in going 
 alongside a quay or other ship — all this practice 
 makes a sailor of the man, makes him do the one and 
 only right thing at the right second. But it needed 
 ' something plus ' in the Q-ship service. For six 
 months, for a year, she might have wandered up and 
 down the Atlantic, all over the submarine zone, with 
 never a sight of the enemy, and then, all of a sudden, 
 a torpedo is seen rushing straight for the ship. The 
 look-out man has reported it, and the officer of the 
 watch has caused the man at the wheel to port his 
 helm just in time to allow the torpedo to pass harm- 
 lessly under the ship's counter. It was the never- 
 ceasing vigilance and the cool appreciation of the 
 situation which had saved the ship. 
 
 But the incident is only beginning. The next 
 stage is to lure the enemy on, to entice him, using 
 your own ship as the bait. It may be one hour or 
 one day later, perhaps at dusk, or when the moon 
 gets up, or at dawn, but it is very probable that the 
 submarine will invisibly follow you and attack at the 
 most awkward time. The hours of suspense are 
 trying ; watch has succeeded watch, yet nothing 
 happens. The weather changes from good to bad ; 
 it comes on thick, it clears up again, and the clouds 
 cease to obliterate the sun. Then, apparently from 
 nowhere, shells come whizzing by, and begin to hit. 
 At last in the distance you see the low-lying enemy 
 engaging you with both his guns, firing rapidly, and 
 keeping discreetly out of your own guns' range. 
 Already some of your men have been knocked out ; 
 the ship has a couple of bad holes below the water- 
 line, and the sea is pouring through. To add to
 
 THE HOUR AND THE NEED 5 
 
 the anxiety a fire is reported in the forecastle, and 
 the next shell has made rather a mess of the funnel. 
 What are you going to do ? Are you going to keep 
 on the bluff of pretending you are an innocent mer- 
 chantman, or are you going to run up the White 
 Ensign, let down the bulwarks, and fire your guns 
 the moment the enemy comes within range and 
 bearing ? How much longer is it possible to play 
 with him hi the hope that he will be fooled into 
 doing just what you would like him to do ? If your 
 ship is sinking, will she keep afloat just long enough 
 to enable you to give the knock-out blow as the 
 inquiring enemy comes alongside ? These are the 
 crucial questions which have to be answered by that 
 one man in command of the ship, who all the time 
 finds his bridge being steadily smashed to pieces by 
 the enemy's fire. 
 
 ' If you can keep your head when all about you 
 Are losing theirs and blaming it on you ; 
 If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, 
 But make allowance for their doubting too ; 
 If you can wait and not be tired by waiting . . .' 
 
 then, one may definitely assert, you have in you 
 much that goes to the making of an ideal Q-ship 
 captain and a brave warrior. As such you might 
 make a first-class commanding officer of a destroyer, 
 a light cruiser, or even a battleship ; but something 
 more is required. The enemy is artful ; you must 
 be super-artful. You must be able to look across 
 the tumbling sea into his mind behind the conning 
 tower. What are his intentions ? What will be his 
 next move ? Take in by a quick mental calculation 
 the conditions of wind, wave, and sun. Pretend to 
 run away from him, so that you get these just right. 
 Put your ship head on to sea, so that the enemy
 
 6 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 with his sparse freeboard is being badly washed down 
 and his guns' crews are thinking more of their wet 
 feet and legs than of accurate shooting. Then, when 
 you see him submerging, alter course quickly, reckon 
 his probable position by the time you have steadied 
 your ship on her course, and drop a series of depth- 
 charges over his track. ' If you can fill the unfor- 
 giving minute with sixty seconds' worth of distance, 
 run ' ; if you have acted with true seamanship and 
 sound imagination, you will presently see bits of 
 broken wreckage, the boil of water, quantities of oil, 
 perhaps a couple of corpses ; and yours is the U-boat 
 below, my son, and a D.S.O. ; and a thousand pounds 
 in cash to be divided amongst the crew ; and you're a 
 man, my son ! 
 
 That, in a few phrases, is the kind of work, and 
 shows the circumstances of the Q-ship in her busiest 
 period. As we set forth her wonderful story, so 
 gallant, so sad, so victorious, and yet so nerve-trying, 
 we shall see all manner of types engaged in this great 
 adventure ; but we cannot appreciate either the 
 successes or losses until we have seen the birth and 
 growth of the Q-ship idea. As this volume is the 
 first effort to present the subject historically, we shall 
 begin at the beginning by showing the causes which 
 created the Q-ship. We shall see the consecutive 
 stages of development and improvement, the evolu- 
 tion of new methods, and, indeed we may at once say 
 it, of a new type of super-seamen. How did it all 
 begin ? 
 
 Turn your attention back to the autumn of 1014. 
 It was the sinking of the three Ci^essys on Septem- 
 ber *22 by U 9 that taught Gerinany what a 
 wonderful weapon of offence she had in the sub- 
 marine. Five days later the first German submarine
 
 An Early Q-ship 
 Q-ship "Antwerp" entering Harwich harbour. 
 
 Q-SHiP " Antwerp " 
 
 Commander Herbert is on the port side of the bridge, the ^Mercantile Chief 
 Officer and Quartermaster being in the foreground. 
 
 To face p. 6
 
 THE HOUR AND THE NEED 7 
 
 penetrated the Dover Straits. This was U 18, who 
 actually attacked the light cruiser Attentive. But it 
 was not until October 20 that the first merchant ship, 
 the British S.S. Glitru in the North Sea, was sunk by 
 a submarine. Six days later the French S.S. Amhal 
 Ganteaame, with Belgian refugees, was attacked by 
 a German submarine. A month passed, and on 
 November 23 the S.S. Malachite was attacked by 
 U 21, and after being on fire sank. Three days 
 later the S.S. Primo was sunk also by U 21. It was 
 thus perfectly clear that we had before us a most 
 difficult submarine campaign to contend with, and 
 that merchant ships would not be immune. On the 
 last day of October H.M.S. Hermes was torpedoed 
 oflf Calais, and on November 11 H.M.S. Niger had a 
 similar fate near Deal. 
 
 What was to be done ? The creation of what 
 eventually became known as the Auxiliary Patrol, 
 with its ever increasing force of armed yachts, 
 trawlers, drifters, and motor craft ; the use of de- 
 stroyers and our own submarines formed part of the 
 scheme. But even at this early stage the Q-ship 
 idea came into being, though not actually under 
 that name. Officially she was a special-service ship, 
 whose goings and comings were so mysterious that 
 even among service men such craft were spoken of in 
 great secrecy as mystery ships. This first mystery 
 ship was the S.S. Vittoria, who was commissioned on 
 November 29, 1914. She had all the appearance of 
 an ordinary merchant ship, but she was armed, and 
 went on patrol in the area where submarines had been 
 reported. It was an entirely novel idea, and very few 
 people knew anything about her. She never had any 
 luck, and was paid off early in January, 1915, without 
 ever having so much as sighted a submarine. The
 
 8 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 idea of decoy ships suggested itself to various naval 
 officers during December, 1914, and their suggestions 
 reached the Admiralty. The basic plan was for the 
 Admiralty to take up a number of merchantmen and 
 fishing craft, arm them with a few light quick-firing 
 guns, and then send them forth to cruise in likely 
 submarine areas, flying neutral colours. This was 
 perfectly legitimate under International Law, provided 
 that before opening fire on the enemy the neutral 
 colours were lowered and the White Ensign was 
 hoisted. Seeing that the enemy was determined to 
 sink merchantmen, the obvious reply was to send 
 against them armed merchantmen, properly com- 
 missioned and armed, but outwardly resembling any- 
 thing but a warship. Thus it came about that on 
 January 27, 1915, the second decoy ship was com- 
 missioned. This was the Great Eastern Railway S.S. 
 Antwerp (originally called Vienna)^ which operated in 
 the English Channel. She was placed under the com- 
 mand of Lieut. -Commander Godfrey Herbert, R.N., 
 one of the most experienced and able officers of our 
 submarine service. The choice was a happy one, for 
 a submarine officer would naturally in his stalking be 
 able to realize at once the limitations and possibilities 
 of his opponent. It was a most difficult task, for the 
 U-boats at this time were still very shy, and only took 
 on certainties. Neither in boats nor in personnel had 
 Germany yet any to spare, and there were periods 
 when the submarine campaign fluctuated. Tlius, day 
 after day, week after week, went by, and Aiitxverp 
 never had any cliance. The enemy was now beginning 
 to operate lurther afield, and at the end of January, 
 1915, ior the first time, a U-boat made its way up the 
 Irish Sea as far us off Liverpool, and tlien, on Feb- 
 ruary 18, was inaugurated the Ciennau Submarine
 
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 iC 5;2
 
 THE HOUR AND THE NEED 9 
 
 Blockade. Shipping began to be sunk in various 
 places, but the western end of the English Channel 
 was now a favourite zone, especially in the neighbour- 
 hood of the Scillies ; and it was with the hope of being 
 taken for a merchant ship that Afitwerp had come out 
 from Falmouth and made her way westward. Thus, 
 on March 12, we see her, about three o'clock in the 
 afternoon, twelve miles north of the Bishop Rock 
 Lighthouse. A submarine^ was sighted steering in 
 a northerly direction for a steamer on the horizon. 
 Here, at length, was a chance. Twenty minutes 
 later, Antwe?y came up to a sailing ship, and found 
 she had on board the officers and crew of the Eller- 
 man liner Andalusian, which had been captured and 
 scuttled 25 miles W.N.W. of the Bishop Rock. 
 Antiverp continued her chase, andj got within four 
 miles of the Afidalusian, still afloat, but then the 
 submarine dived and was never sighted again. So 
 Antwerp was never able to sink a submarine, and she 
 was paid off on April 5, 1915. 
 
 During the summer of 1915 there was a small 
 steamer called the Lyons, which one used to see in 
 various naval ports, and under various disguises. Her 
 primary object was to carry naval stores from one 
 port to another, but it was always her hope to fall in 
 with a submarine. I remember seeing her one day 
 alongside Pembroke Naval Dockyard, painted a certain 
 colour and with one funnel. A little later I saw her 
 elsewhere with a different coat of paint and a dummy 
 funnel added to her, so that she resembled an ocean- 
 going tug. Lyons also was unable to entrap the 
 enemy, and terminated her decoy-ship period at the 
 beginning of November of the same year. 
 
 ^ This was U 29, which on March 1 8 was sunk in the North 
 Sea by H.M.S. Dreadnought.
 
 10 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 Thus the war had gone on for several months, and 
 an apparently sound idea had failed to produce a 
 single good result. All kinds of shipping were being 
 sunk, and yet the German submarines somehow could 
 not be persuaded to attack these disguised ships. 
 How was it ? Was there something in the disguise 
 which gave the steamers away ? Was it purely hard 
 luck ? We cannot say definitely, but the fact remained, 
 and it was rather disappointing. Of course the idea 
 of disguise had been employed almost from the very 
 first days of the war ; for, in August, 1914, Admiral 
 Jellicoe had requested that the armed trawlers, though 
 commissioned, should not be painted grey like other 
 warships, but retain their fishing numbers and funnel 
 markings just as in peace time. In the early summer 
 of 1915, a number of disguised armed trawlers were 
 also sent out to the Dogger Bank in the hope of 
 catching an unsuspecting submarine, wlio might think 
 they were fishing. The idea had been further de- 
 veloped by a clever scheme involving the co-operation 
 of a disguised armed trawler towing a submerged 
 British submarine. This began in May ; on June 2;5 
 it was the means of sinking U 40, and on July 20 it 
 brought about the loss of U '23 ; but a few months 
 later this idea was thought to be played out, and came 
 to an end in October, 191.5, though it was eventually 
 revived in the following summer. 
 
 Another variation of the decoy-ship principle at 
 this time was that employed by Admiral Startin, who 
 was in charge of the naval base at Granton. In view 
 of enemy submarines having recently held up neutral 
 mercliant steamers in the North Sea, he disguised two 
 big trawlers so as to resemble small neutral merchant 
 ships. This was in July, 1915. So successfully was 
 this done that one of them actually deceived British
 
 THE HOUR AND THE NEED 11 
 
 destroyers, who took her for a Danish cargo steamer. 
 The next development was further to disguise them 
 by adding a false deck cargo of timber, boats, and 
 other details, so as to resemble closely a Norwegian 
 cargo ship, with Norwegian colours hoisted at the 
 mizzen, two derricks placed on the trawler's foremast, 
 and Norwegian colours painted on prepared slips of 
 canvas placed on each side of the hull amidships. 
 Those who were at sea in those days will recollect 
 that it was customary for neutral ships to have their 
 national colours painted on each side of the hull in 
 the hope that the enemy would not mistake the ships 
 for Allies'. Thus cleverly disguised, the two Granton 
 trawlers Qiiicldy and Gunner went into the North 
 Sea, armed with nothing more powerful than a 
 I2-pounder, Admiral Startin being himself aboard one 
 of the ships. A large submarine was actually sighted 
 on July 20, and at 1,000 yards the enemy began the 
 action. Qidckly thereupon lowered her Norwegian 
 flag, ran up the White Ensign, removed the painted 
 canvas, replied with her 12-pounder, and then with 
 her 6-pounder. A fine, lucky shot was seen to strike 
 the submarine, and much smoke was seen to issue. 
 Although the enemy made off and was not sunk, yet 
 it showed that it was possible to fool German sub- 
 marines by this disguise. The decoy-ship idea was 
 not merely sound in principle, but it was practicable 
 and was capable of being used as a valuable offen- 
 sive weapon. jNIost of a year had passed since the 
 beginning of war, and there were no decoy ship 
 results to show except those which had been obtained 
 by British submarines working in conjunction with, 
 disguised trawlers. However, just as the seaman 
 often finds the dawn preceded by a calm and followed 
 by a breeze, so it was to be with the decoy ships.
 
 12 Q SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 The dawn of a new period was about to take place, 
 and this was followed by such a wind of events that if 
 anyone had dared to doubt the value of this specialized 
 naval warfare it was not long before such hesitation 
 vanished. Disguised trawlers had in the meantime 
 been further successful, but there were obviously 
 greater possibilities for the disguised merchant ship, 
 the collier and tramp types especially. But this all 
 depended on three things : First, the right type of 
 ship had to be selected very carefully and with regard 
 to the trade route on which she would normally in 
 the present conditions be likely to be found. For 
 instance, it would have been utterly foolish to have 
 sent a P. and O. liner to cruise up and down the 
 waters of the Irish Channel or an Atlantic liner up 
 and down the North Sea. Secondly, having once 
 selected the right ship, much depended on the dock- 
 yard authorities responsible for seeing that she was 
 fitted out adequately as to her fighting capabilities, 
 yet externally never losing any of her essential 
 mercantile appearance. This meant much clever 
 designing, much engineering and constructive skill, 
 and absolute secrecy. Thirdly, the right type of 
 keen, subtle, patient, tough officer had to be found, 
 full of initiative, full of resource, witli a live, eager 
 crew. Slackers, 'grousers,' and 'King's-hard-bargains' 
 were useless.
 
 Q-sHiP " Antwerp" 
 Showing the collapsible dummy life-rat't which concealed the two 1-2-pounders 
 
 Gun's Crew of Q ship "Antwerp' 
 
 Gun's crew of " Antwerp " ready to fire on a submarine. The sides of the 
 
 dummy life-raft have been collapsed to allow gun to come into action. 
 
 To face p. 12
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF SUCCESS 
 
 We turn now to the northern mists of the Orkneys, 
 where the comings and goings of the Grand Fleet 
 were wrapped in mystery from the eyes of the world. 
 In order to keep the fleet in stores — coal, oil, gear, 
 and hundreds of other requisite items — small colliers 
 and tramp steamers brought their cargoes northward 
 to Scapa Flow. In order to avoid the North Sea 
 submarines, these coal and store ships used the west- 
 coast passage as much as possible. Now, for that 
 reason, and also because German submarines were 
 already proceeding in earnest, via the north-west of 
 Scotland, to the south-west Irish coast, ever since the 
 successful sinking of the Lusitania, it was sound 
 strategy on our part to send a collier to operate off 
 the north-western Scottish coast. That is to say, 
 these looked the kinds of ships a suspecting U-boat 
 officer would expect to meet in that particular 
 locality. 
 
 Under the direction of Admiral Sir Stanley Col- 
 ville, a handful of these little ships was, during the 
 summer of 1915, being fitted out for decoy work. 
 One of these was the collier S.S. Prince Charles^ a 
 little vessel of only 373 tons. In peace-time she was 
 commanded by her master, Mr. F. N. Maxwell, and 
 manned by five deckhands, two engineers, and two 
 firemen. These men all volunteered for what was 
 
 13
 
 14 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 known to be a hazardous job, and were accepted. In 
 command was placed Lieutenant Mark Wardlaw, 
 R.N., and with him went Lieutenant J. G. Spencer, 
 R.N.R., and nine active-service ratings to man the 
 guns and use the rifles. She carried the weakest 
 of armament — only a 3-pounder and a 6-pounder, 
 with rifles forward and aft. Having completed her 
 fitting out with great secrecy, the P?i?ice Charles left 
 Longhope in the evening of July 21 with orders to 
 cruise on routes where submarines had recently been 
 seen. Proceeding to the westward at her slow gait, 
 she saw very few vessels until July 24. It was just 
 6.20 p.m. when, about ten miles W.N.AV. of North 
 Rona Island, she sighted a three-masted vessel with 
 one funnel, apparently stopped. A quarter of an 
 hour later she observed a submarine lying close to the 
 steamer. Here was the steel fish Prince Charles was 
 hoping to bait. 
 
 Pretending not to see the submarine, and keeping 
 on her course like a real collier. Lieutenant Wardlaw's 
 ship jogged quietly along, but he was closing up his 
 gun's crews behind their screens and the mercantile 
 crew were standing by ready to hoist out the ship's 
 boats when required. The German now started up 
 his oil-engines and came on at full speed towards the 
 Prince Charles. It had just gone seven o'clock and 
 the submarine was 3 miles off". The collier had 
 hoisted her colours and the enemy was about five 
 points on the bow when a German shell came "vvhizz- 
 ing across. This fell 1, ()()() yards over. Lieutenant 
 Wardlaw now stopped his engines, put his ship head 
 on to the Atlantic swell, blew three blasts, and tlien 
 ordered the crew to get the boats out, in order to 
 simulate the movements of an ordinary merchant ship 
 in the presence of an attacking submarine.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF SUCCESS 15 
 
 In the meantime the enemy was approaching 
 rapidly and fired a second shot, which fell between 
 the funnel and the foremast, but landed 50 yards 
 over. When the range was down to 600 yards 
 the enemy turned her broadside on to the colHer and 
 continued firing ; and this was now the time for the 
 Q-ship's captain to make the big decision. Should 
 he maintain his pretence and continue to receive 
 punishment, with the possibility of losing ship and 
 lives in the hope that the submarine would come 
 nearer? Or should he reveal his identity and risk 
 everything on the chance of winning all ? This was 
 always the critical moment when the Q-ship captain 
 held in his judgment the whole fate of the fight, of 
 the ship, and his men. 
 
 Lieutenant Wardlaw, seeing that the enemy could 
 not be enticed to come any nearer, took the second 
 alternative, and opened fire with his port guns. The 
 effect of this on the German was remarkable and 
 instantaneous ; for her gun's crew at once deserted 
 the gun and darted down into the conning-tower. 
 But whilst they were so doing, one of Prince 
 Charles'' s shells struck the submarine 20 feet abaft the 
 conning-tower. The enemy then came round and 
 showed her opposite broadside, having attempted to 
 dive. She now began to rise again as the collier 
 closed to 300 yards, and frequent hits were being 
 scored by the British guns. By this time the surprised 
 Germans had had more than enough, and were 
 observed to be coming out of the conning-tower, whilst 
 the submarine was settling down by the stern. Still 
 the British fire continued, and when the submarine's 
 bows were a long way out of the water, she took 
 a sudden plunge and disappeared. A large number of 
 men were then seen swimming about, and the Prince
 
 16 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 Charles at once made every effort to pick them up, 
 fifteen officers and men being thus saved out of 
 thirty-three. 
 
 So ended the career of U 36. She had left HeHgo- 
 land on July 19 for a cruise of several weeks via the 
 North Sea, and, up till the day of meeting with 
 Piince Charles, had had a most successful time ; for 
 she had sunk eight trawlers and one steamer, and 
 had stopped the Danish S.S. Louise when the Prince 
 Chaises came up. It was not until the submarine 
 closed the latter that U 36 saw the Englishmen 
 clearing away some tarpaulins on deck, and the next 
 moment the Germans were under fire, and the 
 captain gave orders to dive. By this time the 
 submarine had been hit several times, and as she 
 could not be saved, she was brought to the surface 
 by blowing out her tanks. The crew then took to 
 the sea, and the engineer officer opened the valves to 
 sink her, and was the last to leave. Inside, the 
 submarine was wrecked by Prince Chaides's shells and 
 three men were killed, the accurate and rapid fire having 
 immensely impressed the Germans. Thus the first 
 Q-ship engagement had been everything that could be 
 desired, and in spite of the submarine being armed 
 with a 14-pounder and carrying seven torpedoes, the 
 U-boat had been beaten in a fair fight. Lieutenant 
 JNIark Wardlaw received a D.S.O., two of the crew 
 the D.S.M., and tlie sum of £1,000 was awarded to 
 be divided among the mercantile crew. 
 
 Another of the ships fitted out under similar 
 auspices was the Vala, who commissioned on August 7, 
 1915. She was of 609 tons, and could steam at 
 nothing better tlian 8 knots. In March of the 
 following year she was transferred from Scapa to 
 I*embroke, and her career was long and eventful.
 
 THE BEGINNING OF SUCCESS 17 
 
 In April of 1917 she was in action with a submarine, 
 and she beheved that one shell hit the enemy, but 
 the latter then submerged. One day in the middle 
 of August Fala left Milford Haven to cruise between 
 the Fastnet and the Scillies, and was last heard of in 
 the early hours of the following day. She was due 
 to arrive at Queenstown, but, as she did not return, the 
 Q-ship Heather was ordered to search for her in the 
 Bay of Biscay. For a whole week there had been a 
 series of gales, and it was thought that the little 
 steamer had foundered in the bad weather, but on 
 September 7 the German Government wireless 
 announced that ' the U-boat trap, the former English 
 steamer Vala,' had been sunk by a U-boat. 
 
 Besides the Vala and Prince Charles^ three other 
 Q-ships were fitted out in the north. These were 
 the Glen IsJa, of 786 tons ; the Duncombe, 830 tons ; 
 and the Penshurst, 740 tons, and they all performed 
 excellent work. But before we go any further we 
 have to consider still another novelty in naval warfare, 
 or rather a strange revival. Who would have thought 
 that the sailing-ship would, in these days of steam, 
 steel, and motor, come back in the service as a man- 
 of-war ? At first it seems almost ludicrous to send 
 sail-driven craft to fight against steel, mechanically 
 propelled vessels. But, as we have seen, this sub- 
 marine warfare was not so much a matter of force 
 as of cleverness. It was the enemy's unimaginative 
 policy which brought about this reintroduction of 
 sail into our Navy, and this is how it all happened. 
 
 During the summer of 1915 German submarines 
 in the North Sea had either attacked or destroyed a 
 number of neutral schooners which used to come 
 across with cargoes of pit-props. One used to see 
 these fine little ships by the dozen arriving in the 
 
 2
 
 18 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 Forth, for the neutral was getting an excellent return 
 for his trading. It annoyed the enemy that this 
 timber should be able to enter a British port, and so 
 the submarines endeavoiu-ed to terrorize the neutral 
 by burning or sinking the ships on voyage. It was 
 therefore decided to take up the 179-ton schooner 
 Tkirza^ which was lying in the Tyne. Her purchase 
 had to be carried out with great secrecy, lest the 
 enemy should be able to recognize her at sea. She 
 was an old vessel, having been built as far back as 
 1865 at Prince Edward Island, but registered at 
 Whitstable. She changed her name to Readii, and 
 began her Q-ship service at the end of August, 1915, 
 when soon after midnight she sailed down the Forth. 
 Armed with a couple of 12-pounders, having also 
 a motor, carrying a small deck cargo of pit-props, and 
 suitably disguised to resemble a neutral, this schooner, 
 manned by a hardy volunteer crew, used to pretend 
 she was coming across the North Sea, though at first 
 she never went many miles away from the land. 
 Under the various aliases of Thirza, Ready, Probiis, 
 Elixir, and Q 30, this old ship did splendid work, 
 which did not end until Armistice. We shall have 
 occasion to refer to her ag'ain. 
 
 Who can avoid a feeling of intense admiration for 
 the men who, year after year, were willing and eager 
 to roll about the sea in a small sailing ship looking 
 for the enemy, well knowing that the enemy had all 
 the advantage of speed, handiness, and armament ? 
 Even the motor was not powerful, and would give her 
 not niucli more tlian steerage way in a calm. The 
 submarine could always creep up submerged, using 
 his periscope but now and then : the schooner, how- 
 ever, was a conspicuous target all the time, and her 
 masts and sails advertised her presence from the
 
 THE BEGINNING OF SUCCESS 19 
 
 horizon. These Q-ship saiHng men deserve much for 
 what they voluntarily endured. Quite apart from the 
 bad weather, the uncomfortable quarters on board, 
 the constant trimming of sheets and alteration of 
 course off an unlit coast, there was always the possi- 
 bility that some U-boat's crew would, after sinking 
 the schooner, cut the throats of these British seamen. 
 The Q-ship crews knew this, and on certain occasions 
 when U-boat prisoners were taken by our ships the 
 Germans did not conceal this fact. Life in these 
 sailing craft was something quite different from that 
 in a battleship with its wardroom, its cheery society, 
 and a comfortable cabin to turn into. In the latter, 
 with powerful turbines and all the latest navigational 
 instruments, bad weather meant little inconvenience. 
 After all it is the human element which is the decid- 
 ing factor, and the Q-ship service certainly wore out 
 officers and men at a great pace. It is indeed difficult 
 to imagine any kind of seafaring more exacting both 
 physically and nervously. 
 
 But the Navy pressed into its use also sailing 
 smacks, and sent them out to sea. This began at 
 Lowestoft in August, 1915. In that neighbourhood 
 submarines had been doing a great deal of damage to 
 the local fishing ketches, so it was decided to com- 
 mission four of these smacks, arm them, strengthen 
 their fishing crew with a few active service ratings for 
 working the gun, and let the craft resume their 
 fishing among the other smacks. With any luck at 
 all a German submarine should come along, and then 
 would follow the surprise. The original fishermen 
 crews were only too delighted to have an opportunity 
 of getting their own back, and these excellent fellows 
 certainly were afforded some good sport. So well 
 did the idea work that within a very few days the
 
 20 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 smack G. and E. engaged one submarine, and the 
 Inverlyon sank UB 4. During the same month 
 the smack Pet fought a submarine, and on Septem- 
 ber 7 Inverlyon had a fight with another. 
 
 And still the Admiralty were not over optimistic 
 as to the capabilities of the decoy ship, and had 
 to be convinced of the real worth of this novel idea. 
 However, an incident happened on August 19 which 
 was so successful and so significant that it entirely 
 changed the official mind, and all kinds of craft were 
 suggested as suitable decoys. Some thought that oil- 
 tankers would have made ideal bait : so they would, 
 but such ships were few in number and too valuable. 
 Others suggested yachts, and actually these were used 
 for intelligence work in the Bay of Biscay. Many 
 other schemes, too, were brought forward, but they 
 were not always practicable, or had to be discarded for 
 particular reasons. 
 
 In jNIarch, 1915, the Admiralty had taken up the 
 S.S. B(ir along, a typical 'three-island' tramp, as a 
 decoy. For nearly six months she had been cruising 
 about and had already steamed 12,000 miles, but 
 during the afternoon of August 19 she was at last to 
 have her chance. This was an historic day in the 
 submarine campaign, for in tliat area between the 
 soutli-west coast of Ireland [uid the western end of 
 the English Channel eight British steamers were sunk, 
 including the 1,5,801-ton White Star liner Arabic. 
 It is quite certain that there was more than one sub- 
 marine operating, and they had reaped a good harvest 
 on the 17th. In the hope of falling in with one of 
 these U-boats, the Baralon^ found herself in 
 Lat. 50.22 N., Long. 8.7 W. (that is, about a hundred 
 miles south of Queenstown), steering on an easterly 
 course. Siie was disguised as a United States cargo
 
 ^^/m shelling 'Nicosian ' 
 
 S.S.NICOSIAN' 
 
 s/m S3nk 
 
 ^ ^^ ^NICOSIAN'S 
 
 •*- ^ Boats 
 
 BAR A long' 
 
 firing at s/m range 600 yds. 
 
 ' Baralong sighted /\ 
 s/M 7 miles off. ^fr 
 
 Fig. 1. — Diagram to Illustrate Approximate Movements of ' Bara- 
 
 LONG ' WHEN SHE SANK U 27 ON AUGUST 19, 1915. ThE NUMERALS 
 
 indicate Simultaneous Positions of Decoy and Submarine.
 
 22 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 ship with American colours painted on boards on her 
 sides. These boards were made so that they could 
 be hauled in, and the ensign staff would fall away as 
 soon as the ship should go into action with the White 
 Ensign hoisted. At three in the afternoon Baraloiig 
 sighted a steamer manoeuvring rather strangely, and 
 almost immediately picked up a wireless *S.O.S.' 
 signal from her. Baralong therefore now altered 
 course towards her, and the two ships were soon 
 steering so that they would presently meet. Then a 
 submarine was sighted about seven miles off heading 
 towards the steamer, whom she was shelling. By this 
 time the crew of the steamer, which was the Leyland 
 liner Nicosian, were rowing about in the ship's 
 boats, and towards these the Barcdong was seen to be 
 approaching, but the submarine U 27, which had a 
 22-pounder forward of the high conning-tower, and a 
 similar gun aft, steered so as to come along Nicosiaris 
 port side and towards the latter's boats, apparently to 
 prevent Bar along rescuing the men. One who was 
 present told me the full story, and I made notes and a 
 sketch at the time. This is what happened : 
 
 As soon as the submarine was blanketed by 
 Nicosian, the Baralong, who was now roughly 
 parallel with the other two craft, struck her American 
 colours, hoisted the White Ensign, and trained her 
 guns ready for the moment when the submarine 
 should show herself ahead of AHcosiaiis bows. In 
 a few seconds U 27 came along, and had tlie greatest 
 of all surprises. 'JMie range was only (JOO yards, and 
 12-pounder shells, accompanied by rifle fire, came 
 hurtling along, penetrating tlie crall on the water- 
 line below the conning-tower before the enemy could 
 reply. The coiming-tower went up in the air, panic- 
 stricken Germans jumped into the sea, the submarine
 
 Q-SHiP "Baralong" 
 
 Hevoiiie of two fanions victories over submarines. Photograph taken in Maha 
 harl)our after the ship had been transferred to the Mediterranean. 
 
 Q-SHIP •' Uedbreast " 
 
 This vessel was commissioned as a Q-ship at the end of ;March, lOlC, but six 
 mouths hiter had concluded her service in this capacity. 
 
 To fate p. 22
 
 THE BEGINNING OF SUCCESS 23 
 
 heeled over, and in about another minute sank for 
 good and all. The whole incident had happened so 
 quickly that Nicosia7i\s people were as surprised as 
 they were amused. The whole of Bar along s tactics 
 had been so simple yet so clever and effective ; de- 
 liverance from the enemy had followed the sudden 
 attack so dramatically, that it was not easy to realize 
 quite all that had happened. Nicosian had been 
 holed by the German shells, but Baralong took her 
 in tow and headed for Avonmouth. She was down 
 by the head and the tow-rope parted during the night, 
 but she managed to get to port all right. 
 
 The sinking of this U 27 was a most useful piece 
 of work, for her captain, Lieut. -Commander Wegener, 
 was one of Germany's best submarine commanders ; 
 she had left Germany a fortnight before. This in- 
 cident, with many of its details, reached Germany 
 via the U.S.A.; for Nicosian was carrying a cargo 
 of mules from across the Atlantic to be used by our 
 army, and some of the muleteers were American 
 citizens. On their arrival back home the news came 
 out, and was published in the newspapers, causing 
 considerable sensation. The German nation was 
 furious and made some bitter accusations, forgetting 
 all the time that on this very day they had fired on 
 and killed fourteen of the crew of the British sub- 
 marine E 18, which had grounded on the Danish 
 island of Saltholm. All the officers, with one excep- 
 tion, and most of the crew of Baralong were of the 
 Royal Naval Reserve. A number of decorations was 
 made and the sum of £1,000 was awarded. 
 
 This great success in the midst of a terrible tale 
 of shipping losses finally convinced the authorities 
 of the value of the Q-ship. There was a greats 
 shortage of tonnage at this time, for ships were being
 
 24 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 required for carrying mules and munitions from 
 America, munitions to Russia, and every kind of 
 stores across to our armies. However, it was decided 
 to take up some more steamers as decoys and fit them 
 out in a similar manner. Thus the two tramp steamers 
 Zylpha (2,917 tons) and the Lodorer (3,207 tons) were 
 assigned to Queenstown. The former, after doing 
 excellent work, was sunk on June 15, 1917 ; the 
 latter, commanded by the officer who eventually 
 became Captain Gordon Campbell, V.C., D.S.O., 
 made history. Under the aliases of Farnhorough 
 and Q 5 she became the most famous of all the decoy 
 ships. Tramp steamer though she may be, she has a 
 career which, for adventurous fights, honourable 
 wounds, and imperishable glory cannot be approached 
 by any ship in the world, with the solitary exception, 
 perhaps, of the Vindictive, for, in spite of everything, 
 Lodorer was able at the end of the war to resume 
 her work in the Merchant Service. In another place 
 we shall soon see her exploits as a warship. 
 
 In addition to these two a few small coasting 
 steamers were taken up and a couple of transports, 
 and the work of selecting officers of dash and enter- 
 prise had to be undertaken with great secrecy and 
 discretion. Unquestionably the most suitable type 
 'of Q-ship was the tramp, and tlie worst was the cross- 
 Channel railway steamer. The first was slow, but 
 could keep at sea a long time without coaling ; the 
 latter was fast, but wasteful of coal and had limited 
 bunker space. Of these railway steamers we have 
 already mentioned the G.E.R. Co.'s S.S. Vienna 
 (alias .'In twerp). Another decoy ship was the L. &: 
 S.W.R. Co.'s S.S. Princess Ena, whicli was built to 
 run between the Channel Islands and Southampton. 
 She had been commissioned in May, 1915, armed
 
 THE BEGINNING OF SUCCESS 25 
 
 with three 12-pounders, and could steam at 15 knots, 
 but she ceased her decoy work in the following August. 
 The Lyons, already referred to, was really a salvage 
 steamer, but much resembled a tug, especially when 
 she hoisted her dummy funnel. She was of 537 tons, 
 could steam at 11 knots, and was armed with four 
 12-pounders. But it was the 'three-island' tramp 
 type of the Baralong breed, which was so ordinary 
 and seen at any time in any sea, that made the ideal 
 Q-ship. She was of 4,192 tons, built in 1901, speed 
 10 knots, armed with three 12-pounders, and fitted 
 with a single wireless aerial which could excite no 
 suspicion. So skilfully was the armament of these 
 ships concealed that they frequently lay in harbour 
 close to foreign ships without revealing their true'^ 
 nature. I have myself been all over such a ship, 
 commanded by one of the greatest Q-ship officers, 
 and entirely failed to find where he mounted his guns, 
 and yet they were on board ready for immediate use. 
 How much more likely would the German submarine, 
 lying lower down to the water, be deceived ! As 
 time went on and these much-feared ' trap-ships ' 
 were scrutinized more closely, several minor but fatal 
 characteristics had to be remembered ; for instance, 
 the crew sometimes would be too smart or the signal- -^ 
 man was too good with his semaphore. But these 
 and similar points were rectified as soon as they were 
 realized.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Q-SHIP ENTERPRISE 
 
 Within five weeks of her victorious fight Bar along 
 had done it again. After the war it was definitely- 
 announced in the pubhc Press that U 27 had been 
 sunk by H.M.S. Wyandra on August 19. Under this 
 name the ship's crew were awarded the sum of £185 
 as prize bounty, and in the same court Wyandra, her 
 commanding ofiicer this time being Lieut. -Commander 
 A. Wilmot-Smith, R.N., was awarded £l70 prize 
 bounty for sinking U41 on September 24, 1915. It was 
 an open secret that Baralong and Wyandra were one 
 and the same ship, so we may as well get this matter 
 quite clear. Already we have seen the manner in 
 which this decoy sank U 27, and we shall now be 
 able to note very similar tactics in almost the same 
 locality attaining a like result under her new captain. 
 U 41 had left Wilhelmshaven on September 12, 
 this being her fourth trip. She was under the com- 
 mand of Lieut. -Commander Hansen, and on the 23rd 
 had sunk tliree I5ritish steamers, each of about 4,000 
 tons, in a position roughly eighty miles south-east of 
 the Fastnet. The first of tliese ships was the ^Ingh- 
 Cobimhian, wlncli was sunk at 9.45 a.m., followed by 
 the Chancellor at .*J ]).m., and the ITcsionc about four 
 hours later. Tlie news of the first sinking reached 
 Bandoufj; (licncefortli oflicially known as Wyandra) 
 \\\ FalmouLli, so this decoy put to sea, and after 
 
 2(}
 
 W U RBI NO 
 
 / 
 
 /C 
 
 ^^:T 
 
 Opened fire %^-'" J 
 (Shipstopped)\ J^/ 
 
 
 D THelmpuf- hard 
 
 \ Commenced 
 lowering bodt 
 
 Is topped -. ordered to 
 ^ ^ ^nd papers to s/m 
 
 ^^/m hoisted signal 
 ^ to stop 
 
 position whenfMdimi^A 
 
 s/m shelling ship 
 
 kj Position of 'BARALONG 
 )^ on sighting s/M. 
 
 t 
 
 Fig. 2. — Diagram to Illustrate Approximate Movements of ' Bara- 
 long' when she sank U 41 on September 24, 1915. The Letters 
 indicate Simultaneous Positions of Decoy and Submarine.
 
 28 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 rounding the Lizard steered a course that would, 
 with luck, intercept the submarine if she were operat- 
 ing towards Ushant, as seemed probable. So the 
 night passed. About 9 o'clock next morning the 
 British S.S. Urbino (6,G51 tons), of the Wilson Line, 
 was attacked by this U 41 in a position roughly 
 sixty-seven miles S.W. by W. of the Bishop rock. 
 At 9.45 a.m. up came the Baralong, and sighted the 
 U7'bino about eight miles ahead, on tire, stopped, 
 with a heavy list, and blowing off steam. It was a 
 fine, clear morning ; a steady coiu'se was maintained, 
 and the Q-ship made ready for action. Already the 
 Urbinoi's crew had been compelled to take to their 
 boats, and the submarine, at a range of 200 yards, 
 had put five shells into her. 
 
 Baralong now sighted the submarine's conning- 
 tower, and when about five miles away the submarine 
 dived, so Baralong altered course to the southward, 
 so as to compel the enemy, if she meant to attack, to 
 rise to the surface and use her oil-engines. This ruse 
 succeeded, for presently U 41 came to the surface 
 and proceeded at full speed to head the Englishman 
 off. Baralong now hoisted United States coloiu-s, 
 whereupon the German hoisted ' Stop instantly !' 
 The former obeyed, but by using the engines now 
 and again cleverly manoeuvred so as to close the 
 range. The next order from the enemy was for the 
 Englishman to send his papers aboard the submarine, 
 the two craft being now about two and a half miles 
 apart. Baralong answered the signal, steamed 
 slowly ahead, altering very gradually towards the 
 enemy, and pretended to be lioisting out a boat on 
 the side visible to the submarine. On board the 
 latter the forward gun was already manned, Ober- 
 Leutnant Crompton being on deck in charge of the
 
 QSHIl' " BaRALONCt " 
 
 Showing gun on port side of the poop and disguised crew. 
 
 QsHiP "Bakaloni;" 
 Showing disguised marines and method of couceiling the gun. 
 
 To face p. 2S
 
 Q-SHIP ENTERPRISE 29 
 
 firing. But Hansen had already been outmanoeuvred 
 by Wilmot- Smith, just as in the olden days the 
 sailing man-of-war sought to win the weather-gage. 
 For, having got the submarine 2 points on the 
 starboard bow, Bar along so steered as to keep her in 
 that position, and the two approached until the range 
 was down to 700 yards. 
 
 All this time, though every man in Bar along was 
 at his station, there was not a movement that in any 
 way caused the enemy to suspect. The latter was 
 concerned rather with the details of making quite' 
 sure she was a neutral. It was then that Baralong 
 starboarded her helm so that it might appear as if she 
 were just swinging in order to give the ship's boat a 
 lee while being lowered, a perfectly natural and sea- 
 manlike piece of tactics. But when she had swung 
 sufficiently for the starboard and stern guns to bear, 
 down came the disguise, up went the fluttering White 
 Ensign, and a heavy fire at only 500 yards came 
 pouring forth, accompanied by rifle fire from the 
 marines in the well- deck aft. The enemy was taken 
 so completely by surprise that he got off only one 
 round, and this was a long way out. So smartly had 
 Baralong s men begun the attack that the second 
 round scored a direct hit at the base of the conning- 
 tower, and several other sliells got home with deadly 
 precision. The Germans on deck became panic- 
 stricken, left their guns, and made for the conning- 
 tower hatch, but whilst they were doing this another 
 direct hit struck the conning- tower, blowing Hansen 
 and six men to pieces. After several more hits, U 41 
 listed to port with a heavy inclination and dived. 
 This submersion was useless, as she was leaking very 
 badly, and the main bilge-pump ceased to function. 
 Down she dropped to a terrible depth, the diving
 
 30 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 tanks were blown by the compressed air, and with a 
 great sense of reHef the Germans who were still alive 
 found their craft coming to the surface. First came 
 the bows, and then the top of the conning- tower 
 showed above water, a large volume of smoke and 
 steam escaping, and then she disappeared for the 
 last time very rapidly, stern first, Ober-Leutnant 
 Crompton and the helmsman escaping through an 
 open hatchway. 
 
 After she had sunk finally a large burst of air and 
 oil-fuel rose to the surface, the submarine's bulkheads 
 having apparently burst owing to the pressure due 
 to the deep water, which here was 75 fathoms. 
 Only Crompton and the helmsman were saved, the 
 former having been badly wounded whilst entering 
 the conning-tower. All the others, consisting of five 
 officers and twenty-five men, were lost. In the mean- 
 time Urbino had sunk, too, from her shell-holes, and 
 Baralong picked the whole crew up from their boats 
 to the number of forty-two officers and men, her 
 master, Captain Allanson Hick, stating that his ship 
 was on her way from New York to Hull. Baralong, 
 conscious of having obtained another brilliant and 
 brave victory, now proceeded with her survivors to 
 Falmouth, where she arrived in the early hours of 
 the following morning. Lieut.-Commander Wilmot- 
 Smith was awarded the D.S.O., and Temporary 
 Engineer J. JNI. Dowie, R.N.R., received a D.S.C., a 
 well-deserved decoration ; for much depended on 
 the engineers in these ships, and they had much to 
 suffer. Two of the crew received a D.S.M. each, and 
 the sum of £l,000 was also awarded, this being 
 additional to the bounty subsequently awarded in the 
 Prize Court. 
 
 At this stage in the world's history there is no in-
 
 Q-SHIP ENTERPRISE 31 
 
 tention of exulting in the discomfiture and pain oi' 
 the enemy. Day after day during this period the 
 writer used to see the sad sight of our survivors with- 
 out siiip or belongings other than the clothes on their 
 backs. It is difficult altogether to forget these inci- 
 dents or the uncliivalrous behaviour of the enemy. 
 Without wishing to be vindictive, it is well to place 
 on record that tiie nineteen German sailors on the 
 deck of U 41 all jeered at Captain Hick in his dis- 
 tress, and yet although a callous enemy had been 
 sunk in a fair fight, this second Baralong incident 
 aroused in Germany a wave of horrified indignation 
 akin to the decoy's former exploit. The German 
 Press referred to the sinking of U 41 as a murderous 
 act, but if this were so there were to be plenty more 
 to follow. Happily, at last, we had found a real, 
 effective means of grappling with the submarine 
 problem. Against us were contending the finest 
 brains of the German Navy, and these determined 
 officers were not over anxious to save life, as we knew 
 from their behaviour at the sinking of Falaba and 
 Lusitania. Such craft as U 41, over 200 feet long, 
 with a maximum surface speed of 14 knots, but 
 an endurance of 5,500 miles at 10 knots, armed with 
 a couple of guns and eight torpedoes, were formidable 
 foes, and any clever stratagem that could be used 
 against them, without infringing International Law, 
 was surely entirely justified. Thus, very wisely, four 
 colliers were fitted out that same autumn as Q-ships, 
 these being the Tliornliill (alias Werribee, Wellholme, 
 and JVongai Leila) ; the 'Remembrance (alias Lam- 
 meroo) ; Bradford City (alias Saros) ; and the 
 Penhallow (alias Century). These, together with 
 Baralong, were sent to operate in the Mediterranean, 
 for here the submarine campaign became very
 
 32 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 serious just at the time when it temporarily died 
 down in North European waters. Diplomatic rela- 
 tions between Germany and the United States, con- 
 sequent on the sinking of the lAisitania and then 
 A7'abic, were becoming strained, so that Germany had 
 to accept the American demands for the limitation 
 of submarine activity. The result was that from 
 September 24, 1915, up to December 20, 1915, no 
 ships were sunk by German submarines in North 
 European waters, though the Mediterranean had a 
 different story to tell. At the end of December a 
 short, sharp submarine campaign was carried out off 
 Ireland by U-boats, and then there was quiet again 
 until Germany began her extended submarine cam- 
 paign on INIarch 1, 1916. This in turn lasted only to 
 May 8, and was not resumed until July 5, 1916. 
 
 It is as well to bear these periods in mind, for 
 otherwise we cannot appreciate the dull, monotonous 
 weeks and months of cruising spent by the Q- ships 
 when they saw no submarine, received nothing but 
 vague, inaccurate reports, and had to keep their crews 
 from getting disappointed or eventually wondering 
 whether they were really doing any good in this 
 particular service. But as the winter passed and the 
 U-boats displayed their usual spring activity, the 
 Q-ships had their opportunities again. Before we 
 come to see these, let us take a glance at the work 
 which they were performing during the winter in the 
 Mediterranean, where the enemy sought to cut our 
 lines of communication to the Dardanelles. 
 
 In December, 1915, the steamship 3Iar_^if had 
 been fitted out as a decoy, and on January 17, 1916, 
 in Lat. 35.34 N., Long. 17.38 E., she was steering 
 west for Malta, when she received S.O.S. signals on 
 her wireless. The time was 9.30 a.m., and presently
 
 Q-SHIP ENTERPRISE 33 
 
 shots were seen falling close to the S.S. Baron Napier ^ 
 who was about five miles to the southward. The 
 captain of the Margit was Lieut.-Commander G. L. 
 Hodson, R.N., who then hoisted the Dutch ensign 
 and altered course towards the Baron Napier. The 
 latter kept making signals that she was being shelled 
 and that the submarine was approaching ; but when 
 Margit got within a couple of miles the submarine 
 transferred the shelling to her. Margifs captain 
 conned his ship, lying prone on the bridge and peering 
 through the chinks in the bridge screen. In order to 
 lure the enemy on he pretended to abandon ship, 
 hoisted the international signal ' I am stopped,' and 
 sent away the ship's lifeboat with Sub-Lieutenant 
 McClure, R.N.R., in charge. The ship now had 
 every appearance of having been abandoned, but in 
 addition to the captain lying unseen on the bridge, 
 the guns' crews, under Lieutenant Tweedie, R.N.R., 
 and a sub-lieutenant, were remaining hidden at 
 their stations. Riflemen were similarly placed on 
 the foredeck and aft. 
 
 After the ' panic party ' had been sent away in 
 the boat the enemy seemed fairly satisfied, ceased 
 shelling, dived, and then reappeared a quarter of an 
 hour later 800 yards away, with a couple of feet of 
 his periscope showing. He was now going to make 
 quite sure this was no trap, so, still submerged, he 
 came within 50 yards of Margifs port side and 
 then right round the ship, scrutinizing her carefully. 
 At length, being apparently quite convinced that all 
 was well, he steered for 3Iargifs boat about a 
 thousand yards away and came to the surface. Three 
 men then appeared on the submarine's deck, the 
 German ensign was hoisted, and one of them waved 
 3£argit's boat to come alongside. This was as far as 
 
 3
 
 34 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 Lieut. -Commander Hodson deemed it advisable to 
 let matters go. Giving the orders to down screens, 
 open fire, and hoist the White Ensign, the enemy 
 now came under attack. One shot seemed to hit 
 abaft the conning -tower, and the submarine sub- 
 merged, so fire was ceased and 3Iargit proceeded to 
 pick up her boat. The davit-falls had only just 
 been hooked on when the submarine showed her 
 conning-tower 70 yards off, apparently in difficulties. 
 The Q-ship therefore opened fire once more, but 
 
 Y^Xwhen-s/M disappeared . /"--,. 
 ^■"^ ''''-^^^s/M rose 
 
 J^ \ "^t opened fire on -^M 
 
 ^-'y //^^ J^'^/m approached ship shcwina 
 
 J '\^/^ ^^ all of periscope Stop of connm^ tower 
 
 Fig. 3. — Diagram to Illustrate Approximate Movements of 'Margit' 
 IN HER Engagement with Submarine on January 17, 1916. 
 
 the enemy again submerged. Unfortunately the 
 submarine had not been sunk, although no effort had 
 been neglected. From 9.30 a.m. to about midday 
 officers and crew had been compelled to keep in 
 cramped, tiring attitudes, with very little knowledge 
 of what was going on ; and after he had finally dis- 
 appeared Mar git had remained for about three hours 
 in the hope that he might return. By a curious 
 coincidence, at the time when Baron Napier was 
 being attacked, another steamer, \h^ Baron Ardrossari, 
 belonging to the same owners, happened to be passing
 
 Q-SHIP ENTERPRISE 35 
 
 and saw the shells dropping around, but as she could 
 steam nothing better than 3 knots slower than 
 Baron Napier she could not go to her assistance. 
 However, if the submarine had not been destroyed, 
 Margit had saved the Baron Napier and caused the 
 enemy to break off the engagement. 
 
 Mention was made just now of the Werribee (alias 
 lVo7iganelIa, etc.). On February 3, 191G, this ship, 
 which had been fitted out at Gibraltar, under the 
 command of I^ieut.-Commander B. J. D. Guy, R.N., 
 left Port Said to cruise on the Malta to Egypt trade 
 route. She was a steamer of 3,848 tons, and had 
 taken in 2,600 tons of sand as ballast. About 9 o'clock 
 on the morning of February 9, Werribee was steaming 
 along when she picked up a signal on her wireless to 
 the effect that the S.S. Sp7i7igiveII, of 5,593 tons, was 
 torpedoed and sinking by the head. The vessel was 
 soon sighted, and the last boats could be seen already 
 leaving the ship, the position being about sixty miles 
 from Crete. The weather was perfect, with a flat, 
 calm sea and extreme visibility — an ideal day, in fact, 
 for good gunnery. 
 
 But it was to be a most difficult experience, and 
 the incident well illustrates the problems which had 
 to be dealt with. About 10.15 a.m., as no submarine 
 could be seen, Wcmibee turned towards the four 
 boats already in the water, and hailed them for infor- 
 mation, then examined the condition of Springwell, 
 and presently turned again. All of a sudden, a great 
 submarine, painted like the JVlediterranean pirate-ships 
 of ancient times, a brownish green, emerged from 
 the sea about 5,000 yards away on Werribee's star- 
 board bow, and came close up to Sp?ingzvell, possibly 
 to prevent Werribee from salving her. Alarm stations 
 were sounded in the Q-ship, but the submarine's men
 
 36 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 were already running to their two guns, and opened 
 fire. Werribec then decided to haul round and 
 pretend to run away. The third shot from the enemy 
 hit, and it was at first feared that the explosion had dis- 
 abled one gun's crew, but fortunately the hit was a 
 little further aft. It was immediately evident to 
 Wer'vibee's captain that to-day the enemy was not 
 going to allow him to play the abandon-ship game, 
 but was intending to sink him straight away. The 
 submarine's accurate and rapid fire was clearly aimed 
 at JVerribee's boats, and two of them were soon 
 riddled. It was for Lieut.-Commander Guy to make 
 up his mind quickly what tactics noAv to pursue, and 
 he decided to reveal the ship's true character and open 
 fire. This was done, and within ten seconds his 4-inch 
 quick-firer was in action, range 4,000 yards. After 
 six rounds from the Q-ship the enemy ceased firing, 
 and the eighth seemed to hit abaft the conning-tower. 
 Then she submerged in a cloud of smoke, about 11.10 
 a.m., this smoke screen being a favourite ruse for 
 escaping, and she was never seen again that day. 
 Werribee now turned her attention to the torpedoed 
 ship, but the latter was too far gone, and foundered 
 at 5.45 that afternoon. The men in Springiveirs 
 boats were then picked up, and about G o'clock the 
 ship made for Malta. It was again sheer bad luck ; a 
 combination of difficult circumstances, and the tactics 
 of an astute German captain, had now prevented 
 success coming to the decoy. There was no question 
 about her disguise, and the captain of a merchantman 
 who witnessed the fight accurately spoke of Werribee 
 as ' an old tramp with a few patches of paint, firing 
 at the submarine.' Before the war we should have 
 thought no ship in His Majesty's Service could 
 possibly merit such a description as this, but strange
 
 
 BOATS ON •V^ 
 'mRRIBEES « 
 nRSTAPPROACH% 
 
 Fig. 4.— Diagram to Illustrate Approximate Movements of • Wi';kri- 
 bkh' in Action with Submarine on February 9, 1916.
 
 38 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 things were happening on the seas at this time, and 
 it was the highest compHment so to be described. 
 
 With the experience which had been gained from 
 all these engagements in various areas it was possible 
 to form some idea of the requisite standardized equip- 
 ment with which Q-ships should be supplied. First 
 of all, inasmuch as the enemy was being better armed, 
 at least one modern 4-inch gun was necessary, in 
 addition to any 12 -pounder. Long-range action, 
 especially in the Mediterranean, was probable at 
 times, for the enemy M^ould not always consent to 
 engage close to. Secondly, it was highly important 
 that the ship should remain afloat, even though 
 seriously holed. It might happen — and later on it 
 actually did occur — that the enemy might suppose the 
 ship was just about to founder, thus making it quite 
 safe to close her in order to read her name. Then 
 would come the one great chance for the Q-ship to 
 destroy the enemy. Therefore, to this end, it became 
 certain that these ships should be given cargoes of 
 barrels, or timber, carefully stowed, so that it would 
 be no easy task to sink her, and she might perhaps 
 even be salved.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE STORY OF THE ' FARNBOROUGH ' 
 
 Two days before the end of February, 1916, 1 happened 
 to be returning from leave in England to my ship, 
 which was in Queenstown for boiler-cleaning. In the 
 Holyhead-Kingstown steamer I found myself in con- 
 versation with a junior lieutenant-commander, R.N., 
 who also was returning to his ship at Queenstown. We 
 talked of many things all the way down across Ireland, 
 but this quiet, taciturn officer impressed me less by 
 what he said than by what he left unsaid, and it took 
 me a long time to guess the name of his ship. I 
 thought I knew most of the commanding officers of 
 sloops and trawlers and drifters, and so on, at work 
 off the south and south-west coasts of Ireland, but I 
 had neither seen this officer nor heard his name 
 before. At the beginning of the war he was unknown 
 to the public ; in fact, not until three weeks after the 
 end of this February did he win distinction, but to- 
 day his name is known and respected in every navy 
 of the world, and his career as a naval officer is different 
 from anything ever recorded in the pages of history. 
 
 This was Lieut.-Commander Gordon Camp- 
 bell, who just before the war was a lieutenant in 
 command of an old-fashioned destroyer based on 
 Devonport. On October 21, 1915 — the date is par- 
 ticularly fortunate as having been the 110th anni- 
 versary of the Battle of Trafalgar — Lieutenant
 
 40 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 Campbell commissioned the tramp steamer Lodorer 
 at Devonport as a Q-ship, but on passage thence to 
 Queenstown changed her name to Parjiborough, as it 
 had become gossip that she had been armed for special 
 service. Through that trying winter the little Farn- 
 borough endured gale after gale, and her young captain, 
 attired in the rig of a typical tramp skipper, with his 
 smart crew trained now to look slovenly yet be 
 mentally alert all the time, never for a moment 
 wavered in the belief that one day would come his 
 opportunity. He had organized his ship to a pitch of 
 perfection, and nothing was lacking except the appear- 
 ance of a U-boat. 
 
 On March 1, 1916, the enemy renewed its submarine 
 campaign after lying dormant since the day when 
 Bar along had sunk her U41, except for the Christmas- 
 time temporary outburst. During the first three 
 weeks of March one, or more, submarine had sunk 
 shipping off the Irish coast to the extent of three 
 steamers and one sailing craft. On the morning of 
 INIarch 22, ¥arnborough, who had come from 
 Queenstown, was now cruising up the west coast of 
 Ireland, the exact position being Lat. 51.54 N., Long. 
 10.53 W., and the time 6.40 a.m. Steaming along at 
 8 knots, a submarine awash was suddenly sighted 
 by one of the crew named Kaye, an A.B. of the Royal 
 Naval Reserve, about five miles away on the port 
 bow. After a few minutes it dived, and Fariiborough 
 coolly took no notice but kept jogging along the 
 same course. The submarine had evidently deter- 
 mined to sink the old tramp, for twenty minutes later 
 she fired a torpedo which passed so close ahead of 
 Farnborongh that bubbles were seen under the fore- 
 castle. Still she pretended to take no notice, and a 
 few minutes later the submarine broke surface about
 
 STORY OF THE ' FARNBOROUGH ' 41 
 
 1,000 yards astern, passing from starboard to 
 port, then, having got on the Q- ship's port quarter, 
 fired a shell across the latter's bows and partly sub- 
 merged. 
 
 Farnborough now stopped her engines, blew off 
 steam, and the panic party, consisting of stokers and 
 spare men, were ordered to abandon ship ; so away 
 they rowed under Temporary Engineer Sub- 
 Lieutenant J. S. Smith, R.N.R. The enemy then 
 came closer until he was but 800 yards off. Not a 
 human being was visible aboard the ' abandoned ' 
 ship, but everyone was lying concealed in expectant 
 readiness, yet Lieut. -Commander Campbell was 
 quietly watching every move of the enemy. A few 
 minutes later the latter, intending to sink the deserted 
 ship, fired a shell, but this fell 50 yards short. 
 Here was Farnborough' s big opportunity that had 
 been awaited and longed for ever since last Trafalgar 
 Day ; now was the time — or never. Thus the collier 
 tramp declared herself a man-of-w^ar, armed as she 
 was with five 12-pounders, two 6-pounders, and one 
 Maxim gun. One of the two ships must certainly go 
 to her doom, and her fate would be settled in a few 
 terrible moments : there would be no drawn-out 
 engagement, but just a violent blow, and then finish. 
 Lieut.-Commander Campbell, in his place of conceal- 
 ment, knew that his men could be trusted to do the 
 right thing, knew that they were waiting only for 
 the word from him. True, tlie guns' crews were not 
 the kind of expert men you find in battleship or 
 cruiser. They had joined the Service after the 
 declaration of war, but had been trained up splendidly 
 by one of the ship's officers, Lieutenant W. Beswick, 
 R.N.R. On them much depended. If they fired 
 too soon, became excited, made a movement, or
 
 42 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 bungled their work, they would give the whole show 
 away, and the sinking ship would not be the sub- 
 marine. 
 
 ' Open fire !' came the order as the White Ensign 
 was hoisted, and then from the three 12-pounders 
 which could bear came a hail of shells, whilst Maxim 
 and rifle fire also rained down. The light this morn- 
 ing was bad, but the shooting from these newly 
 trained men was so good that the submarine was 
 badly holed by the rapid fire ; thus, slowly the enemy 
 began to sink. Observing this, Campbell then en- 
 deavoured to give her the knock-out blow, so steamed 
 full speed over the spot and dropped a depth charge. 
 This fairly shook the submarine, who next appeared 
 about ten yards away in an almost perpendicular 
 position, that portion of the craft from the bows to 
 the conning-tower being out of the water. A large 
 rent was discerned in her bow ; she was certainly 
 doomed, and one periscope had been hit. Wasting 
 none of the golden opportunity, Farnborough re- 
 opened fire with her after gun, which put five rounds 
 into the base of the conning-tower at point-blank 
 range, so that the German sank for the last time. 
 Again Farnborough steamed over the spot, and let go 
 two more depth charges, and presently up came a 
 large quantity of oil and bits of wood which covered 
 the sea for some distance around. So quickly perished 
 U G8, one of the latest submarines — a 17-knot boat, 
 armed with one 4*1 -inch, one 22-pounder, a machine 
 gun, eleven torpedoes, and with a cruising radius of 
 11,000 miles. 
 
 This brilliant success had a most cheering effect on 
 all the patrol vessels working off the Irish coast. 
 With careful reserve the story was breathed in ward- 
 rooms, and it percolated through to other stations,
 
 Ol'FICERS OF (,)-SUIP " FaENBOROUCtH " 
 
 Captain Campbell with his officers, disguised as a mercantile captain. 
 
 Q-SHip Heroes 
 
 Captain Gordon Campbell, Y.C , D.S.O., R.N , and Lieutenant C. G. Bonner, 
 
 V.C., DSC. of Q-ship "Danraven," each wearing the Victoria Cross, at the 
 
 King's Garden Part)- for V.C. "s. (see Chapter XIV.). 
 
 To face p. 42
 
 STORY OF THE ' FARN BOROUGH ' 43 
 
 inspiring even the most bored officer to go forth and 
 do Hkewise. This victory had a most important 
 bearing on the future of the Q-ship service, and 
 officers and men were eager to take on a job 
 which afforded them so much sport. It meant 
 something more, too. For, junior though he was, 
 Lieutenant-Commander became Commander Gordon 
 Campbell, D.S.O. ; Lieutenant W. Beswick, R.N.R., 
 who had trained the guns' crew so well, and the 
 Engineer-I^ieutenant Loveless received each a D.S.C., 
 and three of the crew the coveted D.S.M. There 
 followed also the usual £1,000 in addition to prize 
 bounty. Of the ship's complement seven of the 
 officers belonged to the Royal Naval Reserve, and 
 many of the ratings were either of that service or the 
 Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. 
 
 Adventures are to the adventurous. In less than 
 a month from this event Farnborough was again 
 engaged with a submarine, under circumstances more 
 difficult than the last. One who was present at the 
 engagement described it to me, and though the 
 submarine managed afterwards to reach Germany, 
 she was wounded, and only just escaped total 
 destruction. However, this in no way detracts from 
 the merits of the story, which is as follows : The 
 scene was similar to that of the previous incident, 
 the exact position being Lat. 51.57 N., Long. 11.2 W. 
 — that is to say, off the west coast of Ireland. The 
 time was 6.30 in the afternoon of April 15, 1916, 
 and Farnborough was proceeding northward, doing 
 5 knots, for Commander Campbell was hoping 
 to intercept a German submarine which had been 
 reported off the Orkneys on the 13th, and was 
 probably coming down the west Irish coast. 
 
 At the time mentioned the sea was calm and it
 
 44 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 was misty, but about two miles off on the starboard 
 quarter could be seen a steamer. Suddenly, without 
 warning, between the two ships a submarine broke 
 surface, but Commander Campbell pretended to 
 ignore her until she hoisted the international signal 
 TAF (' Bring your papers on board '). Owing to 
 the mist it was impossible to distinguish the flags 
 clearly enough to read them. However, Commander 
 Campbell stopped his ship like a terrified tramp, 
 blew off* steam, but quietly kept her jogging ahead 
 so as to edge towards the enemy and avoid falling into 
 the trough of the heavy Atlantic swell. There was 
 the submarine lying full length on the surface, about 
 300 feet long, with a very large conning- tower amid- 
 ships, one gun forward, one aft, and most of the hull 
 painted a light grey. In reply to the German's 
 signal Farnborough now kept her answering pennant 
 at the dip and hoisted ' Cannot understand your 
 signal.' All this delay was valuable to the Q-ship, 
 for it allowed her to close the range stealthily ; and 
 now the submarine also came closer, with her fore- 
 most gun already manned. In the meantime, the 
 ' tramp ' did what she was expected to do — hoisted the 
 signal ' I am sending boat with ship's papers,' and at 
 the same time the bridge boat was turned out (again 
 in command of Sub-Lieutenant J. S. Smith, R.N.R.), 
 and Commander Campbell was seen to hand his 
 papers to this officer to take over to the submarine. 
 It was now 6.40 p.m., and the German fired a shot 
 which passed over the ship, doing no direct harm, but 
 incidentally spoiling the whole affair. The best laid 
 schemes of Q-ship captains, and the most efficient 
 crews, occasionally go astray. One of FariiborougJiS 
 people, hearing this gun, tliought that Farnborough 
 had opened fire, so accordingly fired also. It was
 
 STORY OF THE FARNBOROUGH ' 45 
 
 unfortunate, but there it was. This mistake forced 
 Commander Campbell's hand ; he at once hoisted 
 the White Ensign and gave the general order to fire. 
 The range was now about 1,000 yards, and he pro- 
 ceeded at full speed so as to bring his after gun 
 to bear, the ships becoming about in this position : 
 
 O s/M submerged 
 damaged 
 
 
 
 
 o I '^<^-. 
 
 "ZlFARNBOROUCH 
 
 Dutch SS. 
 SOERAKARTA ' 
 
 Fig. 5. — Diagram to Illustrate Approximate Positions of ' Farn- 
 borough' and Submarine in the Action of April 15, 1916. 
 
 The enemy had been about a point before the 
 Farnhorouglis starboard beam, but when the action 
 commenced the former had been brought successfully 
 on the beam. The Q- ship's 12-pounders quickly got 
 off a score of rounds, accompanied by the 6-pounder 
 and the JNIaxim and rifles. Quite early the enemy 
 became damaged, and eventually she submerged 
 under the screen of smoke, a remarkably near escape 
 which must have made a great impression on her 
 crew. After dropping depth charges, Farnborough 
 closed the strange steamer which had been stopped 
 about 500 yards off, and found her to be the 
 Dutch S.S. Soerakarta. With true seamanlike 
 chivalry the Dutch captain, pitying the shabby-look-
 
 46 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 ing tramp steamship, actually offered Commander 
 Campbell assistance. This neutral was bound from 
 the Dutch East Indies to Rotterdam, via Falmouth 
 and Kirkwall, and on sighting him the submarine 
 had hoisted the usual ' Bring your papers on board.' 
 The Dutchman had just lowered his boat, and was 
 about to row off to the German, when up came the 
 unkempt collier Farnhorough with a white band on 
 her funnel, and then, to the amazement of all 
 beholders, from her blazed shell after shell. It was a 
 splendid free show, and one shell was distinctly seen 
 to hit the conning-tower. Two miles away from the 
 scene was the armed trawler hia Williams on patrol, 
 and as soon as she heard the firing she went to action 
 stations and came along at full speed. Ten minutes 
 later she felt a couple of shocks, so that her captain 
 thought she had struck something. These were, in 
 fact, the concussions of the two depth charges which 
 Farnhorough had dropped. 
 
 If the submarine had escaped, at least he would be 
 able to warn his superiors at home that they could 
 never tell the difference between a ' trap-ship ' and a 
 genuine merchantman, and it w^ould be safer not to 
 attack steamers unless they were perfectly sure. 
 During the rest of that year Commander Campbell 
 continued to cruise in Farnhorough^ but the summer 
 and autumn passed and no further luck offered 
 itself. 
 
 Winter followed and was almost merging into 
 spring, and then again this ship made history. In 
 another chapter this thrilling episode will be told. 
 In the meantime much else had happened. 
 
 One of the greatest enthusiasts of the Q-ship idea 
 was Vice-Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, who was in com- 
 mand of the Irish coast. No Q-ship officer serving
 
 STORY OF THE ' FARNBOROUGH ' 47 
 
 under this admiral could ever complain that anything 
 was left undone by assistance that could have been 
 performed by the sagacity or advice of this Com- 
 mander-in-Chief. It was he who made repeated 
 visits to the Q-ships as they lay in Haulbowline 
 Dockyard, in order to see that not the smallest 
 important detail for efficiency was lacking. The 
 positions of the guns, the collapsing of the screens, 
 the erection of the dummy deckhouses concealing the 
 guns, the comfort of the personnel — nothing was too 
 trivial for his attention provided it aimed at the one 
 end of sinking the enemy. As with ships, so with 
 officers. With his vast knowledge of human nature, 
 and his glance which penetrated into a man's very 
 soul, he could size up the right type of volunteer for 
 decoy work ; then, having once selected him and sent 
 him to sea, he assisted him all the time whenever 
 wireless was advisable, and on their return to port 
 encouraged, advised, and rested the captains, while 
 the Haulbowline Dockyard paid every attention to 
 improving the Q-ship's fighting power. No keen, 
 capable officer on this station who did his job ever 
 failed to get his reward ; and the result of all this, and 
 the certain knowledge that if in extre?}iis a Queens- 
 town naval ship would at once be sent to his rescue, 
 created such a fine spirit that an officer would almost 
 sooner die than return to port after making a blunder 
 of an engagement. By reason of this, the Queens- 
 town Q-ships became famous for their high standard 
 and achievements. In the spring of 1916 the four 
 experienced decoys Faiiiborougli, Zylpha, Vala, and 
 PenshurHt, were operating from that port. They 
 cruised off the south and south-west Irish coasts ; 
 between Milford Haven and the Scillies ; off the 
 western approach to the English Channel ; up the
 
 48 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 Irish Sea as far as the north of Ireland. In a few 
 weeks four more decoys were added to that station, so 
 that there were eight of them by July. They cruised 
 along the merchant ship courses as far out into the 
 Atlantic as 17° W., as far south as the middle of the 
 Bay of Biscay, as far east as the Isle of Wight, and 
 as far north as the Hebrides — in other words, just 
 where U-boats were likely to attack. One of these 
 eight was the S.S. Carrigaii Head, which was com- 
 manded by Lieut.-Commander Godfrey Herbert, 
 D.S.O., R.N., late in command of the Antwerp. 
 Cari'igan Head was a fine ship of 4,201 tons, and, 
 in order to make her practically unsinkable, she was 
 sent to Portsmouth, where she was filled with 
 empty casks and timber. As may be expected 
 from her commander, this was a very efficient ship. 
 Below, the timber had been stowed in the holds with 
 great cleverness so that it would have been a con- 
 siderable time before she could ever founder. I well 
 remember on one occasion wandering all over the 
 decks of this ship, but it was quite impossible to see 
 where her big 4-inch and two 12-pounders were 
 located. 
 
 That being so, it was not surprising that a sub- 
 marine never suspected on September 9, 1916, that 
 this was another 'trap-ship.' It was just before 6.30 
 in the evening that this steamer was sixty miles south- 
 west of the Lizard, when a submarine was sighted 
 about 2,000 yards off on the starboard bow. The 
 enemy had hoisted some flag signals, but they were 
 too small to be read. It was presumed tliat it was 
 the usual order to stop, so the steamer hove- to and 
 the captain called up the stokers wlio were off watch 
 to stand by the lifeboats, for all this time the sub- 
 marine, who had two guns, was firing at the ship.
 
 STORY OF THE ' FARNBOROUGH ' 49 
 
 Having lowered the starboard lifeboat halfway down 
 to the water, the Q-ship pretended to try and escape, 
 so went full speed ahead, turned to port, and brought 
 the enemy right astern. The German maintained a 
 rapid fire, many shots coming unpleasantly across the 
 bridge, one entering the forecastle and wounding two 
 men, of whom one afterwards died. Another shell 
 entered the engineers' messroom and slightly injured 
 Temporary Engineer Sub-Lieutenant James Purdy, 
 R.N.R. This same shell also cut the leads to the 
 wireless room just above. 
 
 As several shells fell within a few feet of the ship, 
 Commander Herbert decided to feign surrender, 
 hoisted the International Code pennant close up, 
 turned eight points to port, but with the real intention 
 of firing on the submarine, which had now risen to 
 the surfece with complete buoyancy and presented a 
 good target. But in turning to port, Carrigan Head 
 was thus brought broadside on to the swell, so that the 
 ship began to roll heavily and helm had to be altered 
 to get her head on to the sea. At 6.50 p.m. the 
 enemy was about 1,500 yards away, and while both 
 lifeboats were being lowered the submarine kept up 
 an intermittent fire. Three minutes later Commander 
 Herbert decided to reveal the character of his ship 
 and attack ; therefore, going full speed ahead, he 
 fired seven rounds, one of which seemed to hit. The 
 submarine was considerably surprised and at once 
 dived, so having arrived near the spot Carrigan Head 
 dropped depth charges. The enemy was not sunk, 
 but she did not reappear, such was her fright, until 
 an hour and a half later when she sank the Norwegian 
 S.S. Lodsen off the Scillies. The enemy's behaviour 
 was typical : as soon as he was attacked he broke off 
 the engagement and took to flight by submerging, 
 
 4
 
 50 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 and it was only on the rarest occasions that he was 
 willing to fight, as were the Q-ships, to a finish. 
 
 By reason of their service, Q-ship officers became 
 a race apart. Their arrival and departure were kept 
 a profound secret, night-time or early morning being 
 usually selected. The ships were worked as separate 
 units, not as squadrons, and their cruising ground 
 was always being changed. They went to sea in 
 strange garments, and when they came ashore they 
 usually wore ' plain clothes,' the naval equivalent for 
 the soldiers' expression 'mufti.' At a time when all 
 the nation was in arms and for a healthy man to 
 be seen out of uniform was to excite derisive anger, 
 some of the Q-ship officers had amusing and awk- 
 ward experiences. Arrived in port at the end of 
 a trying cruise, and rather looking forward to a 
 pleasant respite for a few days, they would run 
 against some old friend in a public place, and be 
 greeted by some such remark as, ' Why aren't you in 
 uniform V or ' What ship are you serving in ? I 
 didn't know yoii were on this station ; come and have 
 a drink.' It was difficult to preserve secrecy when 
 such questions were asked direct by old shipmates. 
 Who knew but that the man two paces away was 
 a spy, who would endanger the lives of the Q-ship 
 and crew the next time they put to sea ? Surely, if 
 there be occasions when it is legitimate to tell a lie, 
 this was a justifiable one. Thus the life in this 
 special service was one that called for all the ability 
 which is usually latent in any one man. I do not 
 ever remember a Q-ship officer who was not some- 
 thing more than able. Some were killed, some were 
 taken prisoners by submarines, some broke down in 
 Ileal th ; but in no case did you ever find one who
 
 STORY OF THE ' FARNBOROUGH ' 51 
 
 tailed to realize the intense seriousness of his job 
 or neglected any means of keeping himself in perfect 
 physical health and the highest possible condition of 
 mental alertness. Not once could he be caught off 
 his guard ; the habit was ingrained in him.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE 'MYSTERY' SAILING SHIPS 
 
 Most people would have thought that the sail-driven 
 decoys would have had a very short life, and that 
 they would speedily have succumbed. On the con- 
 trary, though their work was more trying and 
 demanded a different kind of seamanship, these 
 ' mystery ' ships went on bravely tackling the enemy. 
 The Lowestoft armed smacks, for instance, during 
 1916 had some pretty stiff tussles, and we know 
 now that they thoroughly infuriated the Germans, 
 who threatened to have their revenge. Looked at 
 from the enemy's aspect, it certainly was annoying 
 to see a number of sailing smacks spread off the 
 coast, each obviously trawling, but not to know 
 which of them would in a moment cut her gear and 
 sink the submarine with her gun. It was just that 
 element of suspense which made a cautious German 
 officer very chary of going near these craft, whereas 
 he might have sunk the whole fishing fleet if he 
 .dared. It was not merely annoying ; it was humili- 
 ating that a small sailing craft should have the 
 impertinence to contend with the super-modern ship 
 of a German naval officer. That, of course, was not 
 the way to look at the matter ; for it was a contest, 
 as we have seen, in which brains and bravery were 
 factors more decisive than anything else. The average 
 British fisherman is ignorant of many things which 
 are learnt only in nautical academies, but the last 
 
 .52
 
 THE ' MYSTERY ' SAILING SHIPS 53 
 
 you could accuse him of being is a fool or a funk. 
 His navigation in these sailing smacks is quaint and 
 primitive, but he relies in thick weather chiefly on the 
 nature of the sea-bed. He can almost smell his way, 
 and a cast of the lead confirms his surmise ; he finds 
 he is just where he expected to be. So with his 
 character. Hardened by years of fishing in all 
 weathers, and angered to extreme indignation during 
 the war by the loss of good ships and lives of his 
 relatives and friends, this type of man, so long as his 
 decoy smack had any sort of gun, was the keenest 
 of the keen. 
 
 One of these smacks was the 2'elesia, armed only 
 with a 3-pounder, and commanded by Skipper W. S. 
 Wharton, who did extraordinarily well in this 
 dangerous service. On March 23, 1916, he was 
 trawling roughly thirty-five miles S.E. of Lowestoft, 
 when about midday he sighted a submarine three 
 miles off, steering to the north-east. At 1.30 p.m. 
 the German, who was evidently one of the cautious 
 type, and having a careful scrutiny before attacking, 
 approached within 50 yards of the Telesias starboard 
 bow, and submerged with her periscope just show- 
 ing. She came back an hour later to have another 
 look, and again disappeared until 4.30 p.m., when she 
 approached from the north-east. Having got about 
 300 yards away she attacked, but she had not the 
 courage to fight on the surface a Httle sailing craft 
 built of wood. Instead, she remained submerged 
 and fired a torpedo. Had that hit, Telesla and her 
 men would have been blown to pieces ; but it just 
 missed the smack's bows by four feet. Skipper 
 Wharton at once brought his gun into action, and 
 fired fifteen rounds at the periscope, which was the 
 only part of her that could be seen, and an almost
 
 54 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 impossible target. The enemy disappeared, but 
 arrived back in half an hour, and this time the 
 periscope showed on the starboard quarter, coming 
 straight for the smack, and rising out of the water 
 at the same time. Again she fired a torpedo, and 
 it seemed certain to hit, but happily it passed 
 40 feet astern. At a range of only 75 yards the 
 smack now fired a couple of shots as the enemy 
 showed her deck. The first shot seemed to hit the 
 conning-tower, and then the fore part of the hull was 
 observed coming out of the water. The second shot 
 struck between the conning-tower and the hatch, 
 whereupon the enemy went down by the bows, 
 showing her propeller. She was a big craft, judging 
 by the size of her conning-tower, and certainly larger 
 than those which had recently been sinking Lowes- 
 toft smacks. Skipper AVharton, whilst fishing, had 
 himself been chased, so he was fairly familiar with 
 their appearance. Whether the enemy was actually 
 sunk is a matter of doubt. Perhaps she was not 
 destroyed, although UB 13 was lost this month ; how 
 and where are unknown. One thing is certain, how- 
 ever, that the little Telesia caused her to break off 
 the engagement and disappear. The smack could do 
 no more, for the wind had now died right away, and 
 this fact demonstrated the importance of these decoy 
 smacks being fitted with motors, so that the craft 
 would be able to manoeuvre in the absence of wind ; 
 and this improved equipment was now in certain 
 cases adopted. Skipper Wharton well deserved his 
 D.S.C. for this incident, and two of the ship's com- 
 pany also received the D.S.M. The whole crew 
 numbered eight, consisting of Skipper AVharton, a 
 naval chief petty officer, a leading seaman, a marine, 
 an A. 13., and three fishermen.
 
 THE 'MYSTERY' SAILING SHIPS 55 
 
 On the following April 23 Telesia — this time under 
 the name of Hobbyhawk and under the command of 
 Lieutenant H. W. Harvey, R.N.V.R. — together with 
 a similar smack named the Cheero, commanded by 
 Lieutenant W. F. Scott, R.N.R., put to sea from 
 Lowestoft. They had recently been fitted with 
 specially designed nets, to which were attached 
 mines. It had been found that with 600 yards of 
 these nets towing astern the smack could still sail 
 ahead at a speed of 3 knots. A bridle made out 
 of a trawler's warp was stopped down the towing 
 wire and from forward of the smack, so that she 
 would look exactly like a genuine smack when fishing 
 with the ordinary trawl. All that was required was 
 that the submarine should foul these nets astern, 
 when, if everything worked as it should, destruction 
 to the enemy would follow. 
 
 At 5.45 that afternoon, when 10 miles N.E. of the 
 Smith's Knoll Pillar Buoy, the nets were shot and 
 the batteries connected up to the net-mines. The 
 wind was light, so Cheer o, towing away to the south- 
 east, was going ahead very slowly. Each of these 
 two smacks was fitted with a hydrophone by means 
 of which the beat of a vessel's engines could be 
 heard, the noise of a submarine's being very different 
 from that of reciprocating engines in a steamer. 
 About 7 p.m. Cheer o distinctly heard on her instru- 
 ment the steady, quick, buzzing, unmistakable noise 
 of a submarine, and the noise gradually increased. 
 About three-quarters of an hour later the wire lead- 
 ing to the nets suddenly became tight and stretched 
 along the smack's rail. The strain eased up a little, 
 became tight again, then an explosion followed in 
 the nets, and the sounds of the submarine's engines 
 were never heard again. The sea was blown by the
 
 56 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 explosion 20 feet high, and as the water was settHng 
 down another upheaval took place, followed by oil. 
 The crew remained at their stations for a few minutes 
 awaiting further developments, and then were ordered 
 to haul the nets, but a great strain was now felt, so 
 that instead of two men it required six. As the 
 second net was coming in, the whole fleet of nets 
 took a sharp angle down, and a small piece of steel 
 was brought on board. Other pieces of steel came 
 adrift and fell into the sea. As the third net was 
 being hauled in, the whole of the nets suddenly 
 became free and were got in quite easily, whilst the 
 crew remarked on the strong smell of oil. It was 
 found that one mine had exploded, and when the 
 nets were eventually further examined ashore in 
 Lowestoft there could be no doubt but that a sub- 
 marine had been blown up, and more pieces of steel, 
 some of considerable size, dropped out. Thus UC 3, 
 with all hands, was destroyed. Slie was one of the 
 small mine-layers which used to come across from 
 Zeebrugge fouling the shipping tracks along the East 
 Anglian coast with her deadly cargoes, and causing 
 the destruction of merchant shipping, Allied and 
 neutral alike. On May 1 8 of the same year Hobbyhawk 
 [Telesia) and a similar smack, the Revenge (alias 
 Fame), had a stiff encounter with a submarine in 
 about the same place, but there is reason to suppose 
 that in this case the enemy was not sunk. 
 
 This idea of commissioning sailing smacks as Q-ships 
 now began to be adopted in other areas. Obviously 
 only that kind of fishing craft could be employed 
 whicli ordinarily were wont to fish tliose particular 
 waters ; otherwise the submarine would at once have 
 become suspicious. Thus, at the end of May, a 
 couple of lirixham smacks, which usually fished out
 
 THE 'MYSTERY' SAILING SHIPS 57 
 
 of Milford, were fitted out at Falmouth, armed each 
 with a 12-pounder, and then sent round to operate in 
 the Milford district. These were the Kermes and 
 Struvibles respectively. They were manned by a 
 specially selected crew, and the two commanding 
 officers were Lieutenant E. L. Hughes, R.N.R., and 
 Sub-Lieutenant J. Hayes, R.N.R. But although 
 they were given a good trial, these craft were not 
 suitable as soon as the autumn bad weather came on. 
 Their freeboard was too low, they heeled over too 
 much in the strong prevailing winds, so that it was 
 difficult to get the gun to bear either to windward or 
 leeward ; and, except when on the top of a sea, their 
 range of vision was limited, so before November was 
 out these ships ceased to be men-of-war and were 
 returned to their owners. 
 
 Along the Yorkshire coast is found a type of open 
 boat which is never seen farther north than North- 
 umberland and never farther south than Lincolnshire. 
 This is the cobble, a peculiar and rather tricky kind 
 of craft used by the fishermen of Whitby, Scarborough, 
 Bridlington, Filey, and elsewhere. They carry one 
 lug-sail and can be rowed, a single thole-pin taking 
 the place of a rowlock. The smaller type of cobble 
 measures 28 feet long by 2j feet deep, but the larger 
 type, capable of carrying nine tons, is just under 
 34 feet long by 4| feet deep. Here, then, was a boat 
 which, with her shallow draught, could with safety 
 sail about in the numerous minefields off the York- 
 shire coast. No submarine would ever suspect these 
 as being anything but fishermen trying to snatch a 
 living. In the early summer of 1916 two of these 
 boats, the Thalia and Blessing, were commissioned. 
 They were sailing cobbles fitted with auxiliary motors, 
 and were sent to work south-east of the Humber in
 
 58 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 the Silver Pit area. Here they pretended to fish, 
 towing 300 yards of mine-nets, 30 feet deep, in the 
 hope that, as had happened off Lowestoft, the sub- 
 marine would come along and be blown up. Howev^er, 
 they had no luck, and after a few months' service 
 these boats also were returned to their owners. But 
 in spite of this, Q-sailing-ships were still being taken 
 up, the difficulty being to select the right type. Even 
 in the Mediterranean the idea was employed. Enemy 
 submarines had been destroying a number of sailing 
 vessels, so the Admiralty purchased one local craft, 
 gave her a small auxiliary motor, and towed her to 
 Mudros, where she could be armed and equipped in 
 secrecy. One day she set forth from Malta in com- 
 pany with a British submarine, and two days later 
 was off the coast of Sicily. Here the sailing craft 
 attracted a large enemy submarine, the British sub- 
 marine of course watching, but submerged. Un- 
 fortunately, just when the enemy might have been 
 torpedoed, the heavy swell caused the British sub- 
 marine to break surface. The enemy was quick to 
 observe this, dived for his life, and disappeared. The 
 rest of the story is rather ludicrous. The British 
 submarine remained submerged in the hope that the 
 enemy would presently come to the surface, while 
 the sailing craft lost touch with her consort and 
 turned towards Malta, using her motor. The next 
 incident was that she sighted (J miles astern an 
 unmistakable submarine, which was at once taken 
 for the enemy. Being without his own submarine, 
 the somewhat inexperienced R.N.V.R. officer in com- 
 mand made an error of judgment, and, abandoning 
 the ship, destroyed her, being subsecjuently picked 
 up by a Japanese destroyer. It was afterwards 
 discovered that this was our own submarine who
 
 THE 'MYSTERY' SAILING SHIPS 59 
 
 had been working with the saiHng craft, and was now 
 on her way back to JNIalta ! 
 
 The other day, laid up hidden away at the top of 
 a sheltered creek in Cornwall, I came upon an in- 
 teresting brigantine. Somehow I felt we had met 
 before, but she was looking a little forlorn ; there 
 was no life in the ship, yet she seemed in that curious 
 way, which ships have in common with human beings, 
 to possess a powerful personality. Freights were bad, 
 the miners were on strike, and here was this good 
 little vessel lying idle, and not so much as noticed 
 by those who passed. Then I found out who she 
 was. Here was an historic ship, the famous Helgo- 
 land, which served right through to the end of the 
 war from the summer of 1916. Now she was back 
 in the Merchant Service, and no one seemed to care ; 
 yet hundreds of years hence people will write and 
 talk of her, as they still do of Grenville's Revenge or 
 the old clipper-ships Cutty Sark and Jlwrmopylce. 
 
 Helgoland had been built in 1895 of steel and iron 
 at Martenshoek in Holland, where they specialize in 
 this kind of construction, but she was now British 
 owned and registered at Plymouth. She measured 
 122 feet 9 inches long, 23 feet 3 inches beam, drew 
 8 feet aft, and her tonnage was 310 burthen and 182 
 net. In July, 1916, this ship was lying in Liverpool 
 undergoing an extensive overhaul, and here she was 
 taken over from her owners and sent to Falmouth, 
 where she was fitted out forthwith as a Q-ship. 
 Armed with four 12-pounders and one Maxim, she 
 was known officially in future under the various 
 names of Helgoland, Horleij, Brig 10, and Q 17. 
 Her crew were carefully chosen from the personnel 
 serving in Auxiliary Patrol vessels at Falmouth, with 
 the exception of the guns' crews ; the ship's comple-
 
 60 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 ment consisting of two R.N.R. officers, one skipper, 
 one second hand, two petty officers, six Royal Navy 
 gunnery ratings, eight deckhands of the Trawler 
 Reserve, one carpenter, one steward, and one cook, 
 the last three being mercantile ratings. Of her two 
 officers one was Temporary Sub-Lieutenant W. E. L. 
 Sanders, R.N.R. , who, by reason of his sailing-ship 
 experience, was appointed as mate. This was that 
 gallant New Zealander who had come across the 
 ocean to help the Motherland, performed amazing 
 service in Q-ships, fought like a gentleman, won the 
 Victoria Cross, and eventually, with his ship and all 
 his crew, went to the bottom like the true hero that 
 he was. The story must be told in a subsequent 
 chapter. 
 
 When we consider the actions fought by these 
 topsail schooners and brigantines in the Great War 
 we appear almost to be dreaming, to be sent right 
 back to the sixteenth century, and modernity seems 
 to have been swept clean away. While the Grand 
 Fleet was unable, these sailing ships were carrying 
 on the warfare for which they had never been built. 
 In the whole of the Royal Navy there were hardly 
 any suitable officers nowadays who possessed practical 
 experience in handling schooners. This was where 
 the officer from the Mercantile Marine, the amateur 
 yachtsman, the coasting skipper, and the fisherman 
 became so invaluable. In these days of decaying 
 seamanship, when steam and motors are dominant, it 
 is well to set these facts down lest we forget. The 
 last of the naval training brigs has long since gone, 
 and few officers or men, even in the Merchant Service, 
 serve an apprenticeship under sail. 
 
 Helgoland left Falmouth after dark, September C, 
 1910, on her first cruise as a man-of-war, and she had
 
 THE ' MYSTERY ' SAILING SHIPS 61 
 
 but a few hours to wait before her first engagement 
 took place. Commanded by Lieutenant A. D. Blair, 
 R.N.R., she was on her way to Milford, and at 
 1.30 p.m. on the following day was only 10 miles 
 south of the Lizard when she sighted a submarine 
 on the surface 3 points on the starboard quarter. 
 There was an alarm bell fitted up in Helgoland which 
 was rung only for action stations, and, as it now 
 sounded, each man crept stealthily to his appointed 
 place. Under the command of Lieutenant W. E. L. 
 Sanders, R.N.R., and following his example of perfect 
 calmness, the guns' crews carried out their work 
 without flurry or excitement. 
 
 Within five minutes the enemy, from a distance of 
 2,000 yards, had begun shelling the brigantine. The 
 first shot fell 10 yards short, but the second and third 
 struck the foretopsail yard — how strange it seems to 
 use the time-honoured phrases of naval warfare for a 
 twentieth-century fight— one shell going right through 
 the yard. It happened that on this fine summer's 
 day there was no wind ; so here was the unlucky 
 Helgoland becalmed and unable to manoeuvre so as 
 to bring her guns to bear as required. It seemed as 
 if the enemy intended to lie off and shell this perfect 
 target with impunity, directing the fire from ahead 
 and astern, which was just the way the brigan tine's 
 guns would not bear. However, after the second 
 shot from the submarine, the Helgoland's guns would 
 just bear, so Lieutenant Blair dropped his screens and 
 opened fire whilst still there was a chance. The 
 fourth round from the after gun seemed to hit the 
 enemy, and she immediately lurched and dived. 
 Lieutenant Blair then sent two of his hands aloft to 
 look for periscopes, and in a few minutes one was 
 sighted on the starboard quarter 200 yards away and
 
 62 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 closing. Two rounds from each of the starboard 
 guns were therefore fired, one striking the water very 
 close to the periscope, which again disappeared. 
 
 Nothing further happened until half an hour later, 
 when a larger submarine with sail set, about the size 
 of a drifter's mizzen, was sighted right aft. As soon 
 as this U-boat bore 3 points on the port quarter, 
 she also was attacked, and dived under cover of her 
 smoke screen. The afternoon passed, and at dusk 
 (7 p.m.), when there was still no wind, the sound of a 
 submarine's motors was heard as if circling around 
 the brigantine. An hour later Helgoland bent her 
 new foretopsail, and just before 9.30 a submarine 
 was seen right ahead, so in the calm the Q-ship could 
 not get her guns to bear. Half an hour later, as 
 there was still no wind, Helgoland spoke an armed 
 trawler, who towed her back to Falmouth. Just as 
 the two ships were communicating, the enemy fired a 
 couple of torpedoes which, thanks to Helgoland's 
 shallow draught, passed under her amidships. So 
 ended the brigantine's first cruise. It was unfortu- 
 nate that at long range she had been compelled to 
 open fire and disclose her identity, but that was owing 
 to the calm, and subsequently she was fitted with an 
 auxiliary motor. 
 
 Her next fight was in much the same position, 
 about 20 miles S.W. of the Lizard. At 0.20 a.m. 
 on October 24, 1916, Helgoland, now commanded by 
 Lieutenant G. G. Westmore, R.N. R., was on an 
 E.S.E. course, the wind being S.W., force 4, and there 
 was a moderate sea. About a mile off on the star- 
 board bow was a large tramp steamer steering a 
 westerly course, and presently was seen a submarine 
 following astern of the tramp. Lieutenant Westmore 
 at once sent his crew to quarters, keeping all of them
 
 Position 1. 3t 6-30 j.m. 
 
 %^ <?-'^ Ox/r^e f . (true) 
 
 ''^^ 
 
 ^M 
 
 'S-4GA4/.£' 
 
 Position 2. at 6-^2 am. 
 inact of hauling to ivindand 
 opening fire on s/m. 
 
 '8A GDA L t 'abandoned 
 
 -*/ 
 
 Q 17 fired 5 rounds 
 
 S/M shelling steamer 
 
 T^Sjf^ 
 
 abouh^OOOy^^ 
 
 fired 
 l'^ rounds. 
 
 
 Position 3. at 6S0a.m 
 Q.I/, tacked ship and 
 opened fire with portions. 
 
 0.17. 
 
 'BAGDALt 
 
 Fig. 6. — Diageam to Illustrate Approximate Movements of 
 ' Helgoland ' and Submarine on October 24, 1916.
 
 64 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 out of sight, with the exception of the ratings who 
 represented the watch that ordinarily would be seen 
 on the deck of such a coaster. In order to pass close 
 to the German, the brigantine hauled to the wind, 
 and at 6.42 the submarine opened fire on the 
 steamer. As the enemy was now abeam, and only 
 1,000 yards to windward of the Helgoland, hieutenant 
 Westmore determined that this was the opportune 
 moment. To wait longer would only have meant an 
 increase in the range ; so down went the screens and 
 fire was opened with the starboard guns. The second 
 and third shots seemed to strike the enemy amidships, 
 and she then dived, after firing only one round, which 
 passed well astern. Everything had worked well 
 except that the screen had jammed at the critical 
 moment, but Lieutenant Sanders, who was seeing 
 that guns and crew were ready, soon cleared it. 
 AVhile he was looking after his men, and Lieutenant 
 Westmore was generally looking after the ship, 
 Skipper William Smith, R.N.R., was at the wheel 
 steering with marked coolness, and Skipper R. W. 
 Hannaford, R.N.R., was in charge of the sails, hand- 
 ling them and trimming the yards as required. 
 
 The first submarine was painted a dark colour, with 
 a brown sail set aft, so that at first she resembled one 
 of our drifters. And now a second U-boat, painted a 
 light colour with no sail, was seen two miles away 
 heading for the tramp steamer. The latter happened 
 to be the Admiralty transport Bdgdale, whose crew 
 had by now abandoned her, the ship's boats being 
 close to the submarine. Helgoland went about on 
 the other tack and stood towards the enemy, so as to 
 save the Bagdale, and at 4,000 yards fired at the sub- 
 marine. The latter was not hit, dived, came to the 
 surface and made off to the soutli-west, not being seen
 
 THE MYSTERY' SAILING SHIPS G5 
 
 after this. The brigantine stood by the abandoned 
 Bagdale, tacking ship at frequent intervals, so as to 
 prevent the submarine resuming her onslaught. Soon 
 after nine two trawlers were observed, and summoned 
 by gunfire and rockets. They were sent to pick up 
 the crew and to tow the transport into Falmouth. 
 Thus, if no submarine had been sunk, this sailing 
 ship had saved the steamer by frightening away the 
 enemy, and there were more engagements still to 
 follow. 
 
 By this — October, 1916 — the Q-ship service had 
 increased to such an extent that there were actually 
 forty-seven decoy craft operating. These com- 
 prised almost every kind of vessel, from motor 
 drifters to medium-sized steamers. Their success or 
 failure depended partly on captain and crew, but 
 partly on luck. Some Q-ships, as we have seen, 
 never sighted a U-boat ; others were in action as 
 soon as they got out of port. The advantage of 
 these Q-sailing-ships was that they could keep the 
 sea independent of the shore for periods much longer 
 than the trawlers or tramps. Owing to their roomy 
 decks, these coasters were well suited for the erection 
 of dummy deckhouses to conceal the armament, and 
 another advantage was that, not utilizing engines or a 
 propeller — except when used occasionally — there was 
 no noise to prevent constant listening on the hydro- 
 phones. There was always the chance that during 
 the dark hours, when the enemy on his hydrophones 
 could not hear the sailing ship approaching, the 
 schooner or brigantine might suddenly surprise and 
 sink a submarine lying on the surface charging its 
 batteries. The result was that in the first week 
 of November another sailing craft was requisitioned. 
 This was the three-masted barquentine Gaelic, which 
 
 5
 
 66 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 was then lying at Swansea loaded with 300 tons of 
 coal. Gaelic, who was known officially afterwards 
 also under the names of Gobo, Bi'ig 11, and Q 22, 
 was 126 feet 8 inches long and 24 feet in the beam. 
 She had been built of iron in 1898, was registered at 
 Beaumaris, and remained in service throughout the 
 rest of the war. In August, 1918, she was operating 
 in the Bay of Biscay, and then returned to Gibraltar. 
 At the end of November she left ' the Rock,' reached 
 Falmouth by the middle of December, and then w^as 
 towed to Milford to be paid off, reconditioned, and 
 returned to commercial work. But before then, as 
 we shall presently see, she was to carry out some 
 first-class work. 
 
 There is no person more conservative than the 
 seafaring man ; the whole history of the sailing ship 
 shows this clearly enough, and it is curious how one 
 generation is much the same as another. It was 
 Lord Melville who, in the early years of the nine- 
 teenth century, stated that it was the duty of the 
 Admiralty to discourage, to the utmost of their 
 ability, the employment of steam vessels, as they 
 considered the introduction of steam was calculated 
 to strike a fatal blow to the naval supremacy of 
 Great Britain. A hundred years later, although the 
 Q-sailing-ship had justified herself, yet there was 
 a sort of conservative prejudice against her develop- 
 ment. ' The small sailing vessel,' complained a 
 distinguished admiral, ' will develop into a sailing 
 line-of-battle ship witli an electric-light party reefing 
 topsails and a seaplane hidden in the foretopmen's 
 washdeck locker, and everybody seasick.' 
 
 Ye^ : there was much in common between this 
 flag-officer and the noble lord, in spite of the inter- 
 vening century.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE 'MARY B. MITCHELL' 
 
 It was the activities and successes of the submarines 
 in the western end of the EngHsh Channel that had 
 made these small Q-sailing-ships so desirable. The 
 first of these to be used in that area was the Mary B. 
 Mitchell. She was a three-masted topsail steel 
 schooner owned by Lord Penrhyn. Built at Carrick- 
 fergus in 1892 and registered at Beaumaris, she was 
 129 feet in length, and of 210 tons gross. In the 
 middle of April, 1916, she happened to be lying in 
 Falmouth with a cargo of china clay, and it was 
 decided to requisition her. The difficulty always was 
 to preserve secrecy during her fitting out, but in this 
 case, luckily, she had recently suffered some damage, 
 and this afforded an excellent excuse for paying off 
 the mercantile crew. A new crew was selected for 
 her and was trained specially for the work while she 
 was being got ready for her special service. She was 
 commissioned on May 5, and left Falmouth for her 
 first cruise on June 26, and then operated for a month 
 on end in the western approaches between Ushant, the 
 Irish coast, and Milford. 
 
 Her captain was Lieutenant M. Armstrong, R.N.R., 
 and she was known officially as the Mitchell and Q 9. 
 During her cruising she sailed also under three 
 different neutral flags, as convenient. Armed with 
 three guns, her 12-pounder was hidden in a dummy 
 
 67
 
 68 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 collapsible house on the poop, and under each of the 
 two hatches was a G-pounder mounted on a swinging 
 pedestal. There were also a couple of Lewis guns, 
 some small arms and Mills hand-grenades. In spite 
 of the thoroughness with which the guns were con- 
 cealed, the collapsible arrangements had been made so 
 ingeniously that all guns could be brought into action 
 under three seconds. Before leaving Falmouth she 
 was painted black with a yellow streak and bore the 
 name 
 
 MARY Y. JOSE 
 
 VIGO 
 
 on her hull, so as to look like a neutral. But until 
 she had got clear of Falmouth this inscription was 
 covered over with a plate bearing her real name. In 
 order to be able to pick up signals at sea she was 
 fitted with a small wireless receiving set, the wire 
 being easily disguised in the rigging. Rolling about 
 in the swell of the Atlantic or the chops of the 
 English Channel for four weeks at a time is apt to 
 get on the nerves of a crew unable to have a stretch 
 ashore : so in order to keep everyone on board fit and 
 clieery, boxing-gloves and gymnastic apparatus were 
 provided. 
 
 No one could deny that she was an efficient ship. 
 During her first cruise she used to carry out gun-trials 
 at night ; hatclies sliding smoothly off, guns swinging 
 splendidly into position, and a broadside fired as soon 
 as the bell for action sounded. Until that bell was 
 pressed, none of the crew was allowed to be visible 
 on deck other than the normal watch. One of the 
 difficulties in these ships was that the decks might be 
 damaged witli the shock of firing, but in the Mitchell 
 they had been so strengthened that not a seam was
 
 THE 'MARY B. MITCHELL' 69 
 
 sprung nor so much tis a glass cracked. You may 
 guess how perfect was her disguise from the following 
 incident. Pretending she was a Spaniard, she was 
 one day boarded at sea and examined by some of the 
 Falmouth patrol trawlers. These were completely 
 deceived, for even though their crews had watched 
 her fitting out, yet she had painted herself a different 
 colour the night before leaving that port. Even in 
 the Bay of Biscay several British transports on sight- 
 ing the ' Spaniard ' altered course and steamed away, 
 evidently suspecting she was co-operating with a 
 submarine. 
 
 She was back from her first cruise on July 25 just 
 before midnight and left again at midnight on 
 August 3-4. This time she impersonated the French 
 three-masted schooner Jeaiuiette, a vessel of 226 tons, 
 registered at La Houle, for Mitchell now made a 
 cruise in the neighbourhood of the Channel Islands 
 and the western channel. During the next few 
 months she continued to sail about the last-mentioned 
 area, in the Bristol Channel near Lundy Island, and 
 in the Bay of Biscay, sometimes as Jeannette, some- 
 times as the Brine, of St. Malo, and sometimes as the 
 Russian Neptun, of Riga. 
 
 It was in January, 1917, that she had an experience 
 which showed the fine seamanship and sound judg- 
 ment which were essential in the captain of such a 
 secret ship. His name was Lieutenant John Lawrie, 
 R.N.R., a man of strong personality, a real sailor, and 
 possessed of valuable initiative. On the evening of 
 January 7, Mitchell was off Berry Head, just east of 
 Dartmouth, when bad weather came on, and this 
 developed into a strong winter's gale. There was 
 every reason why a Q-ship should not run into the 
 nearest port for shelter, as her presence would lead to
 
 70 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 awkward questions, whereas secrecy was the essence 
 of her existence. The gale blew its fiercest, and by 
 the following night Mitchell was having an alarming 
 time. Just after 9.30 p.m the foremast and spars 
 crashed over the side, carrying away her mainmast 
 too. She then lay-to under close-reefed mizzen. A 
 jurymast was rigged on the stump of the foremast, 
 and the wind, having veered from W. through 
 N.W. to N.E., she was able to set a reefed stay- 
 sail. It was still blowing a strong gale, with what 
 Lieutenant Lawrie described as a ' mountainous sea ' 
 running, and she drifted before the gale in a south- 
 west direction towards Ushant. 
 
 In this predicament it was time to get assistance if 
 possible, and about 9.15 on the morning of the 9th 
 she signalled a large cargo steamer, who endeavoured 
 to take Mitchell in tow, but eventually had to signal 
 that this was impossible, and continued steaming on 
 her way up Channel. The schooner was now about 
 ten miles north of Ushant, an anxious position for 
 any navigator going to leeward, but I^ieutenant 
 Lawrie considered she would drift clear. The north- 
 east gale showed no sign of easing up during that 
 evening. Signals of distress were made, a gun being 
 fired every few minutes as well as rocket distress 
 signals, and, flares were kept burning ; but no answer- 
 ing signal came from the shore. By this time the 
 schooner was getting dangerously near to Ushant, 
 and it could not be long before she and her crew 
 would inevitably perish. However, she never struck, 
 and at 9.30 p.m. the Norwegian S.S. Sardinia spoke 
 her and stood by throughout the terrible night until 
 7 a.m. of the 10th. Then ensued a nice piece of sea- 
 manship when the steamer lowered into tlie sea a 
 buoy with a small line attaclied. This Mitchell man-
 
 THE ' MARY B. MITCHELL ' 71 
 
 aged to pick up, and the tow-line was made fast. 
 Sardinia then went ahead and towed her from a 
 position 10 miles west (True) of Creach Point until 
 11.15 a.m. when near Les Pierres Light. Here a 
 French torpedo-boat came towards them, so Lieu- 
 tenant Lawrie hoisted the Red Ensign ; but having 
 done that he was clever enough also to show the 
 White Ensign over the stern and in such a manner 
 that the Norwegian was unable to see it. The 
 captain of the French torpedo-boat at once under- 
 stood, signalled to the Norwegian to cast off and that 
 the torpedo-boat would take the schooner in tow. 
 This was done at noon, and the Sardinia was informed 
 that the name of the ship was the Mary B. Mitchell 
 of Beaumaris, Falmouth to Bristol Channel with 
 general cargo. It was a clever, ready answer on the 
 part of the British captain. The torpedo-boat took 
 the schooner into Brest, and at length, after being 
 remasted and refitted she went back to carry on her 
 work as a Q-ship. I submit that throughout the 
 whole of that gale it was a fine achievement, not 
 merely to have brought her through in safety, but 
 without revealing her identity as a warship. 
 
 A different kind of adventure was now awaiting 
 her. During June, 1917, she cruised about first as 
 the French Marie Therese, of Cette, then as the 
 French Eider, of St. Malo, her sphere of operation 
 being, as before, in the western end of the English 
 Channel, the Bay of Biscay, and near the Channel 
 Islands. Mitcliell was now fitted with a motor, but 
 this was never used during daylight except when abso- 
 lutely necessary. It was on the twentieth of that 
 month, at 11.30 a.m., that she was in a position 
 Lat. 47.13 N., Long. 7.23 W., when she sighted the 
 conning-tower of a submarine 3 miles away on the
 
 72 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 port bow. The German began firing, so Mitchell 
 was run up into the wind, hove-to, and ' abandoned.' 
 By this time the enemy was on the starboard bow 
 and continued firing for some time after the schooner's 
 boat had left the ship. Unsuspectingly the sub- 
 marine came closer and closer, and more and more 
 on the beam. Then after a short delay he proceeded 
 parallel with the ship, and, altering course, made as if 
 to go towards the Mitcliell's boat lying away on the 
 port quarter. Suddenly he began to fire again, and 
 being now not more than 800 yards off and in a suit- 
 able position, the schooner also opened fire, the 
 first round from the 12-pounder appearing to hit. 
 Altogether seventeen rounds were fired, seven seem- 
 ing to be direct hits. The enemy did not reply, and 
 within three minutes of being hit disappeared. For- 
 tunately none of his score of rounds had struck the 
 schooner, though they burst overhead in unpleasant 
 proximity. 
 
 A further engagement with what was probably the 
 same enemy occurred later on the same day. It was 
 a favourite tactic for a submarine to follow a ship 
 after disappearing for a while, and then, having got 
 her hours later in a suitable position, to attack her 
 again. I used to hear commanding officers say that 
 they had certainly noticed this in regard to their own 
 ships, and there are not lacking actual records of these 
 methods, especially in the case of the slow-moving 
 sailing Q -ships who could be seen across the sea for a 
 long time ; and it was part of these tactics to carry 
 out this second attack just before night came on. 
 Thus at G.IO p.m., being now in Lat. 47.37 N., Long. 
 6.38 W., Mitchell again sighted a submarine, this 
 time 4 miles away on the port quarter. The 
 schooner kept her course, the submarine overtook
 
 THE ' MARY B. MITCHELL ' 73 
 
 her, and at 6.35 again shelled the ship. After the 
 U-boat had fired half a dozen rapid rounds, Mitchell 
 was hove-to and ' abandoned,' the enemy taking up a 
 position well out on the port beam and firing until 
 the boat was quite clear of the ship. Then the 
 German stopped, exactly on the beam, 800 yards 
 away, and waited for a long time before making any 
 move. Suddenly he turned end on, came full speed 
 towards the ship, dived, and when 400 yards away 
 showed his periscope on the port side. Having got to 
 within 50 yards he went full speed ahead, star- 
 boarded his helm, and began to rise quickly. As soon 
 as the top of the conning-tower appeared and a couple 
 of feet of hull were showing 31itchell cleared away 
 and shelled him with the after 6-pounder. This 
 seemed to pierce the conning-tower, a large blue 
 flash and a volume of yellow vapour coming from the 
 hole. Almost simultaneously the 1 2-pounder hit the 
 enemy in the bows, but after this the enemy was too 
 far forward for the schooner's guns to bear. In a 
 cloud of black smoke, yellow smoke, steam, and spray, 
 she dived and was not seen again until 8.7 p.m. on 
 the surface 5 miles to the westward, just as the 
 'panic party' were coming back on board the 
 schooner. All speed was made, and the boat towed 
 astern on an easterly course for the French coast. 
 For a time the submarine followed, but then went off 
 to the north-eastward and remained in sight until 
 dark. The reader may wonder how a submarine, 
 having once been holed, could remain afloat : but 
 there are cases of undoubted authenticity where, in 
 spite of being seriously injured, the submarine did get 
 back to Germany. A remarkable instance of one 
 thus damaged by a Q-sailing-ship will be given in a 
 later chapter. But in the present case of the Mitchell,
 
 74 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 even if she had not sunk her submarine, she had 
 fought two plucky engagements, in the opinion of the 
 Admiralty, and the captain, Lieutenant John Lawrie, 
 R.N.R., already the possessor of a D.S.C., was now 
 awarded the D.S.O. — his two officers. Lieutenant 
 John Kerr, R.N.R., and Lieutenant T. Hughes, 
 R.N.R., being given each a D.S.C. 
 
 On the following August 3, when 20 miles south 
 of the Start, Mitchell had yet another engagement. 
 She had left Falmouth two days before as the Arius, 
 of Riga, then as the P'rench Cancalais, of La Houle, 
 and cruised between the Lizard and the Owers, to 
 Guernsey, and in the neighbourhood of Ushant. At 
 1.45 p.m. she was sailing close-hauled on the star- 
 board tack, steering west ; there was a fresh breeze, 
 rather a rough sea, and a slight haze. Three miles 
 away on the starboard beam appeared a submarine, 
 who five minutes later began shelling the schooner. 
 Lawrie let his ship fall off the wind, and the shells 
 came bursting around, passing through sails and 
 rigging, so after ten minutes of this the schooner 
 hove-to and ' abandoned ' ship. Slowly and cautiously 
 the submarine approached, and when about 3,000 
 yards off stopped his engines, but continued to fire. 
 Then he came up on the decoy's starboard 
 beam, about 1,000 yards away ; but after fifteen 
 minutes of shelling from this position, Lawrie de- 
 cided that he could tempt the enemy no nearer. 
 It was now 4 p.m., so Mitchell started lier motor, 
 cleared away all disguises, put the helm hard aport, 
 and so brought the enemy well on the beam, allowing 
 all four guns to bear. Over twenty shells were fired, 
 of which three or four hit the base of the conning- 
 tower ; but the submarine, having replied with four 
 sheets, dived, and made off. For two hours and a
 
 THE 'MARY B. MITCHELL' 75 
 
 quarter had this engagement been prolonged, and 
 the enemy must have been considerably annoyed to 
 have wasted seventy of his shells in this manner. 
 There was every reason to suppose that he had 
 received injuries, and though there were no fatalities 
 aboard the schooner, yet the latter's windlass, sails, 
 rigging, and deck fittings had been damaged, and 
 two of her men had been wounded. Lieutenant 
 Lawrie received for this gallant fight a bar to his 
 D.S.C., and a similar aM^ard was made to Lieutenant 
 T. Hughes. 
 
 Such, briefly, was the kind of life that was spent 
 month after month in these mystery sailing ships. 
 It was an extraordinary mixture of monotony and 
 the keenest excitement. From one hour to another 
 no man knew whether he would be alive or dead, 
 and the one essential thing consisted in absolute pre- 
 paredness and mental alertness. To be surprised by 
 the enemy was almost criminal ; to escape narrowly 
 from shipwreck, to remain unmoved under shell-fire, 
 to see the spars crashing down and your shipmates 
 laid out in great pain, to be hit and yet refusing 
 to hit back until the right moment, to keep a clear 
 head and a watchful eye, and all the time handle 
 your ship so that the most was got out of the wind 
 — all this was a part of your duty as a Q-ship man. 
 Officers and men believed that if their Q-ship were 
 torpedoed and any of them were captured, they 
 would be shot as francs-tireurs. German prisoners 
 had not hesitated to make this statement, although 
 I do not remember an instance where this was 
 carried out. 
 
 There can be no doubt but that these sailing ships 
 had the most strenuous and arduous task of all. 
 They suffered by being so useful, for the Q-steam-
 
 76 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 ships, as a rule, did not spend more than eight days 
 at sea out of twelve, and then they had to come 
 in for coal. The schooners, as we have seen, could 
 keep the sea for a month, so long as they had 
 sufficient water and provisions. Several more were 
 added to the list during 1917 and 1918, and there 
 was never any lack of volunteers for them. The 
 only difficulty was, in these days of steam, in 
 choosing those who had had experience in sailing 
 craft. The revival of the sailing man-of-war was 
 certainly one of the many remarkable features in the 
 naval campaign.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 MORE SAILING SHIPS 
 
 During the ensuing months many demands were 
 made on the saihng-ship man-of-war. There were 
 pressed into the service such vessels as the schooner 
 Result, the 220-ton lugger Bayard, the three-masted 
 schooner Prize, the motor drifter Betsy Jameson, the 
 ketch Sarah Colebrooke, the auxiliary schooner Glen 
 (alias Sidney), the brigantine Dargle, the Brown 
 Mouse yacht, built on the lines of a Brixham trawler, 
 and so on. The barquentine Merops, otherwise known 
 as Maracaio and Q 28, began decoy work in Feb- 
 ruary, 1917. She was fitted out in the Firth of 
 Forth with a couple of 12-pounders and a 4-inch 
 gun. At the end of May she had a severe engage- 
 ment with a submarine, and was considerably damaged 
 aloft. In March the 158-ton Rye motor ketch Sarah 
 Colebrooke was requisitioned, and sent to Portsmouth 
 to be fitted out, appearing in May as the Bolhavi. 
 A month later, 20 miles south of Beachy Head, 
 she fought a submarine, and had quite an unpleasant 
 time. One of the enemy's shells exploded under the 
 port quarter, lifting the ketch's stern high out of the 
 water, another exploded under the port leeboard, 
 sending a column of water on board, and swamping 
 the boat ; whilst a third burst on board, doing con- 
 siderable damage. She fought the submarine until 
 the latter disappeared, but the Bolhams motor was 
 
 77
 
 78 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 by this time so choked with splinters and glass that 
 she could not proceed to the spot where the sub- 
 marine had last been seen, and of course it so hap- 
 pened that there was no wind. 
 
 On June 8 four fishing smacks were captured and 
 sunk off the Start in full view of the Q-smack 
 Prevalent, a Brixham trawler armed with a 12- 
 pounder. Again it happened to be a calm, so 
 Prevalent, being too far away, was unable to render 
 assistance. After this incident it was decided to fit an 
 auxiliary motor in the trawler-yacht Broivn Mouse, 
 which was doing similar service and was specially 
 suitable for an engine. On the following day our 
 friend Helgoland had another encounter, this time 
 off the north coast of Ireland, the exact spot being 
 8 miles N. by W. of Tory Island. The fight began 
 at 7.25 a.m., and half an hour later the submarine 
 obtained a direct hit on the after-gun house of the 
 brigantine, killing one man, wounding four ratings, 
 and stunning the whole of the after-guns' crews. 
 But Helgoland, with her charmed life, was not sunk, 
 and she shelled the submarine so fiercely that the 
 U-boat had to dive and disappear. 
 
 Even a private yaclit was taken up for this work 
 in June. This was the llG-ton topsail schooner 
 IJsette, which had formerly belonged to the Duke of 
 Sutherland. She had been built as far back as 1873 
 with a standing bowsprit and jibboom. She was 
 taken from Cowes to Falmouth, where she was 
 commissioned in August, and armed with three 
 C-pounders, But this old yacht was found to leak so 
 much through her seams, and her construction was 
 so light, that she was never a success, and was paid 
 off in the following spring. In April, 1917, the 
 auxiliary schooner Sidney (alias Glen) began service
 
 MORE SAILING SHIPS 79 
 
 as a decoy, having been requisitioned from her 
 owners and fitted out at Portsmouth. A crew was 
 selected from the Trawler Reserve, but the guns' 
 crews were naval. Armed with a 12-pounder and 
 a 3-pounder, she was fitted with wireless, and cruised 
 about in the English Channel, her complement con- 
 sisting of Lieutenant R. J. Turnbull (R.N.R.), in 
 command, one sub-lieutenant (R.N.R.), one skipper 
 (R.N.R.), two R.N.R. seamen, one R.N.R. stoker to 
 run the motor, a signal rating, a wireless operator, 
 four R.N. ratings for the big gun, and three for the 
 smaller one. During the afternoon of July 10, 1917, 
 Glen was in combat with a submarine of the UC 
 type, and had lowered her boat in the customary 
 manner. A German officer from the conninsf-tower 
 hailed the boat, and in good English ordered her to 
 come alongside. This was being obeyed, when some- 
 thing seemed to startle the officer, who suddenly dis- 
 appeared into the conning-tower, and the submarine 
 began to dive. Glen therefore opened fire, and 
 distinctly saw two holes abaft the conning-tower as 
 the UC-boat rolled in the swell. She was not seen 
 again, and the Admiralty rewarded Glens captain 
 and Sub-Lieutenant K. Morris, R.N.R., with a 
 D.S.C. each. 
 
 During the month of January, 1917, the naval base 
 at Lowestoft called for volunteers for work described 
 as ' dangerous, at times rather monotonous, and not 
 free from discomfort.' Everyone, of course, knew 
 that this meant life in a Q-ship. The vessel selected 
 was the 122-ton three-masted topsail schooner Result^ 
 which was owned at Barnstaple, and had in Decem- 
 ber come round to Lowestoft from the Bristol 
 Channel. Here she was fitted out and commissioned 
 at the beginning of February, being armed with a
 
 80 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 couple of 12-poimders, but also ^vith torpedo-tubes. 
 As a sailing craft she was slow, unhandy, and prac- 
 tically unmanageable in light winds. At the best 
 she would lie no nearer to the wind than 5h points, 
 and in bad weather she was like a half-tide rock. 
 True, she had a BoUnders motor, but the best speed 
 they could thus get out of her was 2^ knots. The 
 result was that her officers had great difficulty in 
 keeping her out of the East Coast minefields, and did 
 not always succeed. She took in 100 tons of sand 
 as ballast, and a rough cabin was fashioned out 
 of the hold for the two officers. In command was 
 appointed Lieutenant P. J. Mack, R.N. (retired), 
 a young officer who had seen service at the Dardanelles 
 in the battleship Lord Nelson and in the historic 
 Rive?' Clyde, whence he had been invalided home. 
 As he was not an expert in the art of sailing, there 
 was selected to accompany him as second in command 
 Lieutenant G. H. P. Muhlhauser, R.N.R., who was 
 not a professional seaman, but a keen amateur yachts- 
 man of considerable experience, who had made some 
 excellent cruises in his small yacht across the North 
 Sea and had passed the Board of Trade examination 
 as master of his own yacht. The sailing master who 
 volunteered was an ex-schooner sailor, and her mate 
 also was an old blue-water seaman. The motor man 
 was a motor mechanic out of one of the I^owestoft 
 M.L.'s, and there was a trimmer from the Trawler 
 Reserve. She carried also a wireless operator, a 
 cook, a chief petty officer, deckhands, and some 
 Royal Naval ratings for the armament. All the 
 crew, consisting of twenty-two, had seen considerable 
 service during the war in various craft, and one of the 
 deckhands was in the drifter Linsdell, which was 
 blown up on an East Coast minefield at the commence-
 
 MORE SAILING SHIPS 81 
 
 ment of the war. He had been then picked up by 
 H.M.S. Speedy, who in turn was immediately blown 
 up. This man survived again, and was now a volunteer 
 in a Q-ship. Resulfs crew were trained to go to 
 their ' panic stations ' at the given signal, when the 
 bulwarks were let down and the tarpaulins removed 
 from the guns, the engineer on those occasions 
 standing at the hatchway amusingly disguised as a 
 woman passenger, arrayed in a pink blouse and 
 a tasselled cap which had been kindly provided by a 
 lady ashore. 
 
 On February 9 Kemdt was all ready as a warship, 
 and motored out of Lowestoft. She then disguised 
 herself as a neutral, affixed Dutch colours to her 
 topsides, and proceeded via Yarmouth Roads to the 
 neighbourhood of the North Hinder, the other side 
 of the North Sea, where the enemy was very fond 
 of operating. On the fifteenth of the following 
 month Result was cruising off the soutli-west end of 
 the Dogger Bank when she encountered UC 45 in 
 the morning. Lieutenant Muhlhauser, who was kind 
 enough to give me his account of the incident, has 
 described it with such vividness that I cannot do 
 better than present the version in his own words. It 
 should be added that at the time Result was steer- 
 ing E.S.E., and was now in the position Lat. 54.19 N., 
 Long. 1.45 E. The submarine was sighted 2 J miles 
 astern, the wind was northerly, force 5 to 6, the sea 
 being 4 to 5 and rapidly rising. In other words, it 
 was a nasty, cold North Sea day, and one in which 
 it would have been most unpleasant to have been 
 torpedoed. The engagement was a difficult one, 
 as the ship had to be manoeuvred so that her guns 
 would bear, and careful seamanship had to be used to 
 prevent her lying in the trough of the sea. As it 
 
 6
 
 82 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 was, with bulwarks down, the decks and gun-wells 
 were awash and frequently full of water, while the 
 submarine, being only occasionally visible when 
 Result was on the top of the sea, made a target that 
 was anything but easy. 
 
 'By 7 a.m.,' says Lieutenant Muhlhauser, 'we had 
 got all the topsails off her, and at this moment the 
 C.O. appeared on deck and, looking aft, said, " Why, 
 there is a submarine !" and at the same moment it 
 was reported from aloft. Word was passed to the 
 watches below to stand by. In a few minutes came 
 the report of a gun. I do not know where the shell 
 went. The men ran to their stations, or crawled 
 there according to what their job was, and the ship 
 was brought on the wind. The submarine continued 
 firing at the rate of a shell every minute or there- 
 abouts. The C.O. then ordered the jibs to be run 
 down, and while this was being done a shell stranded 
 the foretopmast forestay, but luckily did not burst. 
 It went off whistling. Some of the shells were fairly 
 well aimed, but the bulk were either 50 or 60 yards 
 short or over, and at times more than that. As the 
 submarine kept about 2,000 yards off, the C.O. 
 ordered the boat away, with the skipper in charge. 
 Four hands went with him. He was reluctant to 
 go, I think, thougli, as a matter of fact, he ran quite 
 as much risk as did those remaining on board, if not 
 more, as he would have been in an awkward position 
 if by any chance the ship worked away from him and 
 the submarine got him. It would have been a hard 
 job to persuade the submariners that he was anything 
 but British. However, off he went in a nasty sea. 
 In lowering the boat we made efforts to capsize her, 
 but she was difficult to upset, and as the sub. was 
 some way off and unlikely to see the " accident," we
 
 MORE SAILING SHIPS 83 
 
 did not waste much time on it, but let her go down 
 right side up. Away went the skipper and his crew, 
 and he admits feehng lonely with a hostile submarine 
 near by and the ship and her guns working away 
 from him. He says he was struck with the beauty 
 of her lines, and she never appeared more attractive 
 to him. As a matter of fact, his was a rotten position, 
 which was not improved by the sub. firing at him two 
 or three shells, which went over and short. Evidently 
 the submarine, which by the way had closed to 1,000 
 yards as soon as the boat left the ship, wanted him 
 to pull towards it, instead of which he was digging 
 out after us manfully. Meanwhile the ship appeared 
 quite deserted. Everyone was concealed. The CO. 
 prowled around the deck on his hands and knees, 
 peering through cracks and rivet holes in the bulwarks 
 to see how the submanne was getting on. All I 
 could see of him was the stern position of his body 
 and the soles of an enormous pair of clogs. I sat on 
 deck at the wheel, trying to get and keep the ship in 
 the wind, so as not to get too far from the boat. All 
 this time the submarine was firing steadily, and one 
 shell went through the mizzen, while others, as the 
 CO. reported from time to time, burst short, some 
 of them close. Splinters from the latter went through 
 the stay- and fore-sails. At 1,000 yards the ship is a 
 fairly big target, and the shooting of the Huns must 
 be put down as bad. 
 
 ' It is all very well serving as a target at 1,000 yards, 
 but it is an experience which must not be too long 
 continued in case a lucky shot disables one. In the 
 present case, moreover, the wind and sea were rapidly 
 increasing, and we were leaving the boat in spite of 
 all our efforts to stop. The submarine seemed quite 
 determined not to come any nearer, and the CO.
 
 84 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 decided that the moment had come for our side to 
 begin. Just before this one of the bulwarks, luckily 
 on the side away from the sub., had fallen down, and 
 let a deluge of water on to the decks, but this did not 
 affect things as far as we know. 
 
 ' At the word, down fell the bulwarks, round came 
 the guns, and up went the White Ensign. Only the 
 after 12-pounder gun would bear. The first shell 
 struck the submarine at the junction of the conning- 
 tower and deck forward. The 6-pounder also fired 
 one shell, and hit the conning-tower. The second 
 shell from the big gun burst short. By the time the 
 smoke had cleared away the submarine had dis- 
 appeared. Had we sunk her or had she dipped ? 
 This is the point which is exercising our minds. The 
 CO. thinks the evidence of sinking her is not con- 
 clusive, but most of us think she has gone down for 
 ever. 
 
 * We then made for the boat, which was still 
 labouring after us, and got it hooked on and hoisted. 
 There was quite a decent- sized sea, and the hoisting 
 process was not very pleasant for those left in to 
 hook on, not to mention that they got wet from the 
 exhaust. 
 
 * At the time the sub. was firing, one of the officers 
 or crew was standing on the conning-tower rails, 
 probably spotting for the gunners. He was there 
 when the first shell struck, but was not noticed after- 
 wards. Very likely he had fallen into the tower, but 
 he may have fallen into the water. 
 
 ' We certainly gave them a lesson in gunnery, 
 two hits out of three shots. Compare that with 
 their performance. Moreover, our guns had to be 
 swung into position, while theirs was already pointed. 
 
 ' Having picked up tlie boat, we made for the
 
 MORE SAILING SHIPS 85 
 
 spot where the sub. had disappeared, but could not 
 be sure that we had reached it. Anyway, we saw no 
 traces of it. We did not spend much time in searcli- 
 ing, but put the ship back on her course. The wind 
 and sea were by this time strong and heavy, and 
 after running out for half an hour we turned and 
 headed west, with the idea of being near shelter if a 
 north-east gale, which I had predicted, came along. 
 As a matter of fact it did not, and my reputation as 
 a weather-prophet is tarnished. Our alteration of 
 course was made solely from weather conditions, but 
 it must have seemed very suspicious to a second 
 submarine which now arrived on the scene, and 
 which had probably been chasing us without our 
 knowing it. Instead of it chasing us, it suddenly 
 found us coming to meet it, and must have been 
 puzzled. By way of clearing the air it fired a torpedo 
 from a distance of about 2,000 yards, and missed us 
 by about 200 yards — a bad effort. It then fired three 
 shells at us, which also went wide. There is no doubt 
 that this was another, and smaller, submarine from 
 the first, but we did not grasp this at first, and so 
 without more ado we let drive at it, but unluckily 
 the gun missed fire twice. Fleet then opened the 
 breech, at some risk to himself, and drew out the 
 cartridge and threw it away. But this wasted time, 
 and when he did fire the shell went short. The 
 submarine had taken advantage of the pause to get 
 ready to dive, and did not wait for another shot, but 
 went under as soon as we fired. 
 
 ' It was no use waiting about, as we should very 
 likely have been torpedoed, so we went on towards 
 the land. 
 
 ' And so ended what the skipper calls the " Battle 
 of the Silver Pit," from the name of the fishing
 
 86 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 ground where it took place. As far as it went it 
 was satisfactory, but we should like to be sure that 
 we sank the first. The two engagements took about 
 two hours. Possibly by waiting we might have done 
 better, but, on the other hand, we might have done 
 worse.' 
 
 It was eventually known that the first submarine 
 w^as UC 45, who paid the Besult the compliment 
 of describing this ship's gunfire as w^ell-controlled. 
 She got back safely to Germany. For the manner 
 in which the fighting had been conducted, Lieutenant 
 INIack and the skipper were both mentioned in 
 despatches. 
 
 After the return to Lowestoft, Result was altered 
 in appearance and was sent off to the area where this 
 encounter had taken place. This time she used 
 Swedish colours, and called herself the Dag. On this 
 voyage, whilst in the vicinity north of the North 
 Hinder Bank, on April 4, about 4 a.m., a submarine 
 was seen on the port bow, but disappeared. It was 
 so big that at first it resembled a steamer or destroyer. 
 Presently a periscope was seen about 4 points on 
 the bow, resembling a topmast, as it had a rake. 
 The lower portion was about 6 inches in diameter, 
 and a narrower stem protruded from this, terminating 
 in a ball, and whilst officers and crew watched it, 
 wondering whether it was the mast of a wreck or 
 not, it slowly dipped and vanished. This was the 
 submarine in the act of taking a photograph. She 
 then retired to a distance convenient for shelling. 
 'J'licre w^as a light westerly breeze, and the enemy 
 now bobbed up at intervals all round the Dag^ 
 examining her very carefully. Lieutenant JMuhl- 
 hauscr writes of this incident : 
 
 * Then followed a pause of nearly half an hour with-
 
 MORE SAILING SHIPS 87 
 
 out our seeing anything of him. The cook was sent 
 to the galley to get on with breakfast and we started 
 the engine. It is hardly necessary to say that as it 
 was particularly wanted it ran very badly, and, 
 indeed, could hardly be kept going at all. Suddenly 
 a shell burst near us, followed by another and 
 another. We could not at first tell the direction 
 from which they came, and thought it was from 
 astern, but found that the submarine had cunningly 
 moved away towards the sun, and had emerged 
 in the mist behind the path of the sun, where he 
 was practically invisible from our ship, while we 
 were lit up and must have offered a splendid target 
 with our white hull and sails. His shooting was very 
 good, and none of the shells missed us by much. 
 He fired rapidly, and was probably using a 4 '1 -inch 
 semi-automatic gun. The shells all burst on striking 
 the water, and the explosions had a vicious sound. 
 They seemed to come at a terrific speed, suggesting 
 a high- velocity gun. The CO. calmly walked the 
 deck, the skipper took the wheel, and I sat at the top 
 of the cabin hatchway and noted the times and 
 numbers of shells fired and anything else of interest. 
 The rest of the crew were at their stations, but keep- 
 ing below the bulwarks, except those who launched 
 the boat and let it tow astern. The eleventh shell 
 struck us just above the water-line, and soused us all 
 with spray which fiew up above the peak of the 
 mainsail. It tore a hole in the side and burst in 
 the sand ballast, reducing the skipper's cabin to 
 matchwood, and destroying the wireless instrument. 
 It also knocked down the sides of the magazine and 
 set fire to the wood, starting some of the rockets 
 smouldering. It also smashed up the patent fire 
 extinguishers, and possibly the fumes from these
 
 88 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 prevented the fire from spreading. Anyway, it was 
 out M'^hen we had time to see what was happening. 
 
 ' In the meantime we could not afford to be hit 
 again, and the CO. gave the word to open fire. 
 Down went the bulwarks and round swung the guns, 
 but where was the target ? Hidden in the mist 
 behind the sun's path it was invisible to the gun-layers 
 looking through telescopes, and they were obliged to 
 fire into the gloom at a venture. The poor little 
 6-pounder was quite outranged, and it is doubtful 
 if the shells went more than two-thirds of the way. 
 The other guns had sufficient range, but it was 
 impossible to judge the distance or observe the fall 
 of the shots. However, they made a glorious and 
 cheering noise, and Fritz dived as soon as he could. 
 There is not the least reason for thinking that we 
 hit him. The skipper, deceived by the low freeboard 
 revealed when the bulwarks were down, at this stage 
 quickly announced the conviction that she was 
 sinking. Smoke was also pouring out of the hatches, 
 and we had two wounded men to see to : Ryder, 
 who was in the magazine and who was hit in the 
 arm, sustaining a compound fracture, and INIorris, 
 also in the magazine, bruised in the back and suffer- 
 ing from shock. We were not, therefore, in a position 
 to continue the battle, and things looked a bit blue. 
 Fritz might be expected to be along in a few minutes 
 submerged, and he would have little difficulty in 
 torpedoing us, as we were very nearly a stationary 
 target. We had no means of warding him off except 
 by a deptli charge. That might inconvenience him, 
 but it would liardly delay him long, and he could 
 tlien cither torpedo us or retire out of range of our 
 guns and pound us to pieces, as his gun had a range 
 of about 5,000 yards more than ours. Sure enough
 
 MORE SAILING SHIPS 89 
 
 he was soon after us, as we crawled along at our 
 4-knot gait, and raised his periscope right astern 
 about 200 yards off. 
 
 ' We then slung over a depth charge, and had just 
 got our 10- feet clearance when it went off, and made 
 quite a creditable stir for a little 'un. Fritz promptly 
 disappeared to think things over, and we were 
 relieved of the sight of the sinister-looking periscope. 
 But we had only delayed things a little. He would 
 soon recover and adopt fresh tactics. Still, for ten 
 minutes we should liave peace to attend to our 
 wounded and the damage. The CO. supervised the 
 bandaging of Ryder, who had been lying on deck 
 since he had been drawn out of the magazine. I had 
 passed him — passed over him, in fact — once or twice in 
 going forward, and thought he was dead, as he lay so 
 still. Then the hole in the side wanted attention, 
 and also the fire below. Just then the look-outs 
 reported the Halcyon^ and two P-boats ahead coming 
 our way. We were extremely glad to hear them 
 shout out, as it meant all the difference between 
 being sunk and not being sunk. When the skipper 
 had called out " She is sinking, sir," 1 thought of the 
 number our little boat would hold, and the number 
 of the crew, and had reflected that my number 
 was up. The arrival of the Halcyon and her 
 attendants put a different complexion on things, and 
 while efforts were being made by guns to attract 
 their attention, I set about plugging our hole and 
 trying to find the fire. 
 
 ' Stringer warned me that he had tried to get 
 below, but had found the fumes too much. By the 
 time I got there they must have cleared, as I did not 
 find them too bad. The place was full of smoke, but 
 
 * H.M.S. Halcyon, torpedo-gunboat, 1,070 tons.
 
 90 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 though I pulled things about blindly, as it was im- 
 possible to see anything, I could not see any glow to 
 indicate a fire. Ultimately I did see a light, but on 
 making for it I found it was Dawes and an electric 
 light. He had entered from the mess-deck. There 
 appearing to be no immediate danger from fire, I 
 crawled round to the shot-hole and found water 
 coming in through rivet holes. The main hole had 
 been plugged from the outside by two coal-bags and 
 a shot-hole plug. I got tools and cut up some wood, 
 while AVreford cut up a coal-bag into 6-inch squares. 
 These Dawes and I hammered home, and made her 
 fairly tight. 
 
 ' Meanwhile great efforts were being made to com- 
 municate with the Halcyon, to let them know that a 
 submarine was about, and to ask for a doctor. We 
 could not get the Halcyon, but one of the P-boats 
 came rushing by at full speed, and asked where we 
 were from ! They had not recognized us ! We could 
 get nothing out of these ships. They rushed about 
 the horizon at full speed and disappeared into the 
 mist and came out of it again somewhere else, but 
 generally kept away from us, though occasionally a 
 P-boat tore past going " all out." 
 
 ' While this circus was going on, a number ot 
 T.B.D.'s M^ere reported on our starboard quarter, and 
 three light cruisers and then T.B.D.'s swept into 
 sight and seemed to fill the whole horizon. They 
 went on, ignoring our request for a doctor, and dis- 
 appeared in the mist, but their place was taken by 
 other T.B.D.'s. Tlie place seemed full of them. 
 Where they all came from 1 do not know, or what 
 they were doing, but everywhere one looked one 
 could see some of these beautiful vessels rushing 
 along. It was a fine, stirring sight. Finally we got
 
 MORE SAILING SHIPS 91 
 
 one of them to stop and lower a whaler with a doctor. 
 While she was stopped her companion ships steamed 
 round to ward off attack. The doctor came on board, 
 and decided that Ryder ought to go in at once, and 
 the T.B.D. Torrent agreed to take him in when asked 
 by signal. So away went poor Ryder in great pain, 
 I fear, in spite of two morphia pills which we gave 
 him. The CO. was afraid that we had given him 
 too much, but one did not seem to do him much 
 good, so we gave him another one. 
 
 ' While we were transshipping him, the Halcyon 
 came tearing past, and shouted that there was a 
 hostile submarine 3 miles to the southward. This, 
 however, did not worry us with all these T.B.D. 's 
 around. We were in a scene of tremendous, even 
 feverish, activity. There were sweepers, T.B.D.'s, 
 P-boats, and our own submarines all about. At 
 6 a.m, the world held us and a very nasty, large, 
 hostile submarine, which could both outrange and 
 outmanoeuvre us, and the game seemed up. At 
 6.30 a.m. we were as safe as one could wish to be, 
 with a considerable portion of England's light forces 
 around us. " Some change !" '
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 SUBMARINES AND Q-SHIP TACTICS 
 
 In order properly to appreciate the difficulties of the 
 Q-ships, it is necessary to understand something of 
 the possibilities and limitations of the U-boats. No 
 one could hope to be successful with his Q-ship 
 unless he realized what the submarine could not do, 
 ^nd how he could attack the U-boat in her weakest 
 feature. If the submarine's greatest capability lay 
 in the power of rendering herself invisible, her greatest 
 weakness consisted in remaining thus submerged for a 
 leomparatively short time. On the surface she could 
 do about 16 knots; submerged, her best speed was 
 -about 10 knots. As the heart is the vital portion of 
 the human anatomy, so the battery was the vital 
 part of the submarine's invisibility. At the end of a 
 couple of hours, at the most, it was as essential for her 
 to rise to the surface, open her hatches, and charge 
 her batteries as it is for a wliale or a porpoise to come 
 up and breathe. It was the aim, then, of all anti- 
 submarine craft to use every endeavour to keep the 
 U-boat submerged as long as possible. Those 
 Q-ships who could steam at 10 knots and over had a 
 good chance then of following the submarine's sub- 
 merged wake and despatching her with depth cliarges. 
 If she elected not to dive, there was nothing for it 
 but to tempt her within range and bearing of your 
 guns and then shell her. To ram was an almost 
 
 92
 
 SUBMARINES AND Q-SHTP TACTICS 93 
 
 impossible task, though more than one submarine 
 was in this way destroyed. 
 
 The difficulty of anti-submarine warfare was in- 
 creased when the enemy became so wary that he 
 preferred to remain shelling the ship at long range, 
 and this led to our Q-ships having to be armed with 
 at least one 4.-inch against his 4'1-inch gun. The 
 famous Arnauld de la Periere, who, in spite of his 
 semi-French ancestry, was the ablest German sub- 
 marine captain in the Mediterranean, was especially 
 devoted to this form of tactics. Most of the German 
 submarines were double-hulled, the space between 
 the outer and inner hulls being occupied by water 
 ballast and oil fuel. The conning-tower was literally 
 a superstructure imposed over the hull, and not an 
 essential part of the ship. That is why, as we have 
 already seen, the Q-ship could shell holes into the 
 tower and yet the U-boat was not destroyed. 
 Similarly, a shell would often pierce the outer hull 
 and do no very serious damage other than causing a 
 certain amount of oil to escape. Only those who 
 have been in British and German submarines, and 
 have seen a submarine under construction, realize 
 what a strong craft she actually is. 
 
 The ideal submarine would weigh about the same 
 amount as the water surrounding her. That being a 
 practical impossibility, before she submerges she is 
 trimmed down by means of water ballast, but then 
 starts her engines and uses her planes for descent in 
 the same way as an aeroplane. The flooding tanks, 
 as we have seen, are between the two hulls, and the 
 hydroplanes are in pairs both forward and aft. The 
 U-boat has been running on the surface propelled by 
 her internal-combustion motors. Obviously these 
 cannot be used when she is submerged, or the air in
 
 94 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 the ship would speedily be used up. When about to 
 submerge, the German captain trimmed his ship 
 until just afloat ; actually he frequently cruised in 
 this trim when in the presence of shipping, ready to 
 dive if attacked. The alarm was then pressed, the 
 engineer pulled out the clutch, the coxswain con- 
 trolling the forward hydroplane put his helm down, 
 the captain entered the conning-tower, the hatch was 
 closed, and away the steel fish cruised about beneath 
 the surface. 
 
 The U-boat was now running on her electric 
 batteries. By means of two periscopes a view was 
 obtained not merely of the sea above, but also of 
 the sky, so that surface craft and aircraft might be 
 visible. The order would be given to submerge to 
 say 10 metres. Alongside each of the two coxswains 
 was a huge dial marked in metres, and it was the 
 sole duty of these two men to watch the dials, and 
 by operating a big wheel controlling each hydroplane 
 maintain the submarine at such a depth. Horizontal 
 steering was done also by a wheel, and course 
 kept by means of a gyroscope compass, a magnetic 
 compass in this steel ship with so much electricity 
 about being out of the question. The batteries were 
 charged while the submarine was on the surface by 
 turning the oil engines into a dynamo by means of 
 the clutch, the hour before dawn and the hour after 
 sunset being favourable times for so charging. 
 
 The reader will have noted the preliminary methods 
 of attack on the part of the submarine and his manner 
 of varying his position. He divided his attack into 
 two. 'J'he first was the approach, the second was the 
 attack proper. 'I'he former was made at a distance 
 of 12,000 yards, and during this time he was using 
 his high-power, long-range periscope, manoeuvring into
 
 SUBMARINES AND Q-SHIP TACTICS 95 
 
 position, and ascertaining the course and speed of the 
 on-coming Q-ship. The attack proper was made 
 at 800 or 400 yards, and for this purpose the short- 
 range periscope was used. Now watch the U-boat 
 in his attempt to kill. He is to rely this time not 
 on long-range shelling, but on the knock-out blow by 
 means of his torpedo : he has endeavoured, therefore, 
 to get about four points on the Q-ship's bow, for this 
 is the very best position, and he has dived to about 
 60 feet. During the approach his torpedo-tubes have 
 been got ready, the safety-pins have been removed, 
 and the bow caps of the tubes opened. The captain 
 has already ascertained the enemy's speed and the 
 deflection or angle at which the torpedo-tube must 
 point ahead of the Q-ship at the moment of firing. 
 ^^^hen the enemy bears the correct number of degrees 
 of deflection the tube is fired, the periscope lowered, 
 speed increased, and, if the torpedo has hit the 
 Q-ship, the concussion will be felt in the submarine. 
 This depends entirely on whether the Q-ship's speed 
 and course have been accurately ascertained. The 
 torpedo has travelled at a speed of 36 knots, so, 
 knowing the distance to be run, the captain has only 
 to look at his stop- watch and reckon the time when 
 his torpedo should have hit. If the German was 
 successful he usually hoisted his periscope and cruised 
 under the stern of the ship to obtain her name. If 
 he were an experienced oflicer he never came near 
 her, after torpedoing, unless he was quite certain she 
 was abandoned and that she was not a trap. During 
 1917 and onwards, having sunk the Q-ship, the 
 submarine would endeavour to take the captain 
 prisoner, and one Q-ship captain, whose ship sank 
 underneath him, found himself swimming about and 
 heard the U-boat's officer shouting to the survivors,
 
 96 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 ' Vere is der kapitan V but the men had the good 
 sense to lie and pretend their skipper was dead. 
 After this the submarine shoved oft', and my friend 
 took refuge with others in a small raft. But fre- 
 quently a submarine would wait a considerable time 
 cruising round the sinking ship, scrutinizing her, 
 examining the fittings, and expecting to find badly 
 hinged bulwarks, a carelessly fitted wireless aerial, 
 a suspicious move of a ' deckhouse ' or piece of 
 tarpaulin hiding the gun. This was the suspense 
 which tried the nerves of most Q-ship crews, especially 
 when it was followed by shelling. 
 
 We have seen that the U-boat sought to disguise 
 herself by putting up a sail when in the vicinity of 
 fishing craft or patrol vessels. The submarine which 
 torpedoed one ship disguised her periscope by a soap 
 box, so that it was not realized till too late that this 
 innocent-looking box was floating against the tide. 
 At the best the submarine was an unhandy craft, 
 and it took her from three to six minutes to make a 
 biff alteration of course, inasmuch as she had to dive 
 deeper lest she should break surface or disturb the 
 surface of the water. Again, when running sub- 
 merged, if she wished to turn 16 points — e.g.^ from 
 north to south — the pressure on her hull made it 
 very difficult. 
 
 It may definitely be stated that those who went 
 to their doom in U-boats had no pleasant death. 
 When the Q-ship caused the enemy to be holed so 
 that he could not rise and the water poured in, this 
 water, as it moved forward in tlie submarine, was all 
 the time compressing the air, and those of tlie crew 
 who had not already committed suicide suffered 
 agonies. Moreover, even if a httle of the sea got 
 into the bilges where the batteries were placed there
 
 SUBMARINES AND Q-SHIP TACTICS 97 
 
 was trouble also. Sea-water in contact with the 
 sulphuric acid generated chlorine, a very deadly gas, 
 which asphyxiated the crew. There is at least one 
 case on record of a U-boat surrendering to a patrol 
 boat in consequence of his crew having become 
 incapacitated by this gas ; and on pulling up the 
 floorboards of a British submarine, one has noticed 
 the chlorine smell very distinctly. The dropping by 
 the decoy ship of depth charges sometimes totally 
 destroyed the submarine, but even if this was not 
 accomplished straight away, it had frequently a most 
 salutary effect : for, at the least, it would start some 
 of the U-boat's rivets, smash all the electric bulbs in 
 the ship, and put her in total darkness. The nasty 
 jar which this and the explosion gave to the sub- 
 marine's crew had a great moral effect. A month's 
 cruise in a submarine in wintry Atlantic weather, 
 hunted and chased most of the way from Heligoland 
 to the Fastnet and back, is calculated to try any 
 human nerves : but to be depth- charged periodically, 
 or surprised and shelled by an innocent-looking tramp 
 or schooner, does not improve the enthusiasm of the 
 men. Frequently it happened that the decoy ship's 
 depth charges merely put the hydroplanes out of gear 
 so that they jammed badly. The U-boat would then 
 make a crash-dive towards the bottom. At 100 feet 
 matters became serious, at 200 feet they became 
 desperate ; and presently, owing to pressure, the hull 
 would start buckling and leaking. Then, by sheer 
 physical strength, the hydroplanes had to be coaxed 
 hard over, and then up would come the U-boat to 
 the surface, revealing herself, and an easy prey for 
 the Q-ship's guns, who would finish her ofl* in a few 
 fierce minutes. Life in a U-boat was no picnic, but 
 death was the worst form of torture, and such as could 
 
 7
 
 98 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 be conveyed to the imagination only by means of a 
 Theatre Guignol play. 
 
 It was the obvious duty of the Q-ships to make 
 the life of a U-boat as nearly as possible unbearable, 
 and thus save the lives of our ships and men of the 
 INIercantile Marine. It was no easy task, and even 
 with perfect organization, well-thought-out tactics, 
 and well-trained crews, it would happen that some- 
 thing would rob the decoy of her victory. On 
 October 20, 1916, for instance, the Q-ship Salvia, 
 one of the sloop-class partially reconstructed with a 
 false counter-stern to resemble a 1,000-ton tramp, 
 was off the west coast of Ireland when a submarine 
 appeared astern, immediately opened fire, and began 
 to chase. Salvia stopped her engines to allow the 
 enemy to close more rapidly, but the U-boat, ob- 
 serving this, hauled out on to the Salvia's starboard 
 quarter, and kept up her firing without shortening 
 the range of 2,000 yards. Salvia next endeavoured 
 to close the range by going slow ahead and altering 
 slightly towards the enemy, but the latter's fire was 
 now becoming so accurate that Salvia was soon hit 
 on the starboard side by a 4*1 -inch high-explosive 
 shell. This burst through in nine places in the 
 engine-room bulkhead, smashing an auxiliary steam- 
 pipe and causing a large escape of steam. The 
 engines were now put full ahead, and course was 
 made for the enemy, who sheered away and shortly 
 afterwards dived. 
 
 That being so, Salvia deemed it prudent to pretend 
 to run away, but in the middle of the evolution her 
 steering gear unfortm lately broke down, and before 
 control was established again with liand-steering gear, 
 the ship had swung 90 degrees past her course, and 
 the submarine reappeared on tlic port beam about
 
 SUBMARINES AND Q-SHIP TACTICS 99 
 
 1,500 yards away, but presently disappeared. The 
 breakdown had been most unfortunate, for otherwise 
 a short, sharp action at about 700 yards would have 
 been possible, followed by an excellent chance of 
 dropping a depth charge very close to the enemy. 
 In that misty weather, with a rough sea and a fairly 
 
 s/m first sighted ^Jf0^ 
 opened fire .'^^^ 
 on SAL\/IA I 
 
 I 
 I 
 I 
 y 
 
 m s/m subnierqoil /■ 
 
 ^Mreappeare<J^ salvia sighted '/m^ 
 
 s/M disappeared \ 
 
 Ship when -^/m dived 
 
 K 
 
 sitionjfv/hen 
 
 ^/m redppeared 
 
 \ 
 \ 
 
 Fig. 7. — Diagram to Illustrate Approximate Movements of 
 ' Salvia ' in her Action with Submarine on October 20, 1916. 
 
 strong breeze, it had been difficult to see any part of 
 the U-boat's hull, for she had trimmed herself so as to 
 have little buoyancy, and only her conning-tower could 
 be discerned. Below, in the Q-ship, the engine-room 
 staff found themselves up against difficulties ; for it 
 was an awkward job repairing the leaking steam-pipe.
 
 100 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 as the cylinder tops and the engine-room were full of 
 live steam and lyddite fumes. The chief artificer and 
 a leading stoker were overcome by the fumes, but 
 the job was tackled so that steam could be kept up 
 in the boilers. 
 
 A few months later Salvia (alias Q 15) ended her 
 career. Just before seven o'clock on the morning of 
 June 20,1917, when in Lat.52.15N., Long. 16.13\V.— 
 that is to say, well out in the Atlantic — she was struck 
 on the starboard side abreast the break of the poop 
 by a submarine's torpedo. Troubles did not come 
 singly, for this caused the depth charge aft to explode 
 by concussion, completely wrecking the poop, blowing 
 the 4-inch gun overboard, and putting the engines 
 totally out of action. Here was a nice predicament 
 miles from the Irish coast. At 7.15 a.m., as the after 
 part of the ship was breaking up, her captain sent 
 away in the boats all the ship's company except the 
 crews of the remaining guns and others required in 
 case the ship should be saved. The submarine now 
 began to shell Salvia heavily from long range, taking 
 care to keep directly astern. The shells fell close to 
 the boats, so these were rowed farther to the eastward. 
 A shell then struck the wheelhouse and started a fire, 
 which spread rapidly to the upper bridge. It was 
 now time for the remainder of the crew to leave in 
 Carley rafts, and temporarily the submarine ceased 
 fire ; but when one boat started to go back to the 
 ship the enemy at once reopened his attack. He 
 then closed the rafts and took prisoner Salvia's captain, 
 who arrived safely in Germany, and was released 
 at the end of the war. At 1).15 a.m. the ship sank, 
 and ten minutes later the submarine disappeared. 
 Thus Salvia's people were suddenly bereft of ship 
 and skipper, with the broad Atlantic to row about
 
 SUBMARINES AND Q-SHIP TACTICS 101 
 
 in, boisterous weather, and a heavy sea. The boat 
 which had endeavoured to return to the ship then 
 proceeded to search for the men in the Carley rafts, 
 but could see nothing of them. After about an hour 
 this boat sighted what looked like a tramp steamer, 
 so hoisted sail and ran down to meet her. Atll. 20a.m. 
 this steamer picked them up : she happened to be 
 another disguised sloop, the Q-ship Aubrietia, com- 
 manded by Admiral Marx, a gallant admiral who 
 had come back to sea from his retirement, and as 
 Captain, R.N.R., was now taking a hand in the great 
 adventure. Search was then made, and within two 
 hours the men in the rafts were picked up, and a 
 little later the other three boat-loads were located : 
 but five men had been killed, three by the first 
 explosion in Salvia and two by shell-fire. It had 
 been a sad, difficult day. 
 
 In the Mediterranean the enemy was showing an 
 increased caution against likely decoys, and by the 
 beginning of December, 1916, had already sunk a 
 couple of Q-ships. The Q-ship Saros ( Lieut. - 
 Commander R. C. C. Smart) was operating in this 
 sea, and had an engagement on October 30, thirteen 
 miles from Cape San Sebastian. The engine-room 
 was ordered to make smoke, as though the stokers 
 were endeavouring to get the utmost speed out of the 
 ship : at the same time the engines were rung 
 down to ' slow.' But the enemy realized the ruse and 
 slowed down, too. Lieut. -Commander Smart en- 
 deavoured to make the enemy think a panic had 
 seized the ship. So the firemen off watch were sent 
 below to put on lifebelts and then to man the boats. 
 Stewards ran about, placing stores and blankets in 
 the boats, but the enemy insisted on shelling, so 
 Saros had to do the same, whereupon the submarine's
 
 102 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 guns' crews made a bolt for the inside of the U-boat, 
 and then made off. As soon as she had got out of 
 sight, Saros changed her disguise, taking the two white 
 bands off the funnel, hoisting Spanish colours, and 
 altering course for the Spanish coast. 
 
 Three days later Saros was returning to the Gib- 
 raltar-Malta shipping track, heading for the Cani 
 Rocks, after carrying out firing exercises. At half- 
 past four in the afternoon, the officer of the watch 
 heard a shot, and saw a submarine 7,000 yards off 
 on the starboard beam. She was not trimmed for 
 diving, and was apparently trimmed to cruise like 
 this during the night on the surface. She seemed 
 quite careless and slow about her movements, evidently 
 never suspecting Savon true character. Saros altered 
 course towards the enemy, who was firing all the time, 
 one round exploding and falling on board and several 
 coming close over the bridge. The U-boat, after going 
 on an opposite course, very slowly turned to starboard 
 to get on a parallel course, and men were seen hoisting 
 up ammunition on deck. The hght was bad, and it 
 was becoming late, but Saros had manoeuvred to get 
 the German in a suitable position as regards the sun, 
 so at 5,500 yards range opened fire with her 4-inch 
 and 12-pounder at 4.44 p.m. This shocked the 
 Teuton, so that the crew which had ])een sitting 
 around smoking, and apparently criticizing the old 
 ' merchantman,' suddenly became active, lowered the 
 wireless masts and disappeared below. By the tenth 
 round, the enemy, who appeared to have been hit, 
 dived, and at 4.50 p.m. Saros ceased fire. Course 
 was then altered to where she had last been seen, and, 
 just before turning, the enemy for a moment showed 
 himself, but as the gun-layer was ready the German 
 disappeared, and then artfully cruised about sub-
 
 SUBMARINES AND Q-SHIP TACTICS 103 
 
 merged, so as to get in a good position. She was never 
 seen again, but at 5.15 p.m. a torpedo passed just 
 ahead of the Saros^ and thereafter the latter zigzagged 
 at her utmost speed. During the night there was a 
 
 ^T-S/m first seen 
 / firing 
 
 Cease fire 450 
 range on guns 6.300tfds. 
 
 Fig. 8. — Diagram to Illustratk Approximate Movements of 'Saros 
 IN HER Action with Submarine on November 3, 1916. 
 
 moon until midnight, and an anxious time was spent. 
 Owing to tlie amount of sea, Saros was not doing 
 more than 8^ knots, but no further attack took place. 
 It had been one able captain against another, and no 
 actual result had been made. So the warfare went
 
 104 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 on in the Mediterranean. Baralong, now called 
 Wiiand7'a^ who had been sent to the INIediterranean, 
 had an engagement earlier in the year with a sub- 
 marine, on the evening of April 13, 1916, and probably 
 hit the enemy. 
 
 In the spring of 1917 three more Q-ships, Nos. 24, 25, 
 and 26, had been taken up to be fitted out and serve 
 under Vice- Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, at Queenstown. 
 These were respectively the Laggan (alias Pladda), 
 Paxton (alias Ladij Patricia), and the Mavis (aUas 
 A'y?-oca), being small steamers of 1,200 or 1,300 tons, 
 each armed with one 4-inch and two 12-pounders. Q 18 
 (alias Lady Olive) had begun her work in January. 
 Now, of these four ships two had very short lives. On 
 May 20 Q 25 was sunk in the Atlantic, her com- 
 manding officer and engineer officer being taken 
 prisoners by the submarine. Twenty-two survivors 
 were picked up by a trawler, and four were picked up 
 by an American steamer and taken to Manchester. 
 Three officers and eight men were found by the 
 United States destroyer Wadsworth, who had arrived 
 only a few days before from America. 
 
 The fate of Q 18 was as follows : At 6.35, on the 
 morning of February 19, 1917, she was at the western 
 end of the English Channel, when she was attacked 
 by a submarine who was coming up from 3 miles 
 astern shelling her. After the usual panic party had 
 been sent away and the others had concealed them- 
 selves, the submarine came close under the stern, 
 evidently so as to read the ship's name. At 7.10 
 Ladif Olive opened fire, the first two shots hitting the 
 base of the conning-tower, the other shot putting the 
 enemy's gun out of action and killing the man at 
 the gun, the range being only 100 yards. Six more 
 effectual sliots were fired, the man in the conning-
 
 SUBMARINES AND Q-SHIP TACTICS 105 
 
 tower being also killed. The submarine then sub- 
 merged. Lieutenant F. A. Frank, R.N.R., the 
 captain of the Q-ship, now rang down for full speed 
 ahead, with the intention of dropping depth charges. 
 No answer was made to his telegraph, so he waited 
 and rang again. Still no answer. He then left the 
 bridge, went below to the engine-room, and found 
 it full of steam, with the sea rising rapidly. 
 Engine-room, stokehold, and the after 'tween deck 
 were filling up, the dynamo was out of action, it was 
 impossible to use the wireless, and the steam-pipe had 
 burst owing to the enemy having landed two shots 
 into the engine-room. 
 
 As the ship was sinking, the only thing to do was 
 to leave her. Boats and rafts were provisioned, the 
 steel chest, containing confidential documents, was 
 thrown overboard, the ship was this time j'eally aban- 
 doned in earnest, and all took to the three boats and 
 two rafts at 9.30 a.m. Thus they proceeded in single 
 line. Fortunately the weather was fine, and Lieu- 
 tenant Frank decided to make for the French coast, 
 which was to the southward, and an hour later he 
 despatched an officer and half a dozen hands in the 
 small boat to seek for assistance. So the day went 
 on, but only the slowest progress was made. At 
 5 p.m. Lieutenant Frank decided to leave the rafts 
 and take the men into the boats, as some were begin- 
 ning to faint through immersion in the cold February 
 sea, and it was impossible to make headway towing 
 those ungainly floats with the strong tide setting them 
 at this time towards the Atlantic. The accommoda- 
 tion in each boat was for seventeen, but twenty-three 
 had been crowded into each. 
 
 With Lieutenant Frank's boat leading, the two 
 little craft pulled towards the southward, and about
 
 106 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 9 p.m. a light was sighted, but soon lost through the 
 mist and rain. An hour later another light showed 
 up, and about this time Lieutenant Frank lost sight 
 of his other boat, but at eleven o'clock a bright light 
 was seen, evidently on the mainland, and this was 
 steered for. Mist and rain again obscured everything, 
 but by rowing through the night it was hoped to sight 
 it by daylight. Night, however, was followed by a 
 hopeless dawn, for no land was visible. It was heart- 
 breaking after all these long hours. The men had 
 now become very tired and sleepy, and were feeling 
 downhearted, as well they might, with the cold, wet, 
 and fatigue, and, to make matters no better, the wind 
 freshened from the south-west, and a nasty, curling 
 sea had got up. I^ieutenant Frank put the boat's 
 head on to the sea, did all he could to cheer his men 
 up, and insisted that he could see the land. Everyone 
 did a turn at pulling, and the sub-lieutenant, the 
 sergeant-major of marines, the coxswain, and Lieu- 
 tenant Frank each steered by turns. Happily by 
 noon of the twentieth the wind eased up, the sea 
 moderated, and Lieutenant Frank had a straight talk 
 to his men, telling them their only chance was to 
 make the land, and to put their hearts into getting 
 there, for land in sight there was. Exhorting these 
 worn-out mariners to put their weight on to the oars, 
 he reminded them that everyone would do ' spell 
 about,' for the land must be made that night. 
 
 Every man of this forlorn boat-load buckled to and 
 did his best, but, owing to the crowded condition, and 
 the weakness of them all, progress was pathetically 
 slow. Thus passed another morning and another after- 
 noon. But at 5.15 p.m. a steamer was sighted. Alas ! 
 she ignored them and turned away to the westward, 
 and apparently was not coming near them. Then
 
 SUBMARINES AND Q-SHIP TACTICS 107 
 
 presently she was seen to alter course to the east, and 
 began to circle towards them. This was the French 
 destroyer, Dunois, who had seen a submarine actually 
 following this English rowing boat. The destroyer, 
 which had to be handled smartly, came alongside the 
 boat, and shouted to the men to come aboard quickly, 
 as she feared she might lose the submarine. Here was 
 rest at last ; but, just as the boat had got alongside, 
 Dunois again caught sight of the Hun, had to leave 
 the boat and begin circling round and firing on the 
 pest. At six o'clock the destroyer once more closed 
 the boat, and got sixteen of the men out, when she 
 suddenly saw the U-boat, fired on her, and went full 
 speed ahead, the port propeller guard crashing against 
 the boat, so that it ripped out the latter 's starboard side. 
 
 There were still seven men in the boat, and it 
 seemed as if they were destined never to be rescued 
 after their long vigil, and moreover the boat was now 
 nearly full of water. Dimois came down again ; some 
 of the Q-ship's seven jumped into the water, the 
 destroyer lowering her cutter and picking up the rest. 
 The submarine was not seen again ; the destroyer 
 arrived safely in Cherbourg, where the Englishmen 
 were landed, and next morning they met a trawler 
 with the crew of the second cutter on board. 
 
 Such, then, were action and counter-action of Q- 
 ship and submarine ; such were the hardships and 
 suffering which our men were called upon to endure 
 when by bad luck, error of judgment, or superior 
 cleverness of the enemy, the combat ended unfavour- 
 ably for the mystery ship. Not all our contests were 
 indecisive or victorious, and some of these subsequent 
 passages in open boats are most harrowing tales of 
 the sea. Men became hysterical, went mad, died, and 
 had to be consigned to the depths, after suffering the
 
 108 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 terrors of thirst, hunger, fatigue, and prolonged 
 suspense. It was a favourite ruse for the U-boat, 
 having seen the survivors row off, to remain in the 
 vicinity until the rescuing ship should come along, so 
 that, whilst the latter was stopped and getting the 
 wretched victims on board, Fritz could, from the other 
 side, send her to the bottom with an easily-aimed 
 torpedo. There can be no doubt that, but for the 
 smartness of Dunois' captain, she, too, would have 
 suffered the fate of the Q-ship, and then neither 
 British nor French would have survived. It is such 
 incidents as these which make it impossible to forget 
 our late enemies, even if some day we forgive.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE SPLENDID ' PENSHURST ' 
 
 On November 9, 1915, the Admiralty, who had taken 
 up the steamer Penshurst (1,191 gross tons), com- 
 missioned her at Longhope as a Q-ship, her ahases 
 being Q 7 and Manford. This inconspicuous-looking 
 vessel thus began a life far more adventurous than 
 ever her designers or builders had contemplated. 
 Indeed, if we were to select the three Q-ships which 
 had the longest and most exciting career, we should 
 bracket Penshurst with Farnhorough and Baralong. 
 
 The following incidents illustrate that no particular 
 rule could be laid down as to when a Q-ship could 
 get in touch with the enemy. We have seen that 
 Baralong set forth for a particular locality to look 
 for a definite submarine and found her. Other decoys 
 searched for submarines but never so much as sighted 
 one ; others, again, when everything seemed quiet, 
 suddenly found themselves torpedoed and sinking. 
 Others, too, had an engagement to-day, but their 
 next fight did not come until a year later. The case 
 of Penshurst is interesting in that on two consecutive 
 days she fought a submarine, but she is further 
 interesting as having been commanded by an officer 
 who, with Captain Gordon Campbell, will always 
 remain the greatest of all Q-ship captains. 
 
 Commander F. H. Grenfell, R.N., was a retired 
 officer who, like so many others, had come back 
 
 109
 
 no Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 to the service after the outbreak of war. After 
 serving for a year in the 10th Cruiser Squadron as 
 second-in-command of Cedric, he was appointed to 
 command Penshurst, cruised up and down first oiF 
 the north of Scotland, then off Ireland, and in the 
 English Channel for nearly a year without any luck. 
 On November 29, 1916, a year after her advent 
 
 Submarine repor/vd 
 going W. 
 
 ssmiersioc 
 
 "^ N<^ 
 
 Submarine 
 ■ightKl74Sj m 
 
 Fig. 9. — Diagram to Illdstratk Approximate ; Movements of ' Pkns- 
 hurst' in uer Engagement with Submarine on November 29, 1916.: , 
 
 into this special service, Pcnshiirst, who, with her 
 three masts, low freeboard, and funnel aft, resembled 
 an oil-tanker, was steaming down the English Channel 
 at 8 knots. The time was 7.4.5 a.m., and her course 
 was S. 81 W. (Mag.), her position at this time being 
 Lat. 49.45 N., Long. 4.40 W. She was definitely on 
 the look-out for a certain submarine which had 
 been reported at 4..*30 the previous afternoon in Lat. 
 50.03 N., Long. 3..*}8 W. As Pen.shurst went jogging
 
 THE SPLENDID ' PENSHURST ' 111 
 
 along, picture a smooth sea, a light south-west wind, 
 and the sun just rising. Fine on the port bow 7 miles 
 away was the British merchant steamer Wileyside, 
 armed, as many ships were at this time, defensively 
 with one gun aft ; while hull down on PenshurHfs 
 starboard bow was a sailing ship of sorts. Then, 
 of a sudden, a small object was sighted on the port 
 beam against the glare of the horizon, so that it was 
 difficult to make out either its nature or its distance. 
 However, at 7.52 a.m. this was settled by the object 
 firing a shot and disclosing herself as a submarine. 
 The shot fell 60 yards short, but a few minutes later 
 came another which passed over the mainmast with- 
 out hitting. The range was about five miles, but 
 owing to the bad light Captain Grenfell could not see 
 whether the enemy was closing. In order to induce 
 her so to do, at 8 a.m. he altered course to N. 45 W. 
 This brought the enemy nearly astern, and at 
 the same time Penshurst slowed down to half 
 speed. By this time the sun was above the horizon, 
 and the light was worse than before, but the sub- 
 marine was apparently altering course to cut off the 
 IVileyside, and ignoring Penshurst. Therefore, at 
 8.6 a.m. the latter altered course so as again to 
 bring the submarine abeam. This had the desired 
 effect, for at 8.10 a.m. the submarine fired a third 
 shot, which fell about 200 yards short of Penshurst, 
 and this proved that Q-ship and submarine were 
 closing. Two minutes later PensJiurst stopped her 
 engines and the usual ' panic ' evolution was carried 
 out, by which time the submarine had closed to 
 within 3,000 yards, and turned on a course parallel 
 with the Q-ship, reducing to slow speed and being 
 just abaft the Penshursfs port beam and silhouetted 
 against the glare of the sun, three Germans being
 
 112 Q SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 seen standing in the conning-tower. In order to 
 spin out the time, the Q-ship's boats were being 
 turned out and lowered as clumsily as possible, and 
 now the U-boat sent along a couple more shots, one 
 of which fell over and the other short. 
 
 Thus far it had been a contest of brain, and 
 Captain Grenfell had succeeded in making the enemy 
 conform to the British will. At 8.20 a.m., as there 
 seemed no possibility of inducing the submarine 
 to come any closer, Penshurst opened fire, but there 
 was time to fire only a couple of rounds from the 
 12-pounder and 6-pounder and three rounds from 
 the 3-pounder before the German hurriedly dived, for 
 all three guns had dropped their shots pretty close to 
 the target. The shooting had been done under diffi- 
 cult circumstances, for it was at a black spot against 
 a strong glare. When once the enemy submerged, 
 Penshurst went full speed to the spot and dropped a 
 depth charge, but the German had escaped, and 
 she would live to warn her sister submarines about 
 the Q-ship which had surprised her. 
 
 For this U-boat had had a careful look at Penshurst, 
 and Captain Grenfell could hardly hope to surprise 
 the submarine again and bring her to action, so he 
 altered course to the eastward with the object of 
 intercepting another U-boat, whose presence had been 
 reported at 11.1.5 that forenoon .5 miles north of 
 Alderney. V^ery likely the submarine with whom he 
 had just been engaged would send out by her 
 telefunkeii wireless a full description of the Q-ship, 
 so, as she steamed along, Penshurst now altered her 
 appearance by painting herself a diirci-ent colour and 
 by lowering the mizzcn-mast during tlie night. Thus, 
 when the sun rose on November 30, on wliat was to 
 be Penshurst' s lucky day, she seemed to be a totally 
 different ship.
 
 THE SPLENDID 'PENSHURST' 113 
 
 During the forenoon of November 30 we should 
 have seen this transformed PenHhurst going down 
 Channel again well south of the Dorset chalk cliffs. 
 At noon she was in the position Lat. 50.11 N., 
 T^ong. 2.31 W. (see track chart), steering N. 89 W., 
 
 <.SOpm.. 
 
 OPosition ofS/ Mat3. 17p m 
 
 .15 p.m. 
 
 ^■l-./Zp.m. 
 
 Casquelso% y^ 
 laernt 
 
 Alderney 
 
 3°W 
 
 C.Barfleur 
 
 Fig. 10. — Diagram to Illustrate Approximate Movements of 'Pens- 
 hurst ' in her Action with Submarine on November 30, 1916. 
 
 when she intercepted a wireless signal from the 
 Weymouth-Guernsey S.S. Ibex that a submarine 
 had been seen at 11.44 a.m. 20 miles N.W. of the 
 Casquets ; so the Q-ship altered course towards 
 this position, and at 1.50 p.m. the conning- tower
 
 114 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 of a submarine was observed 5 miles to tbe south- 
 ward, apparently chasing a steamer to the westward. 
 A few minutes later the German turned eastward 
 and then submerged. It was then that Penshurst 
 saw a seaplane, which had come across the Channel 
 fi'om the Portland base, fly over the submarine's 
 position and drop a bomb without effect. This 
 caused Captain Grenfell to reconstruct his plans, for 
 it was hopeless now to expect that the submarine 
 would engage on the surface. On the other hand, 
 the Q-ship with her speed would be superior to this 
 type of submarine, which, when submerged, could not 
 do better than 6 knots at her maximum, but would 
 probably be doing less than this. The weapon should, 
 therefore, be the depth charge, and not the gun. He 
 decided to co-operate with the seaplane, and ran 
 down towards her. 
 
 It was necessary first to get in touch with the air- 
 man and explain who the ship was, so at 2.22 p.m., 
 being now in Lat. 50 N., Long. 2.48 W., Captain Gren- 
 fell stopped his engines, and after some attempts at 
 communication by signal, the seaplane alighted on 
 the water alongside. Captain Grenfell was thus able 
 to arrange with the pilot to direct tlie Q-ship and fire 
 a signal-light when the ship should be over the 
 submarine ; a depth charge could tlien be let go. 
 But the best-laid schemes of seamen and airmen 
 sometimes went wrong : for, just after the seaplane 
 had risen into the air, she crashed on to the water, 
 broke a wing, knocked ofJ her floats and began to 
 sink. 'J'his was annoying at a time when the Q-ship 
 wanted to be thinking of nothing except the enemy ; 
 but Penshurst lowered her gig and rescued the air- 
 men, then went alongside the injiu'ed seaplane, 
 grappled it, and was preparing to hoist it on board
 
 THE SPLENDID ' PENSHURST ' 115 
 
 when at 3.14 p.m. a shell dropped into the sea 200 
 yards ahead of the ship. Other shots quickly followed, 
 and then the submarine was sighted about 6,000 yards 
 on the port quarter. How the enemy must have 
 laughed as, through his periscope, he saw the aircraft 
 which so recently had been the aggressor, now a 
 wreck ! How certain a victim the innocent-looking 
 steamer seemed to him ! 
 
 Captain Grenfell, by change of circumstances, had 
 once more to modify his plans, stop all salvage work, 
 cast off the seaplane and swing in his derrick, which 
 was to have hoisted the latter in. The men in the 
 gig could not be left, and he was faced with two 
 alternatives. Either he could hoist the gig on the 
 port quarter in full view of the enemy, or he could 
 tow her alongside to starboard, and risk her being 
 seen. He chose the latter, and at 3.24 p.m. proceeded 
 on a south-westerly course at slow speed. The sub- 
 marine now came up right astern, so course had to be 
 altered gradually to keep the German on the port 
 quarter and out of sight of the gig. 
 
 Slowly the submarine overhauled the Q-ship, firing 
 at intervals, and at 4.12 p.m., when she was within 
 1,000 yards, Penshurst stopped her engines, the panic 
 party 'abandoned' ship, and the two boat-loads pulled 
 away to starboard. The German now sheered out to 
 port, swept round on Peiisfmrsfs port beam, and 
 passed close under the stern of her with the object of 
 securing the ship's papers from the captain, whom the 
 enemy supposed to be in the boats. A party of Ger- 
 mans would then have boarded the ship and sunk her 
 with bombs. But these intentions were suddenly 
 frustrated at 4.26 p.m., when, the submarine being on 
 Penshursfs starboard quarter and all the latter's guns 
 bearing, the British ship opened fire at the delight-
 
 116 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 fully convenient range of only 250 yards. This was 
 the last thing the enemy was expecting. No one was 
 standing by her 8 8-centinietre gun forward of the 
 conning-tower, the attention of all the Germans on 
 deck being directed towards the Q-ship's boats rowing 
 about. Thus completely and utterly surprised, the 
 Germans never made any attempt to return the fire. 
 The second shot, fired from Penshursfs starboard 
 3-pounder, penetrated right through into the engine- 
 room and prevented the submarine from submerging. 
 At this ridiculous range the British guns were able to 
 be worked at their maximum rapidity, so that over 
 eighty rounds were fired and almost every shot took 
 effect. Very soon the submarine's hull was fairly 
 riddled with holes, and large parts of the conning- 
 tower and hull plating were blown away by the shells 
 from the 12-pounder. 
 
 After only ten minutes' engagement the submarine 
 foundered, bows first, but not before Penshursfs boats 
 had taken off the survivors and also those who had 
 leapt into the sea. These survivors included Ober- 
 Leutnant Erich Noodt, Leutnant Karl Bartel, In- 
 genieur-Aspirant Eigler, and thirteen of the crew ; 
 but seven had been killed. Thus perished UB 19, 
 who had left Zeebrugge on November 22, having 
 come via the Straits of Dover. She was about 118 
 feet long, painted grey, had the one gun, two peri- 
 scopes, and had been built the year previous. She 
 was of the smaller class of submarines belonging to 
 the Flanders Hotilla which operated for tlu-ce weeks 
 on end in the waters of the English Cliannel, carrying 
 only three torpedoes, one of whicli had already been 
 used to sink a Norwegian ship. It was learned from 
 her crew tliat her submerged speed was about 4 knots ; 
 so Captain (irenfell, but for the accident to the sea-
 
 Q-sHip "Penshurst'' 
 
 This shows a dress rehearsal. The "panic pnaty " are seen rowing away in 
 one of the ship's boats, the White Ensign is being hoisted on the foremast and 
 tlie guns are about to open fire. In this picture she has her mizzen mast up. 
 
 Q-SHIP "Penshurst" at sea 
 
 Seen with only two masts, the mizzen having been lowered. The crew's 
 waslnng is displayed as in a tramp steamer. The funnel has been painted a 
 different colour. But behind the white wind screen on the lower bridge is a 
 6-pounder gun — one each side— whicli can fire from ahead to astern. Inside 
 the boat on the main hatch just forward of the funnel is the dummy boat in 
 which a 1-2-pounder is concealed. Two H-pounders are in the after deck-house. 
 Depth charges were released through ports in the counter. 
 
 To face p. Ili5
 
 THE SPLENDID ' PENSHURST ' 117 
 
 plane, would have been able to get right over her and 
 destroy her by depth charge. 
 
 Thus, at length, after a year of hard work, dis- 
 appointment, and all kinds of weather. Commander 
 Grenfell, by liis doggedness and downright skill, had 
 scored his first success. The King rew^arded him with 
 a D.S.O., another officer received the D.S.C., and 
 one of the crew the D.S.M. The ship's complement 
 consisted of Commander Grenfell, three temporary 
 (acting) Il.N.K. lieutenants, and one assistant pay- 
 master, who was engaged during the action in taking 
 notes. The crew numbered fifty-six, which included 
 R.N.R. and R.N.V.R. ratings. The sum of £1,000 
 was awarded to the ship, and, after the war, Lord 
 Sterndale in the Prize Court awarded a further sum 
 as prize bounty. 
 
 The gallant Penslmrst had not long to wait for her 
 next adventure. December passed, and on January 
 14, 1917, there was another and newer UB boat 
 ready for her. It was ten minutes to four in the 
 afternoon, and the Q-ship was in Lat. 50.9 N., Long. 
 1.46 W. — that is to say, between the Isle of Wight 
 and Alderney, when she saw a submarine heading 
 towards her. Five minutes later, the German, when 
 3,000 yards off, fired, but the shot fell short. The 
 Q-ship then stopped her engines, went to " panic ' 
 stations, and sent away her boats with the ' abandon 
 ship ' party. Penshurst then gradually fell off' to 
 port, and lay with her head about W.N.W., bringing 
 the submarine on the starboard bow. Closing rapidly 
 on this bearing, the UB boat kept firing at intervals, 
 and when about 700 yards off turned as though to 
 cross Captain Grenfell's bows. The latter withheld his 
 fire, thinking the enemy was going round to the boats 
 on the port quarter, and he would be able to get her
 
 118 Q SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 at close range. But the German stopped in this 
 position, exposing her broadside, and quickened her 
 rate of fire, hitting the steamer twice in succession. 
 It was this kind of experience which always tested 
 the discipline and training of the Q-ship, as a well- 
 trained boxer can receive punishment without losing 
 his temper, knowing his chance will come presently. 
 The first hit broke an awning ridge-pole on Pc/is- 
 
 \) 
 
 BillofPorHsnd 
 
 ^Noon I4/I/I7 
 Casqucts. CJ3 Hague 
 
 Fig. 11.— Diagram to Illustrate Ai'I-koximate Movkments of 
 
 ' PeNSHURST ' IN HER ACTION WITH SUBMARINE ON JANUARY 14, 1917. 
 
 Imrst\s bridge, the second shell struck the angle of the 
 lower bridge, severing the engine-room telegraph 
 connections and the pipe connecting the hydraulic 
 release gear, by means of which the depth charge aft 
 could be let go from the bridge. 'IMiis shell also 
 killed the gun-layer and lojiding-number of the 
 0-pounder, wounding its breech-worker and the 
 signahiian who was standing by to lioist the White 
 Ensign. So at 4.24 p.m. Vcnahurst opened fire, her
 
 THE SPLENDID ' PENSHURST ' 119 
 
 first shot from the 12-pounder hitting the base of the 
 enemy's conning- tower and causing a large explosion, 
 as though the ammunition had been exploded. 
 Large parts of the conning-tower were seen to be 
 blown away, and a big volume of black smoke arose. 
 The second British shot from this gun hit the enemy 
 a little abalt the conning-tower and also visibly 
 damaged tlie hull. The starboard 3 -pounder hit the 
 lower part of the conning-tower at least four times, 
 and then the enemy sank by the stern. Penshurst 
 wanted to make sure, so steamed ahead and dropped 
 depth charges over her, then picked up her boats and 
 made for Portland, where she arrived at ten o'clock 
 that evening and sent her wounded to the Naval 
 Hospital. It had been another excellent day's work, 
 for UB 37, one of those modern craft fitted with net- 
 cutters forward for the purpose of cutting a way 
 through the Dover Straits barrage, had been definitely 
 destroyed without a single survivor. More rewards 
 followed, and, later on, more prize bounty. 
 
 Peiislmrst resumed her cruising, and just about a 
 month later she was in the western approach to the 
 English Channel, the exact date being February 20, 
 and the position Lat. 49.21 N., Long. 6.1G \Y. At 
 12.36 p.m. a German submarine rose to the surface, 
 and a quarter of an hour later began firing at a range 
 of 3,000 yards. Penshurst then ' abandoned ' ship, 
 and at 1.4 p.m. opened fire and scored a hit with her 
 6-pounder. At 100 yards range the other guns came 
 into action, and the enemy was hit above the water- 
 line in the centre of the conning-tower and abaft this 
 superstructure. She then submerged and was depth- 
 charged ; yet this submarine, in spite of all this, was 
 not sunk. This again illustrated the statement 
 already made that a submarine could be severely
 
 120 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 holed and yet be able to get back home. A still more 
 illuminating example is to be found in the following 
 incident. 
 
 Only two days had elapsed and Penshurst was 
 again busily engaged. It was at 11.34 a.m., Feb- 
 ruary 22, and the ship was off the south coast of 
 Ireland, the exact position being Lat. 51.56 N., 
 Long. 6.46 W. Penshurst was steering S. 89 W. 
 when she saw a submarine steering west. The steam- 
 ship therefore steamed at her utmost speed, but 
 could not get up to her, for we may as well mention 
 that this was U 84, a very up-to-date submarine 
 which had a surface speed of 16 knots and could do 
 her 9 knots submerged for a whole hour. It is not 
 to be wondered, therefore, that she could run away 
 from this slow steamer and at 11.55 a.m. disappear. 
 At this time there was in sight 8 miles away H.^l.S. 
 Ahjssuni, one of Admiral Bayl3^'s sloops based on 
 Queenstown, who was escorting the large four-masted 
 S.S. Canadian. As Penshurst proceeded, she sighted 
 at 12.18 p.m. a boat with men in it, these being from 
 the torpedoed sailing ship Invcrcauld, which had been 
 sunk 22 miles S.E. of Mine Head, Ireland, that same 
 day. A few minutes later and Penshurst observed 
 the keel of this ship floating bottom up. At 12.35 
 the periscopes of U 84 were seen to emerge 400 yards 
 on the port beam, and the track of a torpedo making 
 straight for the midships of Pcnslinrst. By at once 
 starboarding the helm, disaster was avoided, but the 
 torpedo passed as close as 15 feet. 
 
 'riie Q-ship tlien altered course to E. J. S. as though 
 running away, and reduced to lialf speed to allow the 
 enemy to come up. Boats were turned out, the panic 
 party stood by with lifebelts on. and just after one 
 o'clock, at 3,500 yards range, the U-boat opened fire,
 
 Q-SHip " Penshurst " 
 
 In this dummy boat mounted on the main hatch is seen hidden the 1'2-pounder 
 gun. The sides of the boat were movable. Tlie voice pipe from the bridge to 
 the two after guns was hislied to tlie derrick and tlius hidden from the enemy. 
 
 Q-sHiP "Penshurst" 
 This shows how the concealed 1-2-pounder gun could be brought into action by 
 removing the boat's sides. The bow end of the boat has been moved to the far 
 side of the gun. where Captain Grenfell. attired in his "mystery'" rig of a 
 master mariner, is seen standing. As will be seen from the other photograph, 
 the sides of the l)oat when in position were a perfect fit. The coil of rope was 
 intended to hide the gun's pedestal from observation by the enemy. 
 
 To face p. 120
 
 THE SPLENDID ' PENSHURST ' P21 
 
 whereupon the Q-ship ' abandoned ' ship. Then the 
 enemy closed to 1,500 yards on the starboard bow, 
 but cautiously submerged, and then, closely and 
 leisurely, inspected the ship from the periscope. 
 Having done that, and apparently been quite satisfied 
 that this was no trap-ship, the submarine emerged on 
 the port quarter, 600 yards away and broadside on. 
 One German officer then came out of the conning- 
 tower and two other men looked out of the hatch. 
 The first then shouted for the captain to come along- 
 side with the ship's papers, but the British petty 
 officer in charge of the boat party, in order to gain 
 valuable time, ingeniously pretended not to under- 
 stand. The German then repeated his order, so the 
 petty officer replied he would bring the boat round 
 by the stern, the intention, of course, secretly being 
 for the purpose of affording Penshurst a clear range. 
 
 The petty officer's crew had not rowed more than 
 three strokes when bang went Penshursfs guns, at 
 which the German officer leapt through the hatch of 
 his conning-tower, a shot hitting the after part of this 
 superstructure just as the officer disappeared. Two 
 more shells got home in the centre, another hit the 
 hull abaft the conning-tower and burst, one holing 
 the hull below the conning-tower's base. The sub- 
 marine dived, but after a few minutes her bows came 
 up out of the water at a steep angle. Fire was then 
 reopened at her, and one shot was seen to go through 
 her side, and then once more she submerged. Two 
 depth charges were dropped near the spot and 
 exploded, and then again the bows of the enemy 
 broke surface at a steep angle, but 3,000 yards to the 
 westward. Next the after deck came to the surface, 
 and all the crew came out and lined the deck. Pens- 
 hurst resumed shelling, hit her again, but U 84 now
 
 122 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 returned the fire. She was a big submarine, 230 feet 
 long, armed with a 4'1-inch and a 22-pounder, and 
 a dozen torpedoes which could be fired from six 
 tubes. 
 
 But now approached H.lNl.S. Alyssum from the 
 north and began to shell the enemy, so that the latter 
 made oflt" to the southward. The speed of Penskurst 
 was 8 knots — that is to say, about half that of the 
 enemy. Nor could the sloop overtake the latter, who, 
 after being chased for three hours, disappeared at 
 5.12 p.m. These sloops had been built for mine- 
 sweeping work, and not as anti-submarine ships, and 
 it was only because of the shortage of destroyers — 
 thanks largely to the demands in this respect by the 
 Grand Fleet — that these single-screwed, compara- 
 tively slow vessels were engaged on escort and patrol 
 duties. 
 
 In this engagement between the Q-ship and sub- 
 marine everything had been done that could have 
 been brought about by a most experienced, skilful, 
 and determined British officer. His guns had kept 
 on hitting, and yet the enemy had escaped. Fortu- 
 nately we now know the story from the enemy's side, 
 as an account of this incident was published in the 
 German Press, and bears out all that has been said 
 above. The German version mentions that U 84 
 took the British ship for a tank steamer. This is not 
 in the least surprising, for the Penslinrst was one of 
 those small ships with her engines aft just as you see 
 in an * oil-tanker,' and such a craft was sure enough 
 bait for any submarine. The Germans say the 
 torpedo was fired at 705 yards range, and missed 
 because tlic British ship\,was going ' faster than we 
 supposed.' The Q-ship's disguise was perfect, for it 
 was not until she opened fire that she was suspected
 
 THE SPl.ENDID 'PENSHURST' 123 
 
 of being a 'trap.' As to the latter's shelling, the 
 German account admits that the superstructure abaft 
 the conning-tower was at once penetrated, and that 
 hardly had the hatch been closed than ' there is a 
 sharp report in the conning-tower, a yellow flash, and 
 explosive gases fill the air. A shell has penetrated 
 the side of the conning-tower and exploded inside.' 
 The result was that one man was injured. She then 
 dived, and at G5*G feet they felt the two depth 
 charges, which made the boat tremble and put out 
 some of the electric lights. The forward hydroplane 
 jammed, and this was the reason she came to the 
 surface at such a steep angle. The gyro compass, 
 the main rudder, the trimming pump, and all the 
 control apparatus also broke down. But what about 
 the leaks made by the shells ? These were plugged, 
 the tricolour flag of the French sailing ship Bayonne, 
 which they had sunk on February 17 in the English 
 Channel, being also used for that purpose. 
 
 The German account goes on to say this submarine 
 was now compelled to proceed on the surface and 
 run away, and the numerous men then seen on her 
 deck were engaged in bringing up ammunition, ' all 
 the men who are not occupied below' being thus 
 employed. The submarine at first took Ahjssam for 
 a destroyer, and certainly bow on she was not unlike 
 one. It needs little imagination to realize how 
 narrowly the enemy had escaped, and the moral 
 effect which was made on the German crew. We 
 know now that a German petty officer was killed 
 and an officer wounded. It mattered little that the 
 conning-tower was holed, for, as has been already 
 pointed out, this is not an essential part of the sub- 
 marine's construction. By closing the hatch on deck 
 no water could get down into the hull from here ;
 
 124 Q SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 and the other holes being also plugged, U 84 could 
 thus get back home by keepmg out to sea during 
 daylight hours, avoiding our patrols, and passing 
 headlands under cover of night. 
 
 A month later PensJiurst again fought a sharp 
 action under Commander Grenfell at the eastern end 
 of the English Channel, the position being in Lat. 
 50.28 A^, Long. 0.12 W. In this engagement she 
 did not sink the enemy, but was herself badly damaged 
 and so seriously holed that she had to be towed to 
 Portsmouth the following day. Here she underwent 
 a long refit, and then went forth to fight again and to 
 fight, as ever, splendidly. She had a new command- 
 ing officer, Lieutenant Cedric Nay lor, R.N.R., who 
 had been second-in-command to Captain Grenfell, now 
 invalided ashore, and this lieutenant well maintained 
 the traditions of the Q-service, and added to the dis- 
 tinctions won by this wonderful ship. Oft in danger, 
 but always emerging from the tightest of corners, 
 leaving the enemy seriously wounded, the gallant 
 PensJiurst carried on. 
 
 On July 2 she was steaming her 8 knots, as usual, 
 and w^as in the western approaches (Lat. 49.10 N., 
 Long. 8.2.5 VV^.), when at 1.30 p.m. a submarine 
 was seen crossing the ship's bows 0,000 yards away. 
 She dived and waited for Penshurst to approach 
 in the manner of attack outlined in a previous 
 chapter as being the tactics of a submarine. Then, 
 after a while, the periscope was sighted .500 yards 
 away on the port beam, so Penshurst^ knowing a 
 torpedo was imminent, waited, and, the torpedo 
 having been sent, altered course to avoid it, just 
 missing by a matter of 10 feet. The ship's company 
 then went to ' panic ' stations and the ship was 
 ' abandoned.' At 3.35 p.m. the enemy came to the
 
 The Gallant Captain and Officers of Q-ship " Penshurst " 
 
 From left to right : Paymaster-Lieut. W. R. Ashton. R.N.R. ; Lieut. S. P. R. White, 
 R.N.R. ; Sub-Lieut. J. R. Stenhouse, R.N.R. (in command of the "Aurora " in Sir E. 
 Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition, 11)14-15); Captain F. H. Greiifell, R.N.; Lieut. C. 
 Naylor, R.N.R. (First Lieut.); and Lieut. W. S. Harrison, R.N.R. (Navigating Officer). 
 
 Men of the Q ship "rEXSHURST" 
 
 The ship's gunlayers and carpenter. The man in the centre wearing service uniform 
 
 was the gunhiyer of the hridge 6-poundcr who was killed in the action of January 14, 
 
 l',)17. The others are wearing their Q-ship " rig." 
 
 To face p. 124
 
 V 
 
 V,
 
 f^ 
 
 THE SPLENDID 'PENSHURST' 125 
 
 surface 5,000 yards away on the starboard quarter, 
 at 3.39 p.m. opened fire and continued until 4.13 p.m., 
 when Penshurst herself started firing at 4,500 yards, 
 succeeding in hitting the enemy sixteen times, and 
 undoubtedly seriously damaging him. The submarine 
 managed to pass out of range and was not sunk. 
 Three destroyers now came on the scene and gave 
 chase, but the German got away. For this engage- 
 ment Lieutenant Naylor received the D.S.O. 
 
 In accordance with Peiishursfs previous experience, 
 not many weeks elapsed before she was again in 
 combat. It was the following August 19, and she 
 was cruising again in the western approaches. That 
 morning a steamship had sighted a submarine, and 
 Penshurst, who was now in Lat. 47.45 N., Long. 
 8.35 W., was steering S. 50 W., doing 8 knots, when 
 she saw the enemy 6 miles ahead steering across the 
 bows, evidently making the ' approach ' in his tactics. 
 There was little north-west wind, a moderate westerly 
 swell, and the sky was clear, but there was a strong 
 glare from the sun. At 5.8 p.m. the enemy dived, 
 and Lieutenant Naylor estimated that she would 
 probably attack with torpedo about 5.45 p.m. 
 Exactly at 5.44 a torpedo was observed to break 
 water 1,000 yards from the ship, 3 points on the star- 
 board bow, just forward of the sun's rays. Penskurst 
 put her helm hard aport, and at 5.45 the torpedo 
 struck her — but fortunately it was only a glancing 
 blow immediately below the bridge. The smart 
 handling of the ship had thus saved her from being 
 struck further aft, where the consequences would 
 have been even more serious. As it was, the explosion 
 caused a high volume of water to rise in such quantities 
 that upper and lower bridges and after deck were 
 flooded, overwhelming the gun's crew concealed there,
 
 126 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 and filling the starboard boat hanging in the davits 
 over 70 feet away from the point of impact. Further- 
 more, it caused the ship to take a heavy list to 
 starboard so that the sea poiu'ed in over the bulwarks, 
 and she afterwards rolled to port, the water then 
 pouring in on this side also. 
 
 Some of the crew were hurled with force against 
 the ceiling of the cabins, but perfect discipline still 
 continued, as might well be expected with such 
 a well-tried crew. She had been torpedoed in 
 No, 2 hold, the starboard side of the lower bridge 
 had been stripped, and unfortunately the 12-pounder 
 there kept screened was thus exposed. Unfortunately, 
 too, the sides of the dummy boat amidships, which 
 hid another 12-pounder, were thrown down by the 
 explosion, thus exposing this gun, flooding the 
 magazine, putting out of action all controls from 
 the bridge as well as the ship's compasses and so on. 
 What was to be done now ? I lieutenant Naylor 
 wisely decided not to ' abandon ' ship since the guns 
 had been disclosed ; the ship could not be manoeuvred 
 so as to hide this side, and the enemy would probably 
 make another attack. She was therefore kept under 
 way, the steering gear was connected up Avith the 
 main steering engines, the wireless repaired, and at 
 5.58 a general signal was sent out to H.M. ships 
 requesting assistance. 
 
 At five minutes past six the submarine showed 
 herself on the port quarter 0,000 yards away. This 
 made things better, for if tlie enemy had not already 
 o})servcd the exposed guns slie could still be kept 
 in ignorance, as the sides of the false boat had in the 
 meantime been replaced in position. Therefore the 
 .'J-pounder on the top of the gunhouse aft opened fire 
 at 5,000 yards. 'J'his was quite a normal happening,
 
 128 Q SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 for many a small mercantile steainer was thus armed 
 defensively. The enemy replied, and at 6.21, as the 
 latter showed no intention of decreasing the range, 
 Penshurst opened fire with all guns on the port side, 
 and appeared to hit, so that at 6.24 the enemy 
 submerged. Meanwhile the Penshurst was not under 
 control and steamed round in circles, but help was 
 approaching, for at 6.50 p.m. H.JNI.S. Leonidas wire- 
 lessed saying she would reach Penshurst at 7.30 p.m. 
 At 7.5 the submarine was 7 miles astern, waiting 
 stationary to see what would happen, but at 7.26 
 she dived on observing the approaching destroyer. 
 Nightfall came, and as the water was still gaining in 
 the Q-ship, all the men who could be spared were 
 transferred to the Leonidas. Penshurst then shaped 
 a course E.N.E. for Plymouth, and next day at 
 1.30 p.m. was taken in tow by a tug which had been 
 sent out with two armed trawlers from the Scillies 
 Naval Base. Thus, wounded yet not beaten, she 
 passed through Plymouth Sound, and on August 21 
 made fast to a Devonport jetty, happily having 
 suffered no casualties to any of her personnel. Lieu- 
 tenant Naylor received a bar to his D.S.O., the ship 
 had a thorough refit, and in place of a 12-pounder she 
 was now given a 4-inch gun, which would enable her 
 to fight the 4-1-inch U-boat gun on more equal 
 terms. 
 
 Then, still commanded by Lieutenant Naylor, slie 
 went forth again. We can pass over the intervening 
 weeks and come to Christmas Eve, 1917. At a time 
 when most non-coml)atants asli ore were about to take 
 part in the great festival, this most gallant ship, 
 heroine of so many fights, was in the direst straits. 
 At midday slie was aj)proacliing the soutliern end of 
 the Irish Sea, shaping a course to intercept a sub-
 
 THE SPLENDID 'PENSHURST' 129 
 
 marine operating off the Smalls, when ten minutes 
 later she sighted a U-boat two points on the port bow, 
 in Lat. 51.31 N., Long. 5.33 W., about 5 miles ahead, 
 steering at right angles to Penshurst and beginning 
 the 'approach' of her attacking tactics. Penshurst 
 was making her usual 8 knots, and at 12.12 p.m. 
 the enemy, as was expected, submerged. Although 
 the Q-ship zigzagged and tried to make the enemy 
 break surface astern and attack by gunfire, the Ger- 
 man was too good at his own job, and at 1.31 p.m. 
 came the torpedo, fired from 300 yards away, half a 
 point forward of the port beam. Only the track of 
 the torpedo was seen, the ship's helm was put hard 
 aport, but the torpedo could not be avoided and 
 struck the ship between the boilers and engine-room. 
 Violent was the explosion, great was the damage, so 
 that the ship stopped dead and began to settle by the 
 stern. The sides of the dummy boat amidships had 
 fallen down, thus exposing the midships 4-inch gun, 
 and the after gunhouse had also collapsed, revealing 
 the guns here placed, though the l2-pounder guns on 
 the bridge remained intact and concealed, with the 
 guns' crews close up and out of sight. The ship was 
 now ' abandoned,' and panic parties were sent away 
 in the one remaining boat and two rafts. The enemy, 
 still submerged, proceeded to circle the ship, inspect 
 her closely, approach the boat and rafts, and then at 
 2.40 p.m. rose to the surface on the port bow 250 
 yards off and began shelling Penshurst with her after 
 gun. The Q-ship was about to open fire, but, owing 
 to having settled down so much by the stern, the gun 
 there could not be sufficiently depressed to bear. It 
 was only when the ship rolled or pitched enough that 
 advantage was taken of such movement and the enemy 
 fired at. Six rounds were fired, the second hitting 
 
 9
 
 130 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 the submarine on the starboard side of the deck for- 
 ward, the fourth hitting abaft the conning- tower. 
 The enemy dived, and at 3.47 p.m. reappeared on the 
 starboard beam 5 miles away. But now one of 
 H.M. P-boats, those low-lying, specially constructed 
 anti-submarine craft, rather like a torpedo-boat, arrived 
 on the scene, so that the submarine was frightened 
 away and not sighted again on that day, though she 
 was probably the one sunk by a P-boat on Christmas 
 Day. 
 
 As for Penshurst, help had come too late. The 
 crew were saved, but the ship herself sank at 8.5 p.m. 
 on December 24, 1917. Lieutenant Cedric Naylor, 
 who already possessed the decorations of D.S.O. and 
 bar and D.S.C., and had for his gallantry been trans- 
 ferred from R.N.R. to the Royal Navy, now received 
 a second bar to his D.S.O., and Lieutenant E. 
 Hutchison, R.N.R., received a D.S.O. Thus after 
 two years of the most strenuous service, full of 
 honours, this PensJiuist ended her glorious life as a 
 man-of-war. Wounded, scar-stained, repaired and 
 refitted, her gallant crew, so splendidly trained by 
 Captain Grenfell, had kept taking her to sea along 
 the lanes of enemy activity. Insignificant to look at, 
 when you passed her on patrol you would never have 
 guessed the amount of romance and history contained 
 in her hull. Naval history has no use for hysteria and 
 for the sensational exaggeration of ' stunt ' journalism, 
 but it is difficult to write calmly of the great deeds 
 performed in these most unheroic-looking ships. To- 
 day some Q-ship officers and men are walking about 
 looking for jobs, and there are not ships in commis- 
 sion to employ them, liut yesterday they were 
 breaking the spirit of the U-boat personnel, risking 
 their lives to the uttermost limits in the endeavour to
 
 THE SPLENDID PENSHURST 131 
 
 render ineffectual the submarine blockade and the 
 starvation of the nation. 
 
 Bravery such as we have seen in this and other 
 chapters was greater than even appears : for, having 
 once revealed the identity of your ship as a man-of- 
 war, the wounded submarine would remember you, 
 however much you might disguise yourself; and the 
 next time he returned, as he usually did, to the same 
 station, he would do his best to get you, even if he 
 spent hours and days over the effort. That officers 
 and men willingly, eagerly, went to sea in the same 
 Q-ships, time after time, when they might have 
 obtained, and would certainly have deserved, a less 
 trying appointment afloat or ashore, is surely a positive 
 proof that we rightly pride ourselves on our British 
 seamanhood. Through the centuries we have bred 
 and fostered and even discouraged this spirit. In 
 half-decked boats, in carracks, galleons, wooden walls, 
 fishing boats, lifeboats, pleasure craft ; in steam, and 
 steel-hulled motor, cargo ships, in liner and tramp and 
 small coaster, this seamanlike character has been 
 trained, developed, and kept alive, and now in the 
 Q-ship service it reaches its apotheosis. For all that 
 is courageous, enduring, and inspiring among the 
 stories of the sea in any period, can you beat it ? Can 
 you even equal it ?
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS 
 
 One of the great lessons of the Great War was the 
 inter-relation of international politics and warfare. 
 It was an old lesson indeed, but modern conditions 
 emphasized it once more. We have already seen that 
 the torpedoing in 1915 of the Atlantic liners Lusitania 
 and Ai'abic caused pressure to be put on the German 
 Government by the United States of America. In 
 the spring of 1916 the submarine campaign, for the 
 Germans, was proceeding very satisfactorily. In 
 February they had sunk 24,059 tons of British mer- 
 chant shipping, in March they sank 83,492 tons, in 
 April 126,540 tons; but in May this dropped sud- 
 denly to 42,165 tons. What was the reason for this 
 sudden fall ? 
 
 The answer is as follows : On March 24, 1916, the 
 cross-Channel S.S. Sussex was torpedoed by a 
 German submarine, and it happened that many 
 citizens of the U.S.A. were on board at the time and 
 several were killed. This again raised the question 
 of relations between the U.S.A. and Germany, the 
 New York World going so far as to ask, ' Whether 
 anything is to be gained by maintaining any longer 
 the ghastly pretence of friendly diplomatic corre- 
 spondence with a Power notoriously lacking in truth 
 and honour.' On April 20, therefore, the U.S.A. 
 presented a very sharp note to the German Govern- 
 
 132
 
 FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS 133 
 
 ment, protesting against the wrongfulness of the 
 submarine campaign waged versus commerce, and 
 threatened to break off diplomatic relations. The 
 result of this was that Germany had to give way, 
 and sent orders to her naval staff to the effect that 
 submarine warfare henceforth was to be carried on in 
 accordance with Prize Law : that is to say, the 
 U-boats — so Admiral Scheer interpreted it — were 
 ' to rise to the surface and stop ships, examine papers, ; 
 and all passengers and crew to leave the ship before ' 
 sinking her.' 
 
 Now this did not appeal to the German mind at 
 all. ' As war waged according to Prize Law by 
 U-boats,' wrote Admiral Scheer, ■■^•' ' in the waters 
 around England could not possibly have any success, 
 but, on the contrary, must expose the boats to the 
 greatest dangers, I recalled all the U-boats by wire- 
 less, and announced that the U-boat campaign 
 against British commerce had ceased.' Thus we find 
 that after April 26 the sinkings of British merchant 
 ships became low until they began to increase in 
 September, 191 C, and then rapidly mounted up until 
 in April, 1917, they had reached their maximum for 
 the whole war with 516,394 tons. It is to be noted 
 that after 3Iay 8, until July 5, 1916, no sinkings by 
 U-boats occurred in home waters, although the 
 sinkings went on in the INlediterranean, where risk 
 of collision with American interests was less likely 
 to occur. 
 
 Having regard to the increasing utility and effici- 
 ency of the Q-ships, we can well understand Admiral 
 Scheer's objection to U-boats rising to the surface, 
 examining the ship's papers, and allowing everyone 
 to leave the ship before sinking her. This was the 
 
 * ' Germany's High Sea Fleet in the World War/ p. 242.
 
 134 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 recognized law, and entirely within its rights the 
 Q-ship made full use of this until she hoisted the 
 White Ensign and became suddenly a warship. It 
 shows the curious mental temper of the German that 
 he would gamble only when he had the dice loaded in 
 his favour. He had his Q-ships, which, under other 
 names, endeavoured and indeed were able to pass 
 through our blockade, and go raiding round the 
 world ; but until his submarines could go at it ruth- 
 lessly, he had not the same keenness. It was on 
 > February 1, 1917, that his Unrestricted Submarine 
 Campaign began, and this was a convenient date, seeing 
 that Germany had by this time 109 submarines. We 
 know these facts beyond dispute, for a year after the 
 signing of Armistice Germany held a ' General 
 National Assembly Committee of Inquiry' into the 
 war, and long accounts were published in the Press. 
 One of the most interesting witnesses was Admiral 
 von Capelle, who, in March, 1916, had succeeded 
 von Tirpitz as Minister of JNIarine ; and from the 
 former's lips it was learned that one of the main 
 reasons why Germany in 1916 built so few sub- 
 marines was the Battle of Jutland ; for the damage 
 inflicted on the High Sea Fleet necessitated taking 
 workmen away from submarine construction to do 
 repairs on the big ships. The luimber and intensity 
 of the minefields laid by the Britisli in German 
 waters in that year caused Germany to build many 
 minesweepers to keep clear the liarbour exits. This 
 also, he says, took men away from submarine build- 
 ing. It needed a couple of years to build the larger 
 U-boats and a year to build tlie smaller ones ; and 
 though at the beginning of the Unrestricted Cam- 
 paign in February, 1917, there were on paper 
 109 German submarines, and before the end of the
 
 FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS 135 
 
 war, in spite of sinkings by Allied forces, the number 
 even averaged 127, yet there were never more than 
 76 actually in service at one time, and frequently the 
 number was half this amount. For the Germans 
 divided the seas up into so many stations, and for 
 each station five submarines were required, thus : 
 one actually at work in the area, one just relieved 
 on her way home for rest and refit, a third on her 
 way out from refit to relieve number one, while two 
 others were being overhauled by dockyard hands. 
 Geographically Germany was unfortunately situated 
 for attacking the shipping reaching the British Isles 
 from the Atlantic and Bay of Biscay. Before the 
 submarines could get into the Atlantic they had 
 either to negotiate the Dover Straits or go round the 
 North of Scotland. The first was risky, especially 
 for the bigger and more valuable submarines, and 
 during 1918 became even highly dangerous ; but 
 the second, especially during the boisterous winter 
 months, knocked the submarines about to such 
 an extent that they kept the dockyards busier than 
 otherwise. 
 
 All this variation of U-boat activity reacted on the 
 rise, development, and wane of the Q-ship. In the 
 early part of 1917, when the submarine campaign was 
 at its height, the Q-ships were at the top of their 
 utility. It was no longer any hole-and-corner service, 
 relying on a few keen, ingenious brains at one or two 
 naval bases, but became a special department in the 
 Admiralty, who selected the ships, arranged for the 
 requisite disguises, and chose the personnel. The 
 menace to the country's food had by this time 
 become so serious — a matter of a very few weeks, as 
 we have since learned, separated us from starvation — 
 that every anti-submarine method had to be carried
 
 136 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 out with vigour, and at that time no method promised 
 greater success than these mystery ships. Altogether 
 about 180 vessels of various sorts were taken up and 
 commissioned as Q-ships. Apart from the usual 
 tramp steamers and colliers and disguised trawlers, 
 thirty-four sloops and sixteen converted P-boats, 
 named now ' PQ's,' were equipped. The P-boat, as 
 mentioned on a previous page, was a low-lying craft 
 rather like a torpedo-boat ; but her great feature was 
 her underwater design. She was so handy and had a 
 special forefoot that if once she got near to a sub- 
 marine the latter would certainly be rammed ; in one 
 case the P-boat went clean through the submarine's 
 hull. The next stage, then, was to build a suitable 
 superstructure on this handy hull, so that the ship 
 had all the appearance of a small merchant ship. 
 Because of her shallow, deceptive draught she was 
 not likely to be torpedoed, whereas her extreme 
 mobility was very valuable. 
 
 In every port all over the country numerous 
 passenger and tramp steamers and sailing ships were 
 inspected and found unsuitable owing to their 
 peculiar structure or the impossibility of effective 
 disguise combined with a sufficient bearing of the 
 disguised guns. All this meant a great deal of 
 thouglit and inventive genius, the tonnage as a rule 
 ranging from 200 to 4,000, and the ships being 
 sent to work from Queenstown, I^onghope, Peter- 
 head, Granton, Lowestoft, Portsmouth, Plymouth, 
 Falmouth, Milf'ord, Malta, and Gibraltar. And 
 when you ask what was the net result of these 
 Q-sliips, the whole answer cannot be given in mere 
 figures, (ienerally they greatly assisted the merchant- 
 man, for it made the U-boat captain very cautious, 
 and there are instances where he desisted from attack-
 
 FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS 137 
 
 ing a real merchant ship for the reason that something 
 about her suggested a Q-ship. In over eighty cases 
 Q-ships damaged German submarines and thus sent 
 them home licking their wounds, anxious only to be 
 left alone for a while. This accounts for some of 
 those instances w^hen a merchant ship, on seeing a 
 submarine proceeding on the surface, was surprised 
 to find that the German did not attack. Thus the 
 Q-ship had temporarily put a stop to sinkings by that 
 submarine. But apart from these indirect, yet no 
 less valuable, results, no fewer than eleven submarines 
 were directly sent to their doom of all the 203 
 German U-craft sunk during the war from various 
 causes, including mines and accidents. 
 
 But as time went on it became inevitable that the 
 more a Q-ship operated the more likely would she be 
 recognized and the less useful would be her work. 
 By August, 1917, Q-ships were having a most 
 difficult time, and during that month alone six 
 Q-ships were lost. By September their success, 
 broadly speaking, was on the wane. This, however, 
 does not mean that their service had ceased to be 
 productive or that they were no longer deemed worth 
 while. On the contrary, as we shall see presently, 
 they were to perform more wonderful work, and the 
 number of Q-ships was actually increased, especially 
 in respect of sailing ships in home waters ; but those 
 which happened to make an unsuccessful attack were 
 at once ordered to return to their base and alter both 
 rig and disguise. Similarly, in the Mediterranean, 
 where the submarines were doing us so much harm, 
 the number of Q-ships was increased, and one was 
 cleverly included in the outward-bound convoys, to 
 drop astern as soon as in the danger zone, after the 
 manner of many a lame-duck merchantman whose
 
 138 Q-SHirS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 engines had caused him to straggle. Then would 
 come the Q-ship's chance, when she revealed herself 
 as a warship and fooled the submarine from attacking 
 the convoy, which had just disappeared over the 
 horizon in safety. 
 
 The converted 'flower' class sloops, originally 
 built as minesweepers, but by the able work of the 
 naval dockyard staff now made to resemble little 
 merchantmen, were having a busy time. T'ulip 
 (Q 12), for instance, which had begun her Q-ship 
 service at the end of August, 19 IG, was sunk eight 
 months later by a submarine in the Atlantic and her 
 captain taken prisoner, though eighty survivors were 
 picked up by the British destroyer Mary Rose and 
 landed in Queenstown.* The sloop Viola began this 
 special work towards the end of September, 1916, 
 and a month later was shelled by a submarine, who 
 suddenly gave up the attack and made off to the 
 northward, having evidently realized the sloop's dis- 
 guise, which none but an expert seafarer could have 
 penetrated. Now, in each submarine there was 
 usually carried as warrant navigating officer a man 
 who had served in German liners and IVeighters and 
 would be familiar with tlie shipping normally to be 
 found in tlie area to which each U-boat was assigned. 
 In this particular incident his practised eye had 
 evidently been struck by the position of the above- 
 water discharge being \ ertically under the imitation 
 cargo hatch and derrick forward of the mainmast. 
 These were important details wliich had to be 
 watched if the disguise was to be successful. 
 
 Tulip was sunk by U f)2, whoKC captain reported that she was 
 a very well-disguised trap, having the appearance of a medium-sized 
 cargo steamer. Suspicion was aroused by the way the merchant 
 flag was hoisted, and the fact that she appeared to have no defensive
 
 QsHiP '• Tulip " 
 
 This vessel was originally built as a sloop, hut was given a false stern and 
 generally altered to resemble a merchantman. 
 
 (.^)-sHn> " Tamarisk" 
 
 Like the "Tulip," this vessel was originally built as a warship. She was 
 cleverly altered so that both in hull and upperworks she resembled a merchant 
 
 steamer. 
 
 To face p. 13S
 
 FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS 139 
 
 Another converted sloop was Tamarisk, who began 
 that role at the end of July, 191G, and was commanded 
 by Lieutenant John W. Williams, R.N.R. Towards 
 the end of November she was shelled by a submarine 
 at long range, so that the Q-ship had to declare her- 
 self and reply, whereupon the enemy beat a retreat 
 and dived. Hitherto the excellent Q-ship gunnery 
 had depended on the fact that first-class men had 
 been selected who would be able at short range to 
 score hits with the first or second rounds. But this 
 incident of the Tamarisk, involving at least G,000 
 yards range, showed that a small range-finder would 
 be very useful, and this was accordingly supplied. 
 Other sloops thus converted to resemble merchant- 
 men were the Begonia, Aubrietia, Salvia, Heather, 
 and so on. 
 
 The Q-ships operated not merely in the North 
 Atlantic, English Channel, North Sea, and Mediter- 
 ranean, but in such areas as off Lapland and the other 
 side of the North and South Atlantic. For instance, 
 the S.S. Intaha (Q 2), under Commander Frank 
 Powell, on December 8, 1916, was in action with a 
 submarine not far from the Kola Inlet, and had been 
 sent to these northern latitudes inasmuch as German 
 submarines for some time had been sinking our 
 merchant ships off that coast. Another Q-ship 
 operated with a British E-class submarine near 
 Madeira and the Canaries ; and another Q-ship was 
 in the South Atlantic looking for a German raider, 
 At other times there were the ocean-going submarines 
 Deutschland and Bremen to be looked out for. 
 There was thus plenty of work to be carried out by 
 these decoy vessels in almost every sea. 
 
 But it was especially those Q-ships based on 
 Queenstown who had to bear the brunt of the sub-
 
 140 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 marine warfare. Strategically, Queenstown was an 
 outpost of the British Isles, and there was scarcely a 
 day in the week when one Q-ship was not leaving or 
 entering Queenstown, or in the Haulbowline Dock- 
 yard being got ready for her next ' hush ' cruise. 
 Bearing in mind that this base was in a country 
 whose inhabitants were largely anti- British, that 
 there had been a great rising in Dublin at Eastertide, 
 1916, and that the German disguised S.S. Aud had 
 made an ineffectual attempt to land a cargo of arms, 
 and that Sir Roger Casement had arrived, it may 
 well be realized how great was the responsible task of 
 enshrouding these decoys in secrecy. Perhaps for 
 weeks a recently requisitioned ship would be along- 
 side the dockyard quay having her necessary disguises 
 made, and yet the enemy knew nothing about it 
 until he found himself surprised, and forced to keep 
 at long range or hide himself in the depths of the sea. 
 Sound organization, constant personal attention on 
 the part of the Commander-in-Chief, and loyal, 
 enthusiastic co-operation on the part of the officers 
 and men, achieved the successes which came to this 
 difficult work of Q-ships. It was all such a distinctly 
 novel kind of sea service, which was of too personal 
 and particular a kind to allow it to be run by mere 
 routine. During the whole of its history it was experi- 
 mental, and each cruise, each engagement, almost 
 each captain added to the general body of knowledge 
 which was being rapidly accumulated. It seemed 
 for the pi'ofessional naval officer as if the whole 
 of his previous life and training liad been capsized. 
 Instead of his smart, fast twin-screw destroyer, he 
 found himself in command of an awkward, single- 
 screw, disreputable-looking tramp, too slow almost to 
 get out of her own way. C)n the other hand, oflicers of
 
 FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS 141 
 
 the Mercantile Marine, fresh from handhng freighters 
 or Hners, in whom throughout all their lives had been 
 instilled the maxim ' Safety first,' now found they had 
 to court risks, look for trouble, and pretend they 
 were not men-of-war. Q-ship work was, in fact, 
 typical of the great upheaval which had affected the 
 whole world. 
 
 In some cases the transition was gradual. Some 
 officers, having come from other ships to command 
 sloops, found their aspirations satisfied not even in 
 these ships, whose work went on unceasingly — escort- 
 ing all but the fastest Altantic liners, patrolling, 
 mines weeping, picking up survivors or salvaging 
 stricken ships, or whatever duty came along. Trans- 
 ferring as volunteers from sloops to sloops rebuilt as 
 Q-ships, they had to forget a great deal and acquire 
 much more. One of such officers was Lieut.-Com- 
 mander W. W. Hallwright, R.N., who, after doing 
 very fine work as captain of one of H.M. sloops 
 based on Queenstown, took over command of the 
 disguised sloop Heathei^ (Q 16). One April day in 
 1917, while cruising in the Atlantic about breakfast 
 time, Heather was suddenly attacked by a submarine, 
 whose sixth shot killed this keen officer, a piece 
 of shell passing through his head whilst he was 
 watching the movements of the German through 
 a peep-hole on the starboard side of the bridge. 
 Lieutenant AV. McLeod, R.N,R., then took com- 
 mand, opened fire, but the submarine dived and 
 made off as usual. 
 
 Other Q-ship captains perished, and that is all we 
 know. On a certain date the ship left harbour ; per- 
 haps a couple of days later she had reported a certain 
 incident in a certain position. After that, silence I 
 Neither the ship nor any officers or crew ever returned
 
 142 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 to port, and one could but assume that the enemy 
 had sent them to the bottom. In spite of all this, 
 the number of volunteers exceeded the demand. 
 From retired admirals downwards they competed 
 with each other to get to sea in Q-ships. Bored 
 young officers from the Grand Fleet yearning for 
 something exciting ; ex-mercantile officers, yachts- 
 men, and trawler men, they used every possible 
 means to become acceptable, and great was their 
 disappointment if they were not chosen.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE GOOD SHIP ' PRIZE ' 
 
 In the summer of 1914 I happened to be on a yacht- 
 ing cruise in the Enghsh Channel. In July we had 
 seen the Grand Fleet, led by Iron Duke, clear out 
 from Weymouth Bay for Spithead, In single line 
 ahead the battle squadrons weighed and proceeded, 
 then came the light cruisers, and before the last of 
 these had washed the last ounce of dirt off her cable 
 and steamed into position, the h^on Duke and Marl- 
 borough were hull down over the horizon : it was the 
 most wonderful sight I had ever witnessed at sea. 
 A week or two later I had arrived in Falmouth, the 
 war had begun, and yachting came to a sudden stop. 
 One morning we found a new neighbour had arrived, 
 a typical, foreign-built, three-masted schooner, who 
 had just been brought in and anchored. She was 
 destined to be an historic ship in more ways than 
 one. Actually, she was the first prize to be captured 
 from Germany, and it was a unique sight then to 
 see the White Ensign flying over German colours. 
 Within four or five hours of declaration of war this 
 craft had been captured at the western entrance ot 
 the English Channel, and she never became German 
 again. 
 
 But she was to be historic in quite another way. 
 Of all the splendid little Q-ships during the war, not 
 excepting even the Mitchell mentioned in another 
 
 143
 
 144 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 chapter, no sailing craft attained such distinction, 
 and her captain will be remembered as long as British 
 naval history has any fascination. This German 
 schooner was named the Else, and had been built of 
 steel and iron in 1901 at Westerbrock, by the firm of 
 Smit and Zoon, but registered at Leer, Germany. 
 She was 112 feet 6 inches long, her net tonnage 
 being 199. I can still see her disconsolate German 
 skipper standing aft, and it must have grieved him 
 that his ship was about to be taken from him for 
 ever. For she was afterwards put up for auction 
 and sold to the Marine Navigation Company, who, 
 because of her experience already mentioned, changed 
 her name from El»e to First Prize. In November, 
 1916, she was lying in Swansea, and as the Admiralty 
 was looking out for a suitable vessel to carry out 
 decoy work after the manner of Mitchell and Helgo- 
 land, she was surveyed, found suitable, and requisi- 
 tioned. A few weeks later the Managing Director 
 of the Company patriotically decided to waive all 
 payment for hire, and lent her to the Admiralty 
 without remuneration. 
 
 By February, 1917, this auxiliary topsail schooner 
 was ready for sea as a disguised man-of-war, with a 
 couple of 12-pounders cleverly concealed on her deck. 
 She had changed her name from First Prize to Prize, 
 alias Q 21, and in command of her went Lieutenant 
 W. E. Sanders, R.N.R., whom we saw behaving with 
 distinction when serving in the Q-sailing-ship Helgo- 
 land. No better man could have been found than this 
 plucky New Zealander, and he had already shown 
 that he had a genius for this extra special type of 
 Q-ship work. Prize had been sent to work in the 
 western waters, and on April 26, 1917, she left Milford 
 Haven lor a cruise off the west coast of Ireland, this
 
 THE GOOD SHIP ' PRIZE ' 145 
 
 being the month when, of all months in the war, 
 German submarines were the most successful. At 8.35 
 on the evening of April 30, Pi'iTze was in Lat. 49.44 N., 
 Long. 11.42 W. It was fine, clear, spring-like 
 weather, with a light N.N.E. wind, calm sea, and 
 good visibility. Prize was imder all sail, steering on 
 a north-west course, and making about 2 knots. Two 
 miles away on her port beam, and steering a parallel 
 course, was sighted a big submarine. This was U 93, 
 a most modern craft, commanded by one of Germany's 
 ablest submarine officers, Lieut. -Commander Freiherr 
 von Spiegel. She was a powerful vessel, who had 
 relieved U 43 on this station, and was over 200 feet 
 long, armed with two 10'5-centimetre guns, 500 rounds 
 of ammunition, and 18 torpedoes, her complement 
 consisting of 37 officers and men. This latest sub- 
 marine was on her maiden trip in the Atlantic, having 
 left Emden on Friday, April 13. For those who are 
 superstitious the day and the date will be interesting. 
 She had had a most successful cruise, having sunk 
 eleven merchantmen, and was now on her way back 
 to Germany. Von Spiegel was anxious to be back 
 home as soon as possible, for, be it said, he was 
 certainly a sportsman, and he happened to have a 
 couple of horses running in the Berlin races in the 
 second week of May. 
 
 The sighting of this little topsail schooner made 
 him avaricious. He had sunk eleven : why not make 
 the number a round dozen ? So, at 8.45 p.m., he 
 altered course towards the Pfize, and ordering on 
 deck to see the fun all his men who could be spared, 
 he opened fire with both guns. Lieutenant Sanders 
 therefore brought Prize into the wind, and sent his 
 panic party to row about. This party consisted of six 
 men in charge of Skipper Brewer, of the Trawler 
 
 10
 
 146 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 Reserve, who had been intentionally visible on deck, 
 and now launched their small boat. In the mean- 
 time, at the sounding of the alarm. Lieutenant Sanders 
 and Skipper Meade (also of the Trawler Reserve) had 
 concealed themselves inside the steel companion-cover 
 amidships, and the rest of the crew were hiding under 
 the protection of the bulwarks or crawling to their 
 respective stations. Prizes two guns were placed 
 one forward, concealed by a collapsible deckhouse, and 
 one aft, on an ingenious disappearing mounting under 
 the hatchway covers of the after hold, and she carried 
 also a couple of Lewis guns. Lieutenant W. D, 
 Beaton, R.N.R., who was second in command of the 
 ship, was in charge of the gunnery forward, and lay 
 at the foot of the foremast with his ear to a voice- 
 pipe which led back to where Lieutenant Sanders 
 was conning the ship. 
 
 The contest could not fail to be interesting, for it 
 resolved itself into a duel between one ' star-turn ' 
 artist and another. Neither was a novice, both were 
 resourceful, plucky men, and the incident is one of 
 the most picturesque engagements of all the Q-ship 
 warfare. Taking it for granted that this little trader 
 out in the Atlantic was what she appeared to be, 
 von Spiegel closed. Pi^izes head had now fallen off' 
 to the eastward, so the submarine followed her round, 
 still punishing her with his shells, to make sure the 
 abandon-ship evolution had been genuine. Two of 
 these shells hit Prize on her waterline — you will 
 remember she was built of iron and steel — penetrating 
 and bursting inside tlie hull. One of them put the 
 auxiliary motor out of action and wounded the motor 
 mechanic : the other destroyed the wireless room and 
 wounded tlie operator. Tliat was serious enough, but 
 cabins and mess-room were wrecked, the mainmast
 
 THE GOOD SHIP 'PRIZE' 147 
 
 shot through in a couple of places, and the ship now 
 leaking. Such was the training, such was the dis- 
 cipline of these men under their gallant New Zealand 
 captain, that, in spite of this nerve-wracking experi- 
 ence, they still continued to remain on deck, immobile, 
 unseen, until Lieutenant Sanders should give the 
 longed-for word. They could see nothing, they could 
 not ease the mental strain by watching the enemy's 
 manoeuvres or inferring from what direction the next 
 shot — perhaps the last — would come. This know- 
 ledge was shared only by Lieutenant Sanders and 
 Skipper Meade as they peeped through the slits of 
 their lair. Several times Sanders crept from this 
 place on hands and knees along the deck, encouraging 
 his men and impressing on them the necessity of 
 concealment. 
 
 Meanwhile, closer and closer drew the submarine, 
 but the latter elected to remain dead astern, and this 
 was unfortunate, for not one of Prizes guns would 
 thus bear. Then there was a strange sound aft. 
 Everyone knows that the inboard end of a patent 
 log fits into a small slide, which is screwed down on 
 to the taffrail of a ship. Suddenly this slide was 
 wrenched and splintered, for the enemy had got so 
 close astern that she had fouled and carried away the 
 log-line in her endeavour to make quite sure of her 
 scrutiny. U 93 then, apparently convinced that all 
 was correct, sheered out a little and came up on the 
 schooner's port quarter only 70 yards away, being 
 about to send her quickly to the bottom. 
 
 Thus had passed twenty long, terrible minutes of 
 suspense on board the Q-ship, and it was five minutes 
 past nine. But patience, that great virtue of the 
 really brave, had at length been rewarded. Through 
 his steel slit Sanders could see that his guns would
 
 148 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 bear, so ' Down screens !' ' Open fire !' and up went 
 the White Ensign. Covers and false deckhouses 
 were suddenly collapsed, and the Prizes guns now 
 returned the fire, as the pent-up feelings of the crew 
 were able to find their outlet in fierce activity. But 
 even as the White Ensign was being hoisted, the 
 submarine fired a couple more shots, and the schooner 
 was twice hit, wounding one of the crew who had 
 rushed below to fetch from the bottom of the ladder 
 a Lewis gun. Von Spiegel was now evidently very 
 angered, for putting his helm hard aport he went full 
 speed ahead to ram the schooner, and with that fine 
 bow he might have made a nasty hole at the water- 
 line, through which the sea would have poured like a 
 waterfall. But he realized that he was outside his 
 turning circle, so put his helm the other way and 
 tried to make ofi\ It was then that a shell from the 
 Prize's after gun struck the forward gun of the sub- 
 marine, blowing it to pieces, as well as the gun's crew. 
 The second shot from the same British gun destroyed 
 the conning-tower, and a Lewis gun raked the rest 
 of the men on the deck. The third shot from P?ize\s- 
 after gun also hit so that she stopped, and as she sank 
 shell after shell hit, and the glare was seen as of a fire 
 inside the hull. At 9,9 p.m., after the Prize had fired 
 thirty-six rounds, the enemy disappeared stern first. 
 Lieutenant Sanders could not use his engines as they 
 were already out of action, and there was practically 
 no wind, so he could not go to the spot where she 
 had last been seen. 
 
 Tlic darkness was fast falling, and tiie panic party 
 in the boat rowed over the scene to search for any 
 survivors, and picked up three. These were Von 
 Spiegel, the submarine's captain, the navigating 
 warrant officer, and a stoker petty ofiicer. Covered
 
 THE GOOD SHIP PRIZE' 149 
 
 by Skipper Brewer's pistol, these were now taken on 
 board the schooner. But Prize herself was in a bad 
 way. Water was pouring through the shell-holes, 
 and, in spite of efforts to stop it, the sea was gaining 
 all the time. Had it not been calm, the vessel would 
 certainly have gone to the bottom. \'on Spiegel, on 
 coming aboard, offered his word of honour to make 
 no attempt to escape, and undertook that he and his 
 men would render all assistance. His parole being 
 accepted, captors and captives set to work to save 
 the ship. There was a possibility that another sub- 
 marine known to be in the area would come along 
 and finish off" the sinking Prize, so all had more than 
 an interest in the proceedings. 
 
 As the ship was leaking so badly, the only thing 
 to do was to list her. This was done by swinging 
 out the small boat on the davits filled with water ; 
 by passing up from below both cables on deck and 
 ranging them on the starboard side ; by shifting coal 
 from port to starboard and by emptying the port 
 fresh- water tanks. By this means the shot-holes were 
 almost clear of the water, though the crew had to 
 continue baling night and day. Troubles never come 
 singly. Here was this gallant little ship lying out 
 in the Atlantic night, crippled and becalmed. An 
 attempt was made to start the engines, but owing to 
 sparks from the motor igniting the oil which had 
 escaped from a damaged tank, a fire broke out in the 
 engine-room. This was prevented from reaching the 
 living quarters and magazine, and was eventually put 
 out. Meanwhile, the German navigating warrant 
 officer had dressed the woimds of Prizc^s wounded 
 crew, and now, at 11.45 p.m.. Prizes wounded stoker 
 petty officer, assisted by the second motor-man and 
 the German stoker petty officer, succeeded in starting
 
 150 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 one engine, and course was shaped for the Irish coast, 
 all sail being set ; but the nearest land was 120 miles 
 to the north-east. 
 
 That night passed, and the next day, and the fore- 
 noon of the day following ; but on the afternoon of 
 JNlay 2 the Irish coast was sighted, and Prize was 
 picked up 5 miles west of the Old Head of Kinsale 
 by H.M.M.L. 161 (Lieutenant Hannah, R.N.V.R.), 
 who towed her into Kinsale, where the wounded 
 were disembarked. On May 4 — that notable sunny 
 day when the first United States destroyers reached 
 Queenstown from America — Prize, still with her 
 three German prisoners on board, left Kinsale Har- 
 bour, towed by H.M. Drifter Rival II., who took 
 her to JNIilford. But on the way Prize sighted a 
 German mine-laying submarine on the surface 2 miles 
 away to the southward. The crew therefore went to 
 action stations, and for an hour the enemy steered on 
 a parallel course, but finally the latter drew ahead 
 and disappeared. Arrived in Milford the prisoners 
 were taken ashore, and the Prize at length came to 
 rest. 
 
 It has been told me by one who ought to know, 
 that when Von Spiegel came aboard Prize, after being 
 picked up out of the water, he remarked to Sanders : 
 ' The discipline in the German Navy is wonderful, 
 but that your men could have quietly endured our 
 shelling without reply is beyond all belief Before 
 leaving the Prize he said good-bye to Sanders and 
 extended an invitation to stay with him on his 
 Schleswig-Holstein estate after tiie war. No one 
 will deny the extraordinary gallantry oi Prize's crew 
 and the heroic patience in withholding their fire until 
 the psychological moment, thougli the temptation 
 was very trying. To Lieutenant W. E. Sanders was
 
 THE GOOD SHIP 'PRIZE' 151 
 
 awarded the Victoria Cross, and lie was promoted to 
 the rank of Temporary Lieut. -Commander, R.N.R. 
 To Lieutenant VV. D. Beaton, R.N.R., was awarded 
 a D.S.O. ; the two skippers each received a D.S.C., 
 and the rest of the brave ship's company the D.S.M. 
 But the ending of this story is yet to be told. 
 U 93 was not sunk, but got safely back to Germany ! 
 Von Spiegel had thought she was sunk, and the crew 
 of Prize were not less certain. She had been holed 
 in her starboard ballast tank, in her starboard fuel 
 tank, and her conning-tower, and she was assuredly 
 in a very bad way. If it had been daylight she would 
 most certainly have been finally destroyed ; as it was 
 she was unable to dive, and escaped in the darkness 
 deprived of her wireless. Sub-Lieutenant Ziegler 
 took over the command, with one of his crew killed, 
 three wounded, and three already taken prisoners. 
 With the utmost difficulty, and compelled to navigate 
 all the time on the surface, he managed to get his 
 craft home. It was certainly a fine achievement ; the 
 Kaiser was much impressed, and promoted him to 
 lieutenant. But, at the time, we in this country had 
 never supposed that any submarine could stand so 
 much battering. It is interesting to bear this incident 
 in mind when reading other accounts in this book, 
 where it seemed so sure that the submarine must 
 have been sunk : yet the greatest care has been taken 
 to verify every enemy submarine sunk, and in each 
 case the number has been given. But U 93 was 
 doomed, and had not much longer to live after her 
 refit. Early in the following January, one fine clear 
 morning at a quarter past four, the time when human 
 nature is at its weakest and inost collisions occur at 
 sea, this submarine was rammed by a steamer and sunk 
 for the last time.
 
 152 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 After her very necessary refit, Lieut. -Commander 
 Sanders still remained in the Prize. Admiral Jellicoe, 
 First Sea Lord, had sent for him and offered him 
 command of another ship : he could have had a 
 destroyer, a P-boat, or any ship within reason, but 
 his undaunted spirit, to which Lord Jellicoe on 
 arriving in New Zealand after the war paid such 
 high tribute, refused a safer appointment, and pre- 
 ferred to carry on. I have been told by an officer 
 who enjoyed Sanders' friendship and confidence at 
 this time, that he went out to sea again with the 
 consciousness that before long he would have played 
 the live- bait game too far, and that the fish would 
 get away with the bait. If that is true, then we 
 must admire Sanders still more for his heroism in his 
 devotion to duty. It is surely of this stuff that the 
 great martyrs of Christendom have been made. 
 
 On June 12, 1917 — that is, six weeks after the 
 previous incident, just time enough to give leave to 
 all the crew, get the ship refitted and sailed to her 
 new area — Prize left Killybegs (Ireland) to cruise to 
 the westward of the Irish coast. At 11 a.m. on this 
 day she was under all sail on a N.N. W. course, doing 
 not more than a knot through the water, when she 
 sighted a submarine 1^ miles to the E.S.E. proceed- 
 ing slowly on the same course as Prize. The move- 
 ments of this submarine thereafter are worth noting. 
 It is only reasonable to suppose that on his return to 
 Germany in U 98 Ziegler would give a full description 
 of the trap-ship which had so nearly destroyed him. 
 This information would, of course, be passed on to 
 the other submarine captains who frequented this 
 Irish area, and we may be quite certain that they 
 would be on the look-out for her, anxious to revenge 
 their service. Now, in these modern times, and in
 
 THE GOOD SHIP PRIZE' 153 
 
 any twenty-four hours, you will see far more steamers 
 of all sorts than 200-ton sailing craft : it certainly was 
 so during the war off the west and south-west coast 
 of Ireland. During the years I was on patrol there, 
 with the exception of quite small local fishing craft 
 and an occasional full-rigged ship making the land 
 after her voyage across the Atlantic, one scarcely ever 
 sighted a sailing vessel of any kind. Ziegler would 
 have reported in effect : ' Look out for a three-masted 
 topsail schooner of about 200 tons. She has a bow 
 like this . . ., her stern is like this . . ., and her 
 sheer is so . . . You will probably find she has a dummy 
 deckhouse placed here . . . ;' and a rough sketch 
 would afford his comrades a pretty accurate idea. 
 You cannot ever disguise the appearance of such a 
 sailing ship altogether, no matter what name you 
 give her, nor what colour you paint her hull. A 
 three-masted topsail schooner is that and nothing 
 else, and would henceforth be regarded with the 
 utmost suspicion. Then, on comparing her with the 
 sketch and examining her with the eye of seamanlike 
 experience, no astute submarine officer could have 
 had much doubt in his mind. A British officer who 
 knew this ship well has told me that in his opinion 
 there was one small detail, in respect of the wireless, 
 which, to a careful observer, would always give her 
 character away. This may be so : at any rate, the 
 following incidents seem to indicate that the enemy 
 were on the look-out for her diu'ing the rest of her 
 career, and persistently attacked her. 
 
 On the occasion of June 12, as soon as the sub- 
 marine came to the surface and opened fire. Prize as 
 usual, after the necessary intentional bungling, sent 
 away her boat, which took up a position half a mile 
 away on the starboard bow. The enemy kept on
 
 154 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 firing, and at 11.30 the schooner was hit twice, so 
 three minutes later, as the enemy was turning away 
 to increase the range, Sanders ordered the screens to 
 be lowered, and opened fire from both starboard guns 
 at 1,800 yards. One shell seemed to hit, and the 
 enemy immediately dived. But two hours later a 
 submarine was seen on the surface 4 miles away on 
 the starboard quarter, and remained in sight for a 
 quarter of an hour. Then next morning at 6.30 a 
 submarine was sighted stopped, 1^ miles ahead on 
 the surface. Five minutes later he dived, but came 
 up after four minutes 1,500 yards off on the starboard 
 bow. At 6.43 he again dived, and was not seen again. 
 Probably each of these three appearances was the 
 same submarine. On the first he was repulsed, on 
 the second he would have a perfect opportunity of 
 making a detailed sketch, on the third he may have 
 been intending to attack by torpedo, but the westerly 
 swell from the Atlantic possibly interfered with 
 accurate firing. But, apart from all surmise, it is 
 absolutely evident that the enemy was able to obtain 
 a picture of the schooner, which beyond all doubt 
 would establish her identity on a future occasion. 
 The importance of this will presently be seen. 
 
 For this action of June 12 Lieut. -Commander 
 Sanders was given a D.S.O. to wear with his V.C. 
 He had had a very trying time. \Vhen, at 11.30, 
 the German shells had hit, the falls of the port davit 
 had been shot away, and another shot had struck the 
 ship on the starboaid side amidships just on the top 
 of the sheer strake plate. 'I'his sliell had exploded 
 and caused the ship to leak. Ficut.-Commander 
 Sanders, who was lying concealed between the mast 
 and the hatch, put up his arms to sliield his face from 
 the burst fragments and so received a piece of shell
 
 THE GOOD SHIP ' PRIZE ' 155 
 
 in his right arm above the wrist. In addition, the 
 force of the explosion knocked him over and hurled 
 him to the other side of the deck, where he was picked 
 up by Skipper Mead. In spite of the pain and the 
 shock, Sanders was just sufficiently conscious to give 
 the order 'Action' at 11.33, when screens were 
 downed, AVhite Ensign run up, and fire was returned. 
 The schooner came back to her base, her gallant 
 captain recovered from his wound, and two months 
 later we find her operating in the Atlantic again to 
 the north-west of the N.W. Irish coast. On this 
 occasion she was cruising with one of our D-class 
 submarines, the idea being that when the enemy 
 came along Prize would be attacked and heave-to in 
 the customary manner, while the British submarine 
 would stealthily make for the enemy and torpedo 
 him whilst, so to speak, he was not looking. 
 
 On the forenoon of August 13, imagine this 
 schooner with her newly-painted black topsides and 
 red boot-topping, flying the Swedish flag and heading- 
 east. Suddenly UB 48 was sighted to the north, so 
 Sanders hove-to and signalled the British submarine 
 that there was a German submarine to port. Shells 
 began to be fired from the enemy, who closed. The 
 British submarine saw the shots falling but could not 
 see the enemy until 4.10 p.m., when the German 
 was descried to starboard of the Prize. There was 
 a considerable lop on at the time, and Prize was seen 
 with White Ensign flying at the peak, and her guns 
 manned. Five hours later the British submarine 
 came to the surface and spoke Prize, who stated that 
 she had opened fire on the enemy at 200 yards, and 
 had hit him. This we now know from another source 
 was perfectly true, but the hits were not in a vital 
 part of the German. During the dark hours UB 48
 
 156 Q SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 bided his time, and at midnight fired two torpedoes, 
 the second of which hit, causing a terrific explosion, 
 so that nothing more was seen, and the good ship 
 Prize^ with her gallant captain and all his brave men, 
 ended her career after one of the most brilliant 
 periods that can be found in the records of sea 
 achievement. UB 48 was on her maiden voyage 
 from Germany via the north of Scotland and N.W. 
 of Ireland to Cattaro in the Adriatic, where she 
 arrived on September 2, sinking merchantmen on the 
 way. This modern type of submarine, with her 
 4 '1 -inch gun and her ten torpedoes, was a difiicult 
 craft to sink. Her second officer had been taken 
 from the German Mercantile INIarine, so we can 
 assume that his critical eye would scrutinize the 
 schooner and detect something which convinced his 
 captain tliat this was really a trap-ship. That the 
 submarine should have been content, whilst on a 
 long passage, to waste so many hours ov^er a mere 
 sailing craft of quite small tonnage would have been 
 doubtful ; but the Frize having once shown her 
 White Ensign and used her guns to effect decided 
 the German that she must be settled with after dark, 
 when she would be a good target in that August 
 night. It was a fair fight, but the chances were all 
 in favour of the German, since it is practically im- 
 possible to see a periscope at night, whereas the 
 Q-ship's sails would loom up and show in which 
 direction the target was heading ; and, further, the 
 submarine had the advantage of mobility all the time. 
 The facts whicli have just been stated are authentic, 
 and it is as well that they sliould now be made known. 
 Ignorance always breeds I'alsehood, and after the loss 
 of Prize there were all sorts of wild stories going 
 about both in the Service and in the Mercantile
 
 THE GOOD SHIP 'PRIZE' 157 
 
 Marine. Some of them are too ghastly to be related, 
 but a favourite version was that the brave Sanders 
 had been taken prisoner and lashed to the submarine's 
 periscope, which then submerged and so drowned him. 
 Another story, which was very prevalent, was that he 
 had been cruelly murdered. There is not a word of 
 truth in these suggestions. Lieut. - Commander 
 Sanders died as he would have wished, aboard his 
 ship with his men. His body rests in the Atlantic 
 where the remains of his glorious Prize sank : but 
 his memorial, unveiled by Lord Jellicoe as Governor 
 of New Zealand, will inspire generations who come 
 after. 
 
 For dogged devotion to dangerous duty, for cool- 
 ness in peril, for real leadership of men, for tenacity 
 in ' sticking it,' this hero among those great and 
 gallant gentlemen of the Q-ship service will remain 
 as a model of what a true British sailor should be. 
 Had he lived, his influence would have been tremen- 
 dous, but by his refusing a safe billet when he was 
 fully entitled to it, and preferring deliberately to 
 court death because that way duty and honour 
 pointed, his example should be a great source of 
 strength to every young apprentice beginning his life 
 in the Merchant Service, every midshipman of His 
 Majesty's Navy, and every young man content to 
 learn the lessons which are taught only by the sea. 
 On land, for their historic exploits at the Dardanelles 
 and in France we gratefully remember the Australians 
 and New Zealanders. It is fitting that one of the 
 latter should have bequeathed to us such distinction 
 on the sea : it is characteristic of the great co-opera- 
 tion when the children of the Empire flocked to help 
 their mother in her throes of the World War.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 SHIPS AND ADVENTURES 
 
 Independence of character is a great asset in any 
 leader of men, but it is an essential, basic virtue when 
 a man finds himself in command of a ship : without 
 such an attribute he is dominated either by his 
 officers, his own emotions, or the vagaries of chance. 
 In the case of a Q-ship captain, this aloofness was 
 raised to a greater degree of importance by reason of 
 the special nature of the work. Can you think of 
 any situation more solitary and lonely than this ? 
 There are, of course, all kinds and conditions of 
 loneliness. There is the loneliness of the airman 
 gliding through celestial heights ; there is the loneli- 
 ness of the man in the crowd ; there is the loneliness 
 of the sentry, of the hermit, of the administrator in 
 the desert. But I can conceive of nothing so solitary 
 as the Q-ship captain lying alone on the planking of 
 his bridge, patiently waiting and watching througli a 
 slit in the canvas the manoeuvres of an artful U-boat. 
 Sucli a figure is morally and physically alone. He 
 is the great brain of the ship ; at his word she is 
 transformed from a tramp to a warship. It is he who 
 has to take the fateful, and perliaps fatal, decision ; 
 and to none other can he depute this responsibility as 
 long as life lasts. Only a big character, strong and 
 independent, can tackle sucli a proposition. Alone, 
 too, he is physically. Most of his men have left the 
 
 158
 
 SHIPS AND ADVENTURES 159 
 
 ship and are over there in the boats, sometimes 
 visible on the top of the wave, sometimes obUterated 
 in the trough. The rest of his crew are somewhere 
 below the bridge, under the bulwarks, at their guns, 
 crouching out of sight. His officers are at their 
 respective stations, forward, aft, and amidships, 
 connected to him by speaking-tubes, but otherwise 
 apart. He himself, arbiter of his own fate, his men, 
 and his ship, has to fight against a dozen contending 
 impulses, and refuse to be panic-stricken, hasty, or 
 impetuous. This much is expected of him ; his crew 
 are relying on him blindly, absolutely. However, by 
 long years of experience and moulding of character 
 he has learnt the power of concentration and of 
 omitting from his imagination the awful possibilities 
 of failure. Before putting to sea, and Avhilst on 
 patrol, he has envisaged every conceivable circum- 
 stance and condition likely to occur. He has 
 mentally allowed for every move of the submarine, 
 for the wounding of his own ship : and he has had the 
 ship's action stations thus worked out. Accidents 
 will, of course, occur to spoil any routine, though 
 some of these, such as the breakdown of the wireless 
 and the bursting of a gun, or the jamming of a screen, 
 may be foreseen and allowed for. 
 
 But after all that could be prepared for has been 
 done, there always remains some awkward possibility 
 which the wit of man can never foresee. Take the 
 incident of the Q-ship Ravenstone, which was com- 
 missioned as a Q-ship on June 26, 1917, under the 
 name of Donlevon. A month later she was 
 torpedoed one afternoon in the Atlantic, 40 
 miles south of the Fastnet. Fortunately there were 
 no casualties, and fortunately, too, the ship did not 
 straight away founder. There was a heavy sea
 
 160 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 running, and she was soon down by the head ; but 
 she was also prevented from using her engines, for the 
 torpedo had struck her in No. 2 hold, and the force 
 of the explosion had Hfted and thrown overboard 
 from the fore well-deck a 7-inch hemp hawser. This 
 had fallen into the sea, floated aft, and there fouled 
 the propeller so effectually that the ship could go 
 neither ahead nor astern. It was a most annoying 
 predicament, but who could have foreseen it ? The 
 submarine apparently ' hopped it,' for she made no 
 further attack, and one of Admiral Bayly's sloops, 
 H.M.S. Camelia, stood by Donlevon, and from Bere- 
 haven arrived the tug Flying Spraij, who got her in 
 tow. Another sloop, the Myosotis, had her in tow for 
 thirty-one hours, handhng her so well in the heavy 
 sea that, in spite of Donlevon being down by the head 
 and steering like a mad thing, she safely arrived in 
 Queenstown, and was afterwards paid out of the 
 Service. Ten thousand pounds' worth of damage had 
 been done. 
 
 In the early summer of 1917, at a time when the 
 United States Navy had just begun to help us with 
 their destroyers and the enemy was hoping very 
 shortly to bring us ' to our knees,' we had thirteen 
 different Q-ships based on Queenstown. There was 
 the converted sloop Aubrietia, commanded by 
 Admiral Marx, JNl.V.O., D.S.O., who, in spite ot 
 his years, had come back to the Service and accepted 
 a commission as captain R.N.R. For a time he was 
 in command of H.Al. armed yacht Beryl, owned by 
 Lord Inverclyde. From this command he trans- 
 ferred to the more exciting work of decoying sub- 
 marines, and it is amusing when one thinks of an 
 admiral pretending to be the skipper of a little 
 tramp. Of this thirteen there was Captain Grenfell's
 
 SHIPS AND ADVENTURES 161 
 
 Penshurst, about which the reader has already been 
 informed. Captain Gordon Campbell was in Pargust, 
 and Commander Leopold A. Bernays, C. M.G., was 
 in Vala. The latter was one of the most unusual 
 personalities in a unique service. Before the war he 
 had left the Navy and gone to Canada, where he had 
 some pretty tough adventures. On the outbreak of 
 war he joined up, and crossed to England as a soldier, 
 but managed to get transferred quite early to a mine- 
 sweeping trawler, where he did magnificent work 
 month after month ; first in sweeping up the mine- 
 field laid off Scarborough at the time of the German 
 raid, December, 1914, and afterwards in clearing up 
 the difficult Tory Island minefield, which had been 
 laid by Berlin in October, 1914, but was not rendered 
 safe for many months afterwards. When in the 
 summer of 1915 a British minesweeping force was 
 required for Northern Russia, Bernays was sent out 
 with his trawlers. Here, with his usual thoroughness 
 and enthusiasm, he set to work, and again performed 
 most valuable service, and buoyed a safe channel for 
 the ships carrying munitions from England to voyage 
 in safety. 
 
 But Bernays was no respecter of persons, especially 
 of those who were not keen on their job. Witih 
 Russian dilatoriness and inefficiency, and in particular 
 with the Russian admiral, he soon found himself 
 exasperated beyond measure. His own trawlers 
 were working in the most strenuous fashion, whereas 
 the Russians seemed only to be thwarting instead of 
 helping, and at any rate were not putting their full 
 weight into the contest. I do not know whether the 
 yarn about Bernays in exasperation pulling the beard 
 of the overbearing Russian admiral is true, but there 
 was a big row, and Bernays came back to England, 
 
 11
 
 162 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 though for his good work he received the coveted 
 British order C.M.G. After further minesweeping 
 off the Scotch coast, where once more he distinguished 
 himself, he came to Queenstown to serve in his 
 Q-ship. Here he went about his job in his usual 
 fearless manner, and on one occasion had played a 
 submarine as he used to play a fish. He had slowed 
 down, and the U-boat was coming nicely within 
 range, when just as everything was ready for the bait 
 to be swallowed, up came a United States destroyer 
 at high speed to ' rescue ' this ' tramp.' The sub- 
 marine was frightened away , and Vala lost her fish 
 Then one day Bernays took Vala on another cruise. 
 What happened exactly we do not know, but evi- 
 dently a submarine got her, and sank her without 
 a trace, for neither ship nor crew was ever heard of 
 again. 
 
 Bernays was just the man for Q-ship work. He 
 was one whom you would describe as a 'rough 
 customer,' who might have stepped out of a Wild 
 A¥est cinema. A hard swearer in an acquired 
 American accent, in port also a hard drinker ; but 
 on going to sea he kept everything locked up, and 
 not even his officers were allowed to touch a drop till 
 they got back to harbour. The first time I met 
 him was at .'3 o'clock one bitterly cold winter's 
 morning in Grimsby. It was blowing a gale of wind 
 and it was snowing. Some of his minesweepers had 
 broken adrift and come down on to the top of my 
 craft, and were doing her no good. Tliere was 
 nothing for it but to rouse Bernays. His way of 
 handling men, and these rough North Sea fishermen, 
 was a revelation. It was a mixture of liard Navy, 
 Prussianism, and Canadiaji ' get-to-hell-out-of-tliis- 
 darned-hole.' There was no coaxing in his voice ;
 
 SHIPS AND ADVENTURES 163 
 
 every syllable was a challenge to a fight. On the 
 forebridge of his trawler he used to keep a bucket 
 containing lumps of coal, and in giving an order 
 would at times accentuate his forcible and coloured 
 words by heaving a lump at any of his slow-thinking 
 crew. 
 
 Having said all this, you may wonder there was 
 never a mutiny ; but such a state of affairs was the 
 last thing that could ever happen in any of Bernays' 
 ships. From a weak man the crew would not have 
 stood this treatment a day, but they understood 
 him, they respected him, they loved him, and in his 
 command of the English tongue they realized that 
 he was like unto themselves, but more adept. Follow 
 him ? They followed him everywhere — through the 
 North Sea, through Russian and Irish minefields, 
 and relied on him implicitly. And this regard was 
 mutual, for in spite of his rugged manner Bernays 
 had a heart, and he thought the world of his crew. 
 I remember how pleased he was the day he was 
 ordered to go to the dangerous Tory Island mine- 
 field. ' But I'm not going without my old crew ; 
 they're the very best in the world.' Bernays, as 
 an American oflicer once remarked, ' certainly was 
 some tough proposition,' but he knew no cowardice ; 
 he did his brave duty, and he rests in a sailor's grave. 
 
 Another of these thirteen was the converted sloop 
 Begoniciy commanded by Lieut. -Commander Basil 
 S. Noake, R.N., an officer of altogether different 
 temperament. Keen and able, yet courteous and 
 gentle of manner, tall, thin, and suffering somewhat 
 from deafness, this gallant officer, too, paid the great 
 penalty. For Begonia was destined to have no 
 ordinary career. Built as a minesweeping sloop, she 
 carried out escort and patrol work until one day she
 
 164 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 was holed, but managed to get into Queenstown. 
 Here she was repaired and transformed into a decoy, 
 with a counter added instead of her cruiser stern, and 
 with the addition of derricks and so on she was a 
 very clever deception. During one cruise she was 
 evidently a victim to the enemy, for she disappeared, 
 too. 
 
 The remaining ships of this thirteen were the Acton 
 (Lieut.-Commander C.N. Rolfe, R.N. ),Z2///;//« (Lieut. - 
 Commander John K. JMcLeod, R.N.), CuUist (Lieut.- 
 Commander S. H. Simpson, D.S.O., R.N.), Tamarisk 
 (Lieut.-Commander John W. Williams, D.S.O., 
 R.N.R.), Viola (Lieut.-Commander F. A. Frank, 
 D.S.O., R.N.R.), Salvia (Lieut.-Commander W. 
 Olphert, D.S.O., D.S.C., R.N.R.), Laggan (Lieu- 
 tenant C. J. Alexander, R.N.R.), and Heather 
 (Lieutenant Harold Auten, R.N.R.). In this list 
 there is scarcely a name that did not receive before 
 the end of the war at least one D.S.O., while two 
 of them received the Victoria Cross. 
 
 Acton had an indecisive duel with a submarine on 
 August 20, 1917. It was a fine day with a calm sea 
 when the enemy was sighted, and on being attacked 
 ^c/07i abandoned ship. In order to make this doubly 
 real, lire-boxes were started in the well-deck, and 
 steam leakage turned on, which made the ship look 
 as if she were on fire. The enemy inspected the ship 
 closely, so closely in fact that he actually collided 
 with Acton, shaking the latter fore and aft. But 
 after lie had come to the surface and Acton opened 
 fire, hitting, loud shouts came from the conning- 
 tower, and he submerged, thus escaping. Acton 
 went on with her work until tlic end of hostilities. 
 
 Zijlp/ia and Cnllist both had tragic ends to their 
 careers. Zijlpha was a 2,9 17- ton steamer, built at
 
 SHIPS AND ADVENTURES 165 
 
 Sunderland in 1894, and had been commissioned as a 
 Q-ship as far back as October, 1915. Early in June, 
 1917, she steamed along the south Irish coast and then 
 out into the Atlantic, as if bound for New York. On 
 June 11, at 9.45 a.m., when about 200 miles from 
 the Irish coast, she was torpedoed by a submarine 
 that was never seen again, and totally disabled. Her 
 engines had stopped for the last time, and the sea 
 had poured in, though her closely-packed cargo of 
 wood was at present keeping her afloat. Having 
 * bleated ' with her wireless, one of the United States 
 destroyers, based on Queenstown, proceeded to her 
 assistance. This was the Warrington, and she stood 
 by the ship for a whole twenty-four hours — from 
 2 p.m. of the eleventh until 2.30 p.m. of the twelfth. 
 By the time Warrington had arrived Zylphas engine- 
 room and boiler-rooms were already awash, Nos. 2 
 and 3 holds flooded, the wireless out of action, and 
 one man killed. The Warrington kept patrolling 
 round her, requested a tug by wireless, and went on 
 zigzagging through the long hours. By the evening 
 Zylpka was in a bad way, and the Atlantic swell was 
 seriously shaking the bulkheads, but she was still 
 afloat next morning. By this time the Warri?igton, 
 who had been some time on patrol, was running short 
 of oil, so, at 2.30 p.m., regretfully had to return to 
 harbour for fuel. 
 
 This was a sad blow to the Zylpha people, but 
 whilst waiting for the arrival of the U.S. destroyer 
 Drayton and two Queenstown tugs which were being 
 sent to her, Zylpha actually made sail with what little 
 canvas she had, and made good at 1 J knots. At noon 
 of the fourteenth she was picked up by H.M. sloop 
 Daffodil, and was then taken in tow. Next day, at 
 1 p.m., tugs reached her, but she could not last out
 
 166 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 the night, and, after having been towed for most of 
 200 miles, she gradually sank when quite near to the 
 west coast, finally disappearing at 11.20 p.m. near the 
 Great Skelligs. So ended Zylpha. 
 
 CulUst was commanded by an officer who had served 
 a long time off this coast in a sloop. Her real name 
 was the IVestphalia, but she was also known as the 
 Jtirassic, Haijlhig, and Prim. She was of 1,030 gross 
 tons, and in the spring of 1917 was lying at Calais, 
 when she was requisitioned and sent to Pembroke 
 Naval Dockyard to be fitted out. She was commis- 
 sioned on May 12 by Lieut. -Commander Simpson, 
 and Admiral Bayly then sent her to cruise along 
 certain trade routes. She was capable of steaming 
 about 10 knots, and was armed with a 4-inch and 
 two 12-pounder guns, as well as a couple of torpedo- 
 tubes, and all these had been well concealed. A 
 few weeks later, on July 13, CuUist was between the 
 Irish and French coasts, and it was just after 1 p.m. 
 when a submarine appeared on the horizon. 
 
 About two minutes later the enemy from very long 
 range opened fire, but as his shots were falling about 
 3,000 yards short, he increased speed towards the 
 CuUist. By 1.30 a large merchant ship was seen 
 connng up from the south, so CulUst hoisted the 
 signal ' You are standing into danger,' whereupon tlie 
 big steamer altered course away. Cullist then zig- 
 zagged, keeping always between sim and enemy, and 
 by dropping eight smoke-boxes at various intervals 
 succeeded in enticing tlie submarine down to a range 
 of .5,000 yards, a distance which was maintained for 
 the rest of the action. From 1.45 the enemy con- 
 tinually straddled CuUist so that tlie decks were wet 
 with the splashes, and shell splinters were rattling on 
 masts and deck. By 2.7 the enemy had fired sixty-
 
 SHIPS AND ADVENTURES 167 
 
 eight rounds, but had not hit once. Cullist now 
 decided to engage, and her third round was seen to 
 hit just below the submarine's gun, the remainder 
 hitting regularly along the deck and on the conning- 
 tower, causing bright red flames wliich rose higher 
 than the conning-tower. Three minutes after Cullist 
 had opened fire the enemy sank by the bows in 
 flames, and then the ship steamed to the spot and 
 dropped a depth charge. Three of Cidlisfs crew saw 
 a corpse dressed in blue dungarees, floating face up- 
 wards, but the submarine was never seen again. By 
 3.30 H.M.S. Christoi^her arrived on the scene and 
 both ships searched for the enemy. He was evidently 
 seriously damaged, but he had made his escape. 
 Lieut.-Commander Simpson, for this engagement, 
 was awarded a D.S.O ; Lieutenant G. Spencer, 
 R.N.R., a D.S.C. ; Sub-Lieutenant G. H. D. Double- 
 day, R.N.R., also a D.S.C. ; while two other officers 
 were ' mentioned.' 
 
 Cullisfs next adventure was on August 20 in the 
 English Channel, when she was shelled for most of 
 two and a half hours at long range, during which the 
 submarine expended over eighty rounds with only 
 one hit. This, however, had penetrated the waterline 
 of the stokehold, injuring both firemen who happened 
 to be on watch, and causing a large rush of water into 
 the stokehold. By plugging the hole and shoring it 
 up this defect was for the present made good. At 
 7.25 p.m., inasmuch as the light was fading and the 
 enemy declined to come nearer than 4,000 yards, 
 Cullist started shelling and seemed to make two 
 direct hits on the base of the conning-tower. This 
 was enough for the German, who then dived very 
 rapidly and made off. Cullist was practically un- 
 injured, for the only other hits on her had been that
 
 168 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 the port depth charge had been struck with shell 
 splinters and the patent log-line had been shot away. 
 But on the eleventh of the following February a 
 much more serious attack was made, and this illus- 
 trates the statement that suddenly without the 
 slightest warning a Q-ship might find herself in the 
 twinkling of an eye changed from an efficient man- 
 of-war into a mere wreck, CuUist at the time was 
 steaming on a southerly course down the Irish Sea, 
 Kingstown Harbour being to the westward. The 
 officer of the watch and the look-out men were at 
 their posts, and Lieut. -Commander Simpson was 
 walking up and down the deck. Suddenly, from 
 nowhere, the track of a torpedo was seen approaching, 
 and this struck the ship between the engine-room and 
 No. 3 hold. Lieut.-Commander Simpson was hurled 
 into the air and came down on to the edge of the 
 deck with a very painful arm. Realizing the con- 
 dition of the Cullist, he ordered his men to abandon 
 ship, but such was the zeal of the crew in remaining 
 at action stations until the last moment that many of 
 them were drowned : for in less than two minutes 
 Cullist had gone to the bottom. This part of the 
 Irish Sea then consisted of a number of Englishmen 
 swimming about or keeping alive on a small Carley 
 float. The submarine when half a mile astern of 
 where Cullist sank, came to the surface and rapidly 
 approached. Then she stopped, picked up two men, 
 inquired for the captain, examined survivors through 
 glasses, and having abused tliem by words and 
 gestures, made off to the southward. After swimming 
 about for some time, Lieut.-Commander Simpson 
 was then pulled on to the Carley float, which is a 
 special kind of raft, very shallow, painted Navy grey, 
 and usuaUy sup])licd with a paddle such as you find
 
 SHIPS AND ADVENTURES 169 
 
 in a Canadian canoe. It was a bleak February after- 
 noon, and here were a few men able to keep from 
 death by joining hands on this crowded raft. As the 
 hours went on, the usual trying thirst assailed them 
 and the fatal temptation to drink the sea-water, but 
 the captain wisely and sternly prevented this. How 
 long they would be left crowded in this ridiculous 
 raft, cold and miserable, no one knew : it was 
 obvious that human strength could not last out 
 indefinitely. 
 
 But just as it was getting dusk, about 6 p.m., a 
 trawler was seen. Relief at last ! Someone who 
 held the Canadian paddle kept it high to make it more 
 easy for the trawler to recognize them. It was a 
 patrol trawler, for the gun was visible ; in a few 
 moments they would be rescued. But just then 
 these sopping-wet survivors were horrified to see the 
 trawler manning her gun and laying it on to the raft. 
 What hideous mistake was this ? ' Sing at the top 
 of your voices.' So they sang ' Tipperary ' with all 
 the strength they had left. Then a slight pause was 
 followed by the trawler dismissing the gun's crew and 
 coming towards them as quickly as her engines would 
 go round. The survivors were picked up and taken 
 into Kingstown, where they landed about 10 p.m., 
 and none too soon for some of them. By the time 
 they were in hospital they were almost done. But 
 what was the trawler's explanation ? She had sighted 
 something in the half-light which resembled a sub- 
 marine, and on examining it again it still more 
 resembled such a craft. There was the conning- 
 tower painted grey, and there was the periscope too. 
 It was only when the unmistakable sound of British 
 voices chanting ' Tipperary ' reached their ears that 
 they looked again and found that the ' periscope ' was
 
 170 Q SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 the Canadian paddle, and the ' conning-tower ' was 
 the men Hnked together imposed on the grey Carley 
 float. 
 
 But it had been a near thing ! 
 
 Even more varied was the career of the Privet 
 (aUas Island Queen, Q 19, Swisher, and Alcala). 
 This was a small steamer of 803 tons, which had 
 begun her service in December, 1916, her captain 
 being Lieut. -Commander C. G. Matheson, R.N.R. 
 On the following twelfth of March she was on 
 passage from Land's End to Alderney, and was 
 steaming at 9 knots, when just before three in the 
 afternoon a torpedo was seen to pass under the ship 
 at the engine-room. Privet was presently shelled by 
 the submarine, who rose to the surface on the star- 
 board side aft, the first nine rounds hitting Privet five 
 times. One of these rounds burst among the ' aban- 
 don ship ' party, causing many casualties and destroy- 
 ing the falls of both boats. Privefs hull had been 
 badly holed, and she was compelled to send out a 
 wireless S.O.S. signal, stating that her engines were 
 disabled, but two minutes later she opened fire with 
 her port battery — she was armed with four 12- 
 pounders — and during the first seven rounds the 
 enemy received punishment, being hit abreast the 
 fore part of the conniug-tower, and twice well abaft 
 the conniug-tower. The German now tried to escape 
 by submerging, but evidently he found his hull 
 leaking so badly that he was seen trying to reacli the 
 surface again by using his engines and hydroplanes. 
 Thus Privet managed to get in a couple more hits 
 and then the U-boat disappeared stern first at an 
 angle of forty-five degrees. Privet in this manner 
 had definitely sunk U 8.5, belonging to the biggest 
 U-class submarines, 230 feet long, armed with two 
 guns and twelve torpedoes. The whole incident,
 
 SHIPS AND ADVENTURES 171 
 
 from the moment the torpedo was fired to the 
 destruction of the attacker, had covered forty 
 minutes ; but now, ten minutes later, P7'lvet\s 
 engine-room was reported to be filling up with 
 water owing to one of the enemy's shells getting 
 home. Twenty minutes later the chief engineer 
 reported that the water was now over the plates 
 and rising. EfJbrts were made to plug the hole with 
 hammocks and timber, but this was found impossible, 
 and this small ship, in spite of her victory, was in 
 great peril. After another few minutes the men and 
 wounded were ordered into the lifeboat and skiff, for 
 the engine-room was full of water and the after bulk- 
 head might give way suddenly any minute. Half an 
 hour later this actually happened, but by this time 
 the two British destroyers Christopher and Orestes 
 had arrived on the scene. 
 
 Privet was in a pitiable condition, and, after throw- 
 ing overboard confidential books and rendering the 
 depth charges safe, she was finally abandoned, though 
 she did not at once sink. In fact, an hour and a 
 half later she was still afloat ; so Lieut. -Commander 
 Matheson, his officers, a seaman, and a working party 
 from Orestes went back on board her, and within an 
 hour Orestes had begun to tow her under great 
 difficulties. However, everything went fairly well 
 until they were approaching Plymouth Sound, when 
 Privefs last bulkheads collapsed, and she started now 
 to settle down quickly. This was rather hard luck, 
 having regard to what she had gone through, but 
 there was no mistake about it, she was sinking fast. 
 Those in charge of her are to be congratulated, for 
 they were able Just in time to get her into shoal water, 
 and she sank in only 4A fathoms opposite the Pickle- 
 comb Fort, and that closed chapter one in her not 
 uninteresting career.
 
 172 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 From this position she was very soon raised, taken 
 into Devonport, and recommissioned at the end of 
 April. Thus, having sunk a submarine and herself 
 being sunk, she returned to the same kind of work, 
 and actually succeeded in sinking another submarine 
 on the night of November 8-9, 1918, this being the 
 last to be destroyed before Armistice. The incident 
 occurred in the ^lediterranean and the submarine was 
 U 34. Truly a remarkable career for such a small 
 steamer, but a great tribute to all those brains and 
 hands who in the first instance fitted her out, fought 
 in her, got her into Plymouth Sound, salved her, 
 fitted her out again, took her to sea, and undauntedly 
 vanquished the enemy once more ! In the whole 
 realm of naval history there are not many ships that 
 can claim such a record against an enemy. 
 
 Another trying incident was that which occurred 
 to the 1,295-ton steamer Mavis (alias Q 26 and 
 Nyroca), armed with a 4-inch and two 12-pounders. 
 This vessel had been fitted out at Devonport, her 
 Merchant Service cranes being landed and replaced by 
 dummy derricks. The hatches to her holds were 
 plated over, access to the same being provided by 
 manholes. In order to give her the maximum 
 chance should she ever be torpedoed, she was bal- 
 lasted with closely packed firewood ; and only those 
 who have seen torpedoed ships carrying a cargo of 
 timber can realize for what a long time such an 
 apparently sinking ship will keep afloat, though 
 necessarily deep in the water. I remember, during 
 the war, the case of a steamer torpedoed off Brow 
 Head (south-west Ireland) after she had just arrived 
 from across the Atlantic. She was deserted by her 
 crew, the sea was over the floors of her upper-deck 
 cabins, and she was obviously a brute to steer in such
 
 SHIPS AND ADVENTURES 173 
 
 an unseaworthy condition, but with great difficulty 
 and some patience we managed to tow her into port, 
 where, owing to her sinking condition, she drew so 
 much water that she tou(;hed the ground every low 
 tide. But she was salved and eventually patched up. 
 It was her timber cargo which had kept her afloat 
 just long enough, and inasmuch as ship and freight 
 were worth no less than £250,000, this was more 
 than worth while. So it was with 3Iavis. 
 
 On the last day of May, 1917, under command of 
 Commander Adrian Keyes, R.N., this Q-ship had left 
 Devonport to cruise in the Atlantic. At 6.45 a.m. 
 on June 2 she sighted a ship's lifeboat coming along 
 under sail and found it contained three men who 
 were in a very exhausted condition. These were the 
 survivors from the Greek S.S. N. Hadzialm, which 
 had been torpedoed and sunk a little further to the 
 westward. This torpedoing had occurred in a heavy 
 sea, and in lowering away the boats, one of them had 
 been smashed and the other swamped. The captain 
 and twenty-two men had clung to the wreckage when 
 the German submarine broke surface, approached, 
 but made no attempt at rescue, and then went 
 away. For forty-eight hours these wretched men 
 kept more or less alive in the water and then gradu- 
 ally dropped off one by one until only three remained. 
 These then managed to patch one boat, upright her, 
 bale her out, and make sail. They had been sailing 
 for ten hours during the night when they had the 
 good luck to be picked up by Mavis, having been 
 fifty- eight hours without food or water. 
 
 Having rescued them. Mavis continued on her 
 western course, but after dark turned east, setting a 
 course to pass 10 miles south of the Lizard. During 
 the following day she passed through considerable
 
 174 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 wreckage. At 9.45 p.m. she was 20 miles south of the 
 Wolf Rock when a torpedo was seen to break surface 
 40 yards from the ship on the starboard beam. It 
 struck 3Iavis abreast of the engine-room and pene- 
 trated the side, so that the ship stopped at once, and 
 both engine-room and boiler-room were flooded. It 
 was impossible to send out a wireless call, as the 
 emergency apparatus had been wrecked too, but three 
 rockets were flred and eventually the destroyer Chris- 
 toplier came up, followed later by the trawler JV/iite- 
 friars and several tugs. Then began the difficult 
 and slow process of towing, and they got her just 
 inside Plymouth Sound, but by this time she was in 
 such a crank condition that it was feared she might 
 capsize, so they managed to beach her in Cawsand 
 Bay on the west side of the Sound. It was her ballast 
 of firewood that had saved her from total loss, and for 
 this both British and Greeks must have felt more 
 than thankful. 
 
 Another incident, which well illustrates the risks 
 run by these Q-ships, is now to be related. Among 
 those officers who had retired from the Service and 
 come back after the outbreak of war was Commander 
 W. O'G. Cochrane, R.N., who for part of the war 
 was captain of one of the sloops off the south of 
 Ireland. In the spring of 1917 1 well remember the 
 very excellent sport we had in company, but in 
 separate ships, exploring and destroying the mine- 
 fields laid by the enemy submarines right along the 
 whole south coast from Cape Clear to the Old Head 
 of Kinsale. At the beginning of tlie following 
 November, Commander Cochrane left Devonport in 
 command of the Q-sliip C(indi)fuft, together with 
 a convoy of merchant ships bound for Gibraltar. 
 Candfjfyft was disguised to represent a tramp steamer.
 
 Q-SHip " Candytuft " 
 
 beached on the North African coast. 
 
 To face i>. 174
 
 SHIPS AND ADVENTURES 175 
 
 and on the eighth, when in the vicinity of Cape 
 St. Vincent, had an encounter with a submarine, in 
 which the usual tactics were employed. One of the 
 enemy's shells struck the Q-ship's bridge, exploding 
 under the bunk in Captain Cochrane's cabin, wrecking 
 the wireless and steering-gear. Candytvft was able 
 to fire three shots, but the enemy disappeared, made 
 off, and was never seen by the Q-ship again. 
 
 After having been repaired at Gibraltar, Candyhift 
 left in company with the merchant ship Tremayne for 
 Malta. This was on November IG. Two days later 
 they were off Cap Sigli, when a torpedo crossed 
 Tremayne s bows, but struck Candytuft on the star- 
 board quarter, entirely blowing off the ship's stern 
 and killing all the officers excepting Captain 
 Cochrane and Lieutenant Phillips, R.N.R., who 
 was on the bridge, but very badly wounding 
 Lieutenant Errington, R.N.R. 
 
 With sound judgment and true unselfishness 
 Captain Cochrane now ordered Tremayne to make 
 for Bougie as fast as she could, and in the meantime 
 the Q-ship hoisted her foresail to assist the ship to 
 drift inshore. Most of the ship's company were sent 
 away in boats, only sufficient being kept aboard to 
 man the two 4-inch guns, and everyone kept out of 
 sight. W^'ithin half an hour a periscope was seen 
 by Captain Cochrane, concealed behind the bridge 
 screens. A periscope is a poor target, but it was 
 fired at, though ineffectually. On came the torpedo, 
 striking Candytuft just foreward of the bridge, com- 
 pletely wrecking the fore part of the ship. This 
 explosion wounded several men in a boat, covered 
 the bridge with coal barrows and other miscellaneous 
 wreckage, blew a leading-seaman overboard — happily 
 he was picked up unhurt— blew Captain Cochrane up
 
 176 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 also, but some of the falling wreckage struck him on 
 the head, knocked him back inboard, and left him 
 staggering off the bridge. 
 
 Presently the ship gave a sudden jerk, and rid her- 
 self of her bow, which now floated away and sank. 
 Candytuft drifted towards the African shore, and 
 after the captain and one of his crew had gallantly 
 closed the watertight door at the foreward end of the 
 mess-deck, up to their middles in water and working 
 in almost complete darkness, with tables and other 
 articles washing about, it became time for these last 
 two to leave the ship. They were taken off by a 
 French armed trawler and landed at Bougie. 
 Candytuft, minus bow and stern, drifted ashore on to 
 a sandy beach, and eventually the two 4-inch guns 
 wTre salved. Lieutenant Errington had died before 
 reaching land, and the wounded had to be left in 
 hospital. But afterwards some of Candytuft's crew 
 went to sea in another Q-ship, and so the whole 
 gallant story went on. Ships may be torpedoed, 
 but, like the soldiers, sailors never die. They keep 
 on ' keeping on ' all the time, as a young seaman once 
 was heard to remark.
 
 Q-sHiP "Candytuft" 
 
 This shows some of the damage done by the enemy submarine's torpedo. She is 
 Iving beached and one of tlic guns is l)eing salved and lowered down the side. 
 
 To face p. 170
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 MORE SAILING-SHIP FIGHTS 
 
 If, in accordance with the deUghtful legend, Drake 
 during the recent war had heard the beating of his 
 drum and had * quit the port o' Heaven,' come back 
 to Hfe again in the service of his Sovereign and 
 country, he would assuredly have gone to sea in 
 command of a Q-sailing-ship. His would have been 
 the Victoria Cross and D.S.O. with bars, and we can 
 see him bringing his much battered ship into Ply- 
 mouth Sound as did his spiritual descendants in the 
 Great War. And yet, with all the halo of his name, 
 it is impossible to imagine that, great seaman as he 
 was, his deeds would be more valiant than those we 
 are now recording. 
 
 If we had, so to speak, put the clock back by the 
 re-introduction of the fighting sailing ship, it was 
 an anachronism that was well justified by results. 
 More of these craft and various rigs were still being 
 taken up. In the spring of 1917 the topsail schooner 
 Dargle was requisitioned, fitted out at Granton with 
 a 4-inch and two 12-pounders, and then sent to 
 Lerwick, whence she operated. Similarly the ketch 
 Geo?'ge L. Mui?- (alias G. L. Munro, G.L.3I., and 
 Padre), which was accustomed to trade between Kirk- 
 wall and the Firth of Forth, was chartered and armed 
 with a 12-pounder. 
 
 On April 22,1917, the 174-ton auxiliary barquentine 
 
 177 12
 
 178 Q SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 Gaelic {otherwise known as Biig 11, Gobo, and 
 Q 22), which had been taken up at the end of 1916, 
 and was armed with a couple of 12-pounders, had a 
 very plucky fight. She had left Falmouth on the 
 nineteenth under the command of Lieutenant G. 
 Irvine, R.N.R., and at 6.30 p.m. was now 48 miles 
 south of the Old Head of Kinsale, steering S.E. under 
 all fore-and-aft sail. It was a fine, clear day, the sea 
 was calm, there was little wind, but the ship was 
 making about 2 knots under sail and starboard motor. 
 It was a quiet Sunday evening : one of those gentle 
 spring days which came gladly to the Irish coast after 
 the long nights and continuous gales of the dark 
 w^inter. The watch, consisting of four men, were all 
 aloft getting in the square sails, when one of them 
 hailed the deck that he could see a submarine about 
 four points on the starboard bow. She was distant 
 about 5,000 yards to the southward and steering to 
 the N.W. at slow speed. 
 
 Hands were called down from aloft immediately, 
 and action stations sounded on the alarm gong. The 
 enemy began the tactics of keeping well away from 
 the ship and firing shell after shell, of which six hit 
 the Gaelic, killing two of the deckhands and wound- 
 ing four, besides putting the port motor out of action 
 and seriously damaging the rigging. For a time both 
 vessels maintained their respective courses, and when 
 the enemy was bearing a couple of points abaft Gaelics 
 starboard beam, tlie sailing ship unmasked her guns 
 and opened fire. It was now 6.50; the enemy had 
 already fired twenty rounds, but as soon as the attack 
 was returned he altered course and despatched a tor- 
 pedo at 4,000 yards. Tliis luckily Gaelic was able 
 to avoid in time by starboarding her helm so that the 
 torpedo missed by about 150 yards, passing parallel
 
 MORE SAITJNG-SHIP FIGHTS 179 
 
 along the starboard side. Gaelic s forward gun had 
 now fired three shots, but her fourth hit the submarine. 
 By a piece of bad hick, soon after this, the firing pin 
 of the port forward gun broke and the gun was tem- 
 porarily out of action, so Gaelic had to be brought 
 round until the starboard guns would bear. Thus 
 the fight went on until 7.20 p.m., when the enemy 
 came round inider port helm and started to move 
 slowly away to the S. W., still firing. Another trouble 
 now occurred in the barquentine. One of the shells 
 had caused the fresh-water tank on deck to leak. 
 This water then came through a hole in the deck on 
 to the starboard engine, putting it out of action, and 
 so with both engines useless and no wind the unfor- 
 tunate Gaelic could not be manoeuvred, though the 
 guns continued to bear. Firing was maintained and 
 two more hits were scored on the German target. 
 About eight o'clock the submarine ceased fire, ported 
 his helm, headed towards the barquentine, and ten 
 minutes later, the range being still 4,000 yards, Gaelic 
 hit him again. This was the end of the action, each 
 craft having fired about 110 rounds. It seems pretty 
 certain that though the submarine was not sunk she 
 was badly knocked about, for she broke off the 
 engagement and dived. A hand was sent aloft who 
 reported that he could distinctly see the submarine 
 below making to the south-east. Gaelic did her best 
 to follow, but by this time darkness was rapidly 
 setting in, so with both motors useless, sails and 
 rigging also in a dreadful condition, she set a course 
 for the Old Head of Kinsale, and at daybreak, when 
 10 miles short of that landfall, was picked up by 
 H.M. sloop Bluebell and towed into Queenstown. 
 She was then refitted and eventually went out to the 
 Mediterranean, being based on Gibraltar.
 
 180 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 Allusion has been made in another chapter to the 
 auxiliary schooner Glen (alias Sidney and Afhos), 
 which began her special service on April 5, 1917, 
 under Lieutenant R. J. TurnbuU, R.N.R. On 
 May 17 she had a most successful duel, in which she 
 managed to sink the small UB 39, one of those 
 submarines about 121 feet long, and possessing 
 extreme surface speed of 8j knots, which, armed 
 with one gun and four torpedoes, used to come out 
 from Zeebrugge, negotiate the Dover Straits — for 
 which she was fitted with a net-cutter at the bows — 
 and then operate in the English Channel. The enemy's 
 gun was a 22-pounder ; Gle?i carried a 12-pounder 
 and a 3-pounder. It was six o'clock in the evening, 
 and Gle7i was about 35 miles south of the Needles, 
 steering north-east, close hauled on the starboard 
 tack, the wind being E. by S., force 4. There was a 
 moderate sea on, and the ship was bowling along 
 under all sail. Suddenly out of nowhere a shot was 
 heard, and five minutes later could be seen the flash 
 of a second, and UB 39 was sighted to the south- 
 ward, 27^ miles away. Glen therefore backed her 
 fore-yard, and eased away all sheets, so as to check 
 her way. The submarine then ceased firing, but her 
 captain must have been one of those less experienced 
 men, who were characteristic of the later stages of 
 the war, and did foolish things ; for he was indis- 
 creet enough in this case to close schooner, who then 
 'abandoned ship.' On came the German and sub- 
 merged when 800 yards off* until only her periscope 
 and part of her bridge dodger were showing. Still 
 she approached until now she was only 200 yards 
 distant, steering a course parallel with the schooner 
 on the latter's starboard side. All this happened so 
 quickly that the ' panic party ' were just leaving the
 
 MORE SAILING-SHIP FIGHTS 181 
 
 ship, when UB 39 rose to the surface just abaft the 
 schooner's beam, and now only 80 yards off. For 
 such temerity the German, who must have been 
 amazingly credulous, paid with his life. I^ieutenant 
 Turnbull gave the order for ' action,' and within five 
 seconds the first shot from the 12-pounder was fired, 
 which fell over the submarine abaft the conning- 
 tower. The enemy was evidently quite surprised, 
 for the hatch in the conning-tower was now opened, 
 and there appeared the head and shoulders of a man 
 who seemed dazed, and as the second 12-pounder 
 shell came bursting on the hull under the conning- 
 tower this man apparently fell back down the hatch. 
 
 The submarine now commenced to dive, and as 
 the stern rose out of the water the third and fourth 
 shots from the same gun burst on the after part of 
 the hull in the middle line, the holes made by these 
 three shots being plainly visible to those in the 
 schooner. The 3-pounder had also come into action, 
 and out of six rounds the second shot had hit the 
 hull on the water-line forward of the conning-tower, 
 the third had hit her on the water-line under the 
 gun, the fourth and fifth bursting on the after part of 
 the liull just as she was sinking, and the sixth burst- 
 ing on the water as her stern disappeared. Badly 
 holed, leaking from all these holes, UB 39 listed over 
 to port towards the schooner, vanished from sight 
 for evermore, and then a large quantity of oil 
 and bubbles came to the surface. There were no 
 survivors. 
 
 Having definitely disposed of the enemy, it would 
 be reasonable for the crew of the Glen to feel elated ; 
 but just as UB 39 was finally disappearing, another 
 submarine was seen approaching about 4,000 yards off 
 on the starboard bow. Glen opened fire and the enemy
 
 182 Q SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 submerged, only to reappear about 600 yards away 
 on the port bow. Glen fired once more, and next 
 time the submarine appeared a few minutes later on 
 the port quarter 1,000 yards oiF. This was happen- 
 ing while the ' panic party ' were being got on board 
 again, and thus there was every risk of being tor- 
 pedoed ; but Glen then proceeded on a northerly 
 course under sail and motor, and at 7.30 p.m. a very 
 large submarine was observed 2 miles away on the 
 starboard beam, heading in about the same direction. 
 After ten minutes this submarine opened fire, then 
 turned to pass astern, and continued firing with both 
 her guns, which Glen answered with both of hers. 
 About 8 p.m. the duel ceased ; the enemy disappeared 
 to the west on the look-out evidently for a less 
 obstinate ship. If you examine the positions on the 
 chart you will realize that the enemy submarines 
 were evidently concentrated in mid- Channel in order 
 to entrap shipping coming up and down and across 
 the English Channel. They were so placed as to cut 
 the lines of communication to Cherbourg and at the 
 same time have a good chance of bagging some liner 
 bound up along. 
 
 This concentration at important centres was 
 noticeable during the submarine campaign ; in fact, 
 but a few weeks later Glen was again engaged with an 
 enemy in the same vicinity. This was on June 25, 
 the exact position was 14 miles S. by W. of St. 
 Catherine's l*oint, and the schooner was sailing close 
 hauled on the starboard tack, heading S.^V. by S., 
 doing her 2 knots, wlien she sighted a vessel 
 apparently under sail on her jiort quarter 4 miles 
 distant. Presently this vessel fired at her, the shot 
 falling 1,000 yards short. This, of course, was a 
 submarine, and it was a not unusual thing to attempt
 
 MORE SAILING-SHIP FIGHTS 183 
 
 disguise by this means ; for obviously a low-lying 
 craft on the surface viewed from a distance would 
 create suspicion. But, parenthetically, it may be 
 mentioned that this sail device was not always carried 
 out with common sense, and I remember on one 
 occasion a submarine giving himself hopelessly away 
 by motoring at good speed in the eye of the wind 
 with his sail of course shaking wildly. Such an 
 unseamanlike act was at once spotted by the nearest 
 patrol, and the submarine had to dive so hurriedly 
 that she left the sail on the water. 
 
 In the case of Glen the recognition was obvious as 
 soon as the first shot was fired. Several minutes 
 later came another, which fell only 60 yards short, 
 so Glen hove-to and ' abandoned ' ship, the enemy 
 continuing to fire every few minutes, but the shots 
 fell just over. Her seventh and eighth shots fell 
 much closer, in fact so near that their splash flooded 
 the schooner's deck, and shell splinters struck the 
 sails and bulwarks. Glen then opened fire with both 
 guns, but this was a more cautious submarine, who 
 declined to approach nearer than 4,000 yards, fired 
 three more rounds, then submerged and made off*. 
 
 The activity of the submarines during this week 
 in the neighbourhood of Portland Bill was most 
 noticeable. Submarines were also stationed in the 
 western approaches of the English Channel. The 
 reason for this is not hard to appreciate, for it was on 
 June 26, the day after the above engagement, that 
 the first contingent of U.S.A. troops landed in 
 France on the western coast. Whether the trans- 
 ports would be bound up Channel to Cherbourg or 
 Southampton, the enemy submarines were lying in 
 wait ready for them. And it is significant that also 
 on June 26 the Q-sailing-ship Gaelic sighted a sub-
 
 184 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 marine at the western entrance of the English 
 Channel and had a short duel with her. 
 
 On July 2 Gaelic had another indecisive duel, and 
 on the tenth Glen (now commanded by Sub- Lieu- 
 tenant K. JNlorris, R.N.R.) once more was in action. 
 This time she was further down Channel, about 
 45 miles S.W. of Portland Bill. In this incident 
 the enemy fired several rifle-shots at the panic party 
 rowing in the boat. An officer appeared at the 
 conning-tower presently, hailed this rowing boat, 
 and in good English ordered her to come alongside. 
 The boat began to do so, but just then something 
 seemed suddenly to startle the officer, and he dis- 
 appeared into the conning-tower. Glen opened fire, 
 and the submarine — one of the UC type — submerged. 
 She was not sunk, but she had been damaged, and 
 Sub-Lieutenant Morris was awarded the D.S.C. 
 
 We saw just now that submarines were very fond 
 of hanging about on the approach to Cherbourg. 
 There was a sound reason for this. The coal-fields 
 of France were in the hands of the enemy, conse- 
 quently it fell to us to keep France supplied. From 
 February, 1917, a system was organized which was 
 the real beginning of the convoy method soon after- 
 wards adopted with such beneficial results to our 
 shipping. This embryonic organization was known 
 as the 'F.C.T.'— French Coal-Trade Traffic. The 
 ships would load coal up the Bristol Channel and 
 then sail independently round to Weymouth Bay. 
 Having thus collected, they were sailed across to 
 Cherbourg together in a group, protection being 
 afforded by trawlers during daylight and moonlight 
 hours only. As one looked at this heterogeneous 
 collection of craft, some of them of great age, lying 
 at anchor off' Weymouth Harbour, they seemed dis-
 
 MORE SAILING SHIP FIGHTS 185 
 
 tinctly a curious lot ; but there was a great dearth 
 of shipping at that time, and any old vessel that 
 could carry coal and go ahead was worth her weight 
 in gold. The system was found most successful, 
 and other group saihngs on definite routes, such as 
 Falmouth- Brest and Dover-Dunkirk, were instituted. 
 
 The next development was to have one or two 
 Q-ships among the convoys, for the most obvious of 
 reasons, and especially well astern of the convoy, so 
 that the enemy might take them for stragglers and 
 sink them before any of the escort could turn back 
 and help. Then came a still further development, 
 which had been in the minds of many naval officers 
 for a long time. Since there was such a scarcity of 
 tonnage available for general purposes, why not let 
 the Q-ship, instead of carrying ballast, be loaded 
 with a proper cargo ? She could easily carry this 
 without interfering with her fighting ability : in fact, 
 she would be trimmed more normally, and rather 
 increase than decrease her power of deception. As 
 to the possibility of secrecy being lost whilst loading 
 in port, the armament was very cleverly concealed and 
 only a little organization was necessary to prevent 
 her true character being bruited about. The main 
 difficulty would be when in the presence of neutral 
 shipping in that particular harbour, but this problem 
 was capable of solution. 
 
 Thus it happened now that in many cases the 
 Q-ship became also a trader. Be it noted, her 
 character was not that of an armed merchant ship 
 which is armed only defensively, but a properly 
 commissioned warship carrying cargo as well as her 
 offensive armament. Now, one of these craft was the 
 two-masted 179-ton brigantine Prohus (alias Q 30, 
 Ready, Tfiirza, Elixir). She had been purchased by
 
 186 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 the Admiralty in 1915, and fitted with an auxiHary 
 motor. Then, based on Granton, she had worked 
 as a decoy in the North Sea. 
 
 In JNIay, 1917, having done excellent work as a 
 pure decoy, we find her as a decoy-trader. Having 
 loaded up with coal at Granton, she left there on 
 JMay 4, and duly arrived at Treguier. From there 
 she proceeded to Swansea with a cargo of pit-props, 
 which were much needed by the Welsh coal mines, 
 seeing that our customary supply from Scandinavia, 
 via the North Sea, was so endangered at that time. 
 From Swansea Probus, who was armed with two 
 12-pounders and two 6-pounders, sailed round to 
 Falmouth, and at 3.30 on the afternoon of June 20 
 she set sail for JNIorlaix in company with twelve 
 sailing ships and the one steamship escort, the armed 
 trawler Hcuiech, Castle. Think of it in these modern 
 days : a dozen sailing vessels coming out past St. 
 Anthony's Lighthouse ! Truly this war has shown 
 how history goes on repeating itself. Who would 
 have thought that sailing-ship convoys, which in 
 other wars used to assemble and leave Falmouth, 
 would ever be witnessed again ? 
 
 Now, to control a dozen sail you must have sea- 
 room, so the convoy was arranged thus : A mile 
 ahead of the first sailing ship steamed the trawler, 
 tlien came the twelve ships spread over 3 miles, and 
 then \ miles astern of the last ship, and looking just 
 as a straggler would be, sailed the Probus. There 
 was thus a distance of 8 miles between her and the 
 escort trawler. JMost of a day passed before anything 
 occurred. At 2.15 p.m. on .luuc 21 Probus, still 
 astern of tlie convoy, was about 23 miles south-west 
 of the Start and iieading on a course S.E. by S. The 
 wind was S.W., force 3, and she was doing about
 
 MORE SAILING-SHIP FIGHTS 187 
 
 4 knots through the water, when she observed what 
 appeared to be a keteh-rigged vessel, steering the 
 same course, 4 miles away on the starboard quarter ; 
 but from the rapidity with which the bearing altered, 
 it was soon obvious that the ketch was not qnder 
 sail alone. At 2.30 p.m. the 'ketch' proved her 
 submarine identity by opening fire, tlie first shot 
 falling 10 yards clear of the brigantine's beam. 
 Probus then hove-to, the crew went to action stations, 
 and the boat was got ready to be launched, while 
 tlie submarine kept up a rapid fire from about 4,000 
 yards, shells falling unpleasantly close. By now 
 Probus was heading about S.W. with fore-yards 
 aback, and, owing to the light wind, was making a 
 stern board. Then her head fell round slowly to the 
 west. The enemy was now bearing about W. to 
 W.S.W., firing rapidly, and heading to the south- 
 east so as to cross the brigantine's bows. It was a 
 beautifully clear summer's afternoon, and you could 
 see the convoy and the smoke from the escorting 
 trawler quite easily. After the submarine had main- 
 tained a continuous long-range fire for ten minutes, 
 Probus ran up the \'\'hite Ensign, and at 3,500 yards 
 opened fire with her starboard 12-pounder. The first 
 round fell 500 yards short, but the crew of the sub- 
 marine's gun hurriedly left their station and made 
 for the conning-tower. The second sliot seemed to 
 be a hit, for the enemy, lying across the brigantine's 
 bows, stopped, and a large cloud of smoke went up, 
 and he temporarily ceased fire. 
 
 Probus then went about on the other tack, and the 
 enemy took advantage of this to resume firing, while 
 shots began to fall all round ; but the port 12-pounder 
 of the British ship now came into action, and the 
 fourth shot was certainly another liit, for it dismantled
 
 188 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 the German's sails and mast, and raised a cloud of 
 smoke from the fore part of the conning-tower. 
 Shelling continued, and the enemy was compelled to 
 submerge, Pj^obus's parting shot hitting him on the 
 top of the conning-tower. It was now about 3.30 p.m., 
 and nothing was seen of the German until a quarter 
 of an hour later, when he was sighted 6 miles away 
 approaching Pi^obus. He had probably been stopping 
 his shell-holes, and was now ready to give the sailing 
 ship the knock-out blow ; but the armed trawler, with 
 its fishermen crew eager to have a hand in the fight, 
 was by this time making towards the submarine, and 
 this compelled the German to break off the engage- 
 ment and scurry to the north-east. 
 
 Unfortunately this duel demonstrated yet again the 
 great weakness of the sailing ship as a man-of-war. 
 In the olden days, when the swift-moving galley 
 fought the sailing carrack or caravel, the galley was 
 able to press home her attack if the weather fell light, 
 and left the other ship rolling helpless in the calm, 
 with yards and tackle grievously creaking and chafing. 
 The submarine is the modern galley, and the Q-sailing- 
 ship is the carrack's counterpart. As long as there 
 was a good breeze she could be mancjeuvred, and if 
 there was a hard breeze it would make it difficult 
 for the enemy's gunnery. Probiis was practically 
 becalmed, so the submarine could run rings round 
 her, and the sailing ship could not be worked up to 
 windward. Of course, on these and similar occasions 
 troubles seldom come singly ; for when the brigantine 
 Probiis made a stern board her starboard propeller 
 had fouled the log-line, so this was out of action. 
 However, Probii.s resumed her original course, fol- 
 lowed the convoy, and in spite of the light airs duly 
 arrived at Morlaix on June 25.
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 r 
 
 ). 
 
 
 
 ( 
 
 
 i. 
 
 
 -s^*^ I'"''- '■ 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 L.^ i 
 
 
 
 '■ \ i \ 
 
 
 B|2^^2J|K 
 
 n^, 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 Q-SAiLiNG SHIP "Fresh Hope" 
 
 This was a 900-ton three-masted schooner which was requisitioned in the last 
 year of the war. She liad previously been the United States " Edith E. 
 
 Cummins." 
 
 Q-SHip "Record Eeign" 
 
 This apparently peaceful ketch was one of those armed mystery sailing 
 which came into service during the last year of the war. 
 
 ships 
 
 To f.icu p. ISS
 
 MORE SAILING-SHIP FIGHTS 189 
 
 Although the submarine escaped, Probus had 
 succeeded in luring him from the convoy, and had 
 sent him right away. These sailing Q-ships became, in 
 fact, one of the best types of escort for other sailing 
 vessels in convoy, and thus allowed armed steam 
 patrol vessels to be employed elsewhere. Looking in 
 no way different from the rest of the convoy, but 
 fitted with concealed wireless and, later, even with 
 howitzer armament, they had a much better chance 
 than the armed trawler or destroyer of enticing the 
 submarine. Apart altogether from these important 
 considerations, the scheme of carrying freights was a 
 big financial success, and Probus paid for herself over 
 and over again. It was nothing unusual for her to 
 earn over £l,000 a month. Naturally enough, then, 
 we find other sailing ships being taken up for this dual 
 work. In November, 1917, the 900-ton three-masted 
 fore-and-aft schooner Fresh Hope, lying at Granton, 
 was requisitioned. She had formerly been the United 
 States' Edith E. Cummins, and in a fresh breeze could 
 log her 12 knots. Known also as the Iroquois, she 
 was fitted out and commissioned by the first week of 
 April, 1918, and served until the Armistice. Other 
 sailing vessels were thus commissioned in 1918, 
 specially selected as being able to carry each at least 
 one 4-inch and two 12-pounders, and to be fitted with 
 auxiliary engines. These were the Rentoul, Imogene, 
 Viola, Cymric, and Elizabeth. They were actually 
 armed with a 7'5-inch howitzer, in addition to the 
 three guns just mentioned. Imogene was a barquen- 
 tine, and had been carrying china clay fi'om Fowey to 
 St. Malo. Rentoul was also a barquentine, Viola was 
 a schooner ; Cynwic was a three-masted schooner. 
 
 By the end of September there were no fewer than 
 nineteen decoy ships which had been fitted out in the
 
 190 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 one port of Granton, and nine of these were sailing 
 ships. It will therefore be of interest to show how 
 in this month such vessels were being employed in 
 their double capacity of warship plus freighter. The 
 barquentine 3Icrops was discharging a cargo at 
 Runcorn preparatory to loading coal for Cherbourg. 
 The topsail schooner I)a?'gle was discharging a 
 cargo at Lerwick, and then loading herrings for 
 Farnborough. The Fresh Hope was about to leave 
 Liverpool for Belfast, Avhere she would load with cork 
 ballast for Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Baron Rose, 
 another 900-ton schooner, was about to leave 
 Newcastle with cork ballast for Halifax also. The 
 barquentine Ben foul was on her way with coal to 
 Cherbourg, the barquentine Imogene was on her way 
 with coal for Lerwick. The topsail schooner Viola 
 (alias Vereker) left Granton with coal for St. ^^alery- 
 en-Caux. The iron schooner Cipnric was taking coal 
 from Granton to Cherbourg. Another three-masted 
 schooner was carrying coal from Granton to St. 
 Valery-en-Caux. In addition, there were a dozen 
 steam craft from this same port acting as Q-ships. 
 In another part of the British Isles our old friend 
 Helgoland had yet another fight with a submarine. 
 This was on July 11, 1917, in tlie neighbourhood of 
 the Scillies, and this was another occasion when two 
 sliips with sails shelled each other, but unfortunately 
 it was another of those calm days, and hazy. At the 
 outset tlie enemy's shells passed over the Helgoland's 
 fore-t'gallant yard as the latter was just drifting with 
 the tide. Then the motors were started, and at 
 .500 yards both guns and tlie I^ewis guns gave the 
 submarine a warm time, so that she was seriously 
 damaged and had to escape by submerging. 
 
 Thus, all round our coasts, in the North Sea, Eng-
 
 Q-SAILING SHIP "EeNTOUL" 
 
 This barijneiitine was commissioned as a Q-ship in March, 191H, was well armed, 
 but was also employed simultaneously in carrying coal to France. 
 
 (^)-SAILIN(i Sini' •' IJhM nUL ' 
 
 The crew of the -l-inch frmi. 
 
 To face p. 100
 
 MORE SAILING-SHIP FIGHTS 191 
 
 lish Channel, Irish Sea, and Atlantic : from as far 
 north as the Orkneys and Shetlands to as far south as 
 the Bay of Biscay, and as far west as the coast of 
 North America, these Q-saih"ng-ships were doing 
 their job of work. The fitting out, the manning of 
 these craft and of their guns, put a great strain on 
 our manhood, ah-eady greatly diminished by the 
 demands of our Armies abroad and munition makers 
 at home. Nor could the Navy proper and the 
 Auxiliary Patrol Force afford to be weakened. On 
 the contrary, destroyers and light cruisers were being 
 built and commissioned at a rapid rate : whilst more 
 minesweepers, more trawlers and drifters, were daily 
 consuming scores of men. Add to this the fact that 
 other men as gunners were required in great numbers 
 — for practically every British merchant ship became 
 defensively armed — and one can see how important to 
 our island nation and the overseas Empire is the 
 existence of peace-time shipping, with all that it 
 connotes — steamships, liners, tramps, colliers, traw- 
 lers, drifters, yachts, fishing smacks, it does not 
 matter. From all these, and from the few full-rigged 
 ships and sailing coasters, we had to draw our supplies 
 of personnel, and it still takes longer to train a man 
 into a sailor than into a military unit. 
 
 Never before, not even in Armada days, and prob- 
 ably never again, could such a call come from the fleet 
 in being to the fleet of merchantmen. The sailing ship 
 has had many centuries of usefulness as a fighting 
 sliip and a cargo carrier, and if she is being gradually 
 killed by the mechanical ship she is dying hard. 
 Apparently in neither capacity has she quite finished 
 her fascinating and illustrious history.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE SUMMIT OF Q-SHIP SERVICE 
 
 It was on February 17, 1917, that Commander Gordon 
 Campbell, still in command of Farnborough, now 
 named Q o, again sank a submarine, but in circum- 
 stances which, hid from publication at the time, sent a 
 thrill through the British Navy and especially among 
 those who had the good fortune to be serving in that 
 area. The scene was again off the south-west Irish 
 coast, and the enemy at the beginning of the month 
 had commenced the unrestricted warfare portion of 
 their submarine campaign. The Germans, as we 
 have since learned, possessed at this date ninety-five 
 submarines in addition to eight in the Baltic and 
 thirty-one in the ISIediterranean. The orders to their 
 submarine captains were very drastic and left no un- 
 certainty, and one of these commanding officers 
 informed one of my friends after the war that unless 
 they were successful in sinking plenty of shipping 
 they soon were removed from their command. 
 
 Every Allied merchant ship was to be attacked 
 without delay. ' This form of warfare is to force 
 England to make peace and thereby to decide the 
 whole war. Energetic action is required, but above all 
 rapidity of action.' ' Our object is to cut England off 
 from traffic by sea, and not to achieve occasional 
 results at far-distant points. As far as possible, there- 
 fore, stations must be taken up near the English 
 
 192
 
 is " a) i; 
 
 O O — 
 
 O OJ 
 < '-2 a» 
 
 - — a p 
 
 i. * il 2 
 
 
 s. ^ cs i « 
 
 J; :: O = ■? 
 
 3 3 — 

 
 THE SUMMIT OF Q-SHIP SERVICE 193 
 
 coast, where routes converge and where divergence 
 becomes impossible.' If ever there was a chance of 
 attacking by night, this was to be done. When a 
 ship had been abandoned by her crew the submarine 
 was to sink her by gunfire, and approach the ship from 
 aft. Owing to the activity of the British Q-ships, 
 every ship, even saiHng vessels, should be suspected, 
 and both captain and engineer of merchant ships were 
 to be taken prisoners. 
 
 Of the above numbers of submarines available this 
 month not less than twenty-five and not more than 
 forty-four could actually be at work on any given 
 date, for the reasons given in another chapter. The 
 first stages of this unrestricted warfare were most 
 marked, for whereas the number of merchant ships 
 sunk by submarines in all waters during December 
 and January had been respectively thirty-six and 
 thirty-five, in February the total suddenly rose to 
 eighty-six — these sinkings occurring in the western 
 approaches, especially off the south coast of Ireland. 
 On February 14 the sailing ship Eudora (1,991 tons) 
 had been sunk 30 miles S.S.W. of the Fastnet, and 
 three days later the S.S. lolo 40 miles S. by W. of the 
 Fastnet, so orders from Germany were being carried 
 out to the letter. The seventeenth of February was 
 the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, and Captain 
 Campbell had taken Farnborougk into the locality 
 just mentioned, the exact position being Lat. 51.34 N., 
 Long. 11.23 W. It was a quarter to ten in the fore- 
 noon and the steamer was steering an easterly course 
 at 7 knots, when a torpedo was seen approaching. 
 And then occurred a supreme instance of Q-ship 
 bravery. In his Order Book Captain Campbell had 
 laid it down that ' Should the Officer of the Watch 
 see a torpedo coming, he is to increase or decrease 
 
 IS
 
 194 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 speed as necessary to ensure it hitting.' This order 
 was read and signed by all his officers, so that there 
 could be no misunderstanding. The intention was 
 deliberate, premeditated self-immolation for the 
 greater object of fooling the submarine and then 
 sinking him. The Q-ship's company had all been 
 warned that the intention would be thus, and every 
 man was given an opportunity to leave the ship before 
 sailing. Not one man left. Therefore to-day, when 
 a long way off the torpedo was seen approaching, it 
 could easily have been avoided, but instead, the helm 
 was put hard aport only at the last minute, and only 
 so that it should strike the ship elsewhere than in the 
 engine-room. On came the steel fish and struck the 
 ship abreast of No. 3 hold, wounding an Engineer 
 Sub-Lieutenant, R.N.R., causing a terrific explosion, 
 and making a huge hole in the ship's side. 
 
 In the meantime ' Action ' had been sounded and 
 all hands went to their stations, the ship being 
 abandoned by every available man with the exception 
 of those required on board. Thus two lifeboats and 
 one dinghy full of men were sent to row about, and 
 the fourth boat was partially lowered. Captain Camp- 
 bell was lying concealed at one end of the bridge, 
 watching and waiting in his great isolation. Up 
 through the voice-pipe came the chief engineer's 
 report that the engine-room was filling: back came 
 the captain's orders that he was to hang on as long as 
 possible and then hide. This was done. In the 
 meantime Farjiborovgh's captain saw the submarine 
 appear on the starboard quarter a couple of hundred 
 yards away, submerged, but cautiously making a 
 thorough scrutiny of the ship through his periscope. 
 Then the German — U 83 was her name — came past 
 tlie ship on the starboard side only 13 yards away and
 
 D3 > 
 
 6" •?,
 
 THE SUMMIT OF Q-SHIP SERVICE 195 
 
 about 5 yards from the boats. She was so close, in 
 fact, that Captain Campbell, looking down, could see 
 the whole shape of the submarine below the water 
 quite distinctly. 
 
 Here was the big crisis. Was this the psycho- 
 logical moment ? Was this the right time to make 
 the final gamble ? For Captain Campbell the 
 temptation to open fire was almost unbearable, yet 
 the opportunity was not yet : he must wait a little 
 longer and live minutes which were like days. The 
 submarine passed along, then close round Farn- 
 borougJis bows, finally breaking surface about 300 
 yards on the port bow. It was now five minutes 
 past ten and U 83 motoring along the surface came 
 past the port side, continuing the scrutiny with 
 less caution born of satisfaction. The concealed 
 figure on Farnborougli s bridge was waiting only 
 until all his guns would bear, and as soon as the 
 enemy thus bore came the great onslaught. It was 
 point-blank range, and the 6 -pounder opened the 
 battle, whose first shot hit the conning-tower and 
 beheaded the German captain. 
 
 The surprise had been instant and effective, for 
 the submarine never recovered from the shock, but 
 remained on the surface w^hilst Farnhorougli s guns 
 shattered the hull to pieces, the conning-tower being 
 continually hit, and some of the shells going clean 
 through. Over forty rounds had thus been fired, to 
 say nothing of the Maxim gun. U 83 was beaten, 
 finished, smashed : and she finally sank with her 
 conning-tower open and her crew pouring out. About 
 eight of her crew were seen in the water, and one of 
 FdrnborougJi s lifeboats went to their assistance and 
 was in time to pick up one officer and one man, and 
 then rowed back to the ship through sea thick with
 
 196 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 oil and blood and bubbles. U 83 was satisfactorily 
 disposed of, but what about the decoy ship herself? 
 It was now time to inspect her, and she was clearly in 
 a stricken state. The engine-room and boiler-rooms 
 and both Nos. 3 and 4 after holds were all filUng 
 
 S.— 1320 b, (Establi5he.1— May, 1900.) 
 (Revised — February, 1914.) 
 
 NAVAL SIGNAI.. 
 
 Q ^ 
 
 
 P.O. of Watch- 
 
 Passed by— yy ^ 
 
 ^d- V 
 
 //oo 
 
 as 
 
 /lZ&«>-Cy' 
 
 /it^^^k&CytCoM^ .,iAj~caAi^ '^f^o-^ '^' 
 
 M 1704/00. 
 Sla e/14 
 
 Fig. 13. — ' Farnborough's ' Farewell. 
 
 When Q 5 (Farnborongh) had succeeded in sinking U 83, but was herself in a 
 sinking condition and apparently doomed, Captain Campbell despatched 
 the above wireless signal to Vice- Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, Commander-in- 
 Chief, Queenstown. It was one of the most pathetic and dramatic messages 
 which ever flashed out of the Atlantic, but happily Q 5 was salved. 
 
 rapidly, and she was sinking by the stern : the end 
 could not be far away. Captain Campbell therefore 
 sent a wireless signal for assistance and placed nearly 
 all his hands in the boats, keeping only a few men on
 
 Q-SHip " Farnborough " 
 
 Brought safely into Beieliaven after her famous tight and beached in 
 Mill Cove, with a heavy list. 
 
 S.S. " LODORER ' 
 
 Having served magnificently as a warship under the names of •'Farnborough" 
 and Q-.j, and having been salved, this ship is here seen ready to be returned to 
 
 her owners. 
 
 To face i>. 11>M
 
 THE SUMMIT OF Q-SHIP SERVICE 197 
 
 board, and destroying all confidential books and 
 charts. His signal was picked up, and before noon a 
 British destroyer arrived, and as by this time Farn- 
 horougli was in a critical condition most of the crew 
 were transferred to her.* Presently H. M . sloop Butter- 
 cup steamed up, and as there seemed a chance of saving 
 the ship Captain Campbell with twelve officers and 
 men then went back on board his ship. She seemed 
 now to have settled to a definite position, and the 
 water, though rising, was gaining but slowly. 
 
 At length Buttercup got her in tow, but there is 
 nothing so hard to steer as a sinking ship, and the 
 tow parted. At 5 p.m. the sloop again got her in 
 tow, but it was a disappointing business with the 
 water steadily gaining below and the Atlantic swell 
 breaking over the after deck, and thus the ships went 
 on through the night. At 2 a.m. on the Sunday 
 Farnhorough suddenly took an alarming list and the 
 water gained rapidly, so the crew had to be ordered 
 into the boats once again. The sloop Laburnum^ 
 which had also arrived, was ordered to close her an 
 hour and a half later, but just as Captain Campbell 
 was walking aft off went one of the depth charges 
 with such an explosion that Buttercup, thinking it 
 was a submarine's torpedo, slipped her tow. After 
 remaining aboard Laburnu7n until daylight, Captain 
 Campbell went back to his ship, and then Laburnum 
 got her in tow. A course had been set for Bantry 
 Bay, and as she approached she was an amazing spec- 
 tacle, listing over to the extent of twenty degrees and 
 her stern nearly 8 feet under water. However, the 
 
 * Twelve officers and men were selected from a host of volunteers 
 to try and get the ship in tow. These were placed in a motor- 
 boat, whilst the Captain boarded the escort to arrange for towage 
 if possible.
 
 198 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 armed trawler Luneda and the tug Fhjhig Sportsman 
 had been sent out to her, and by their assistance she 
 was brought up the fjord and beached at INI ill Cove, 
 Berehaven, by half-past nine that Sunday night. 
 Next morning, and for long after, this very ordinary- 
 looking steamer lay among a number of other wounded 
 ships, a strange and impressive sight. Farnborougli 
 had fought botli submarine and adversity, and had won 
 both times : still, had it not been for sound seaman- 
 ship and her holds being packed with timber she 
 would never have been saved. 
 
 There was much work to be done and there were 
 too few salvage experts and men to cope with the 
 results of the submarines' attacks : so for the present 
 Farnborough had to reman idle. Months later she 
 was repaired temporarily, refloated, taken away from 
 Berehaven and properly reconditioned, but she had 
 ended her days as a warship. She has now gone back 
 to the Merchant Service as a cargo carrier, and if you 
 ever go aboard her you will find a suitable inscription 
 commemorating her truly wonderful career. As for 
 Commander Campbell, as soon as he had got his ship 
 safely into Berehaven he was summoned to see his 
 Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly. 
 After that he was received by the King, who con- 
 ferred on him the highest of all awards for heroes. No 
 details appeared in the Press ; only this announcement 
 from the London Gazette : 
 
 ' The King has been graciously pleased to approve 
 of the grant of the Victoria Cross to Commander 
 Gordon Campbell, D.S.O., R.N., in recognition of 
 his conspicuous gallantry, consummate coolness and 
 skill in command of one of His Majesty's ships in 
 action.' 
 
 Press and public were greatly puzzled, but secrecy
 
 1 111^.1 inii«t»a.g'.|. 
 
 Q-sHiP "Pargust " 
 One of Captain Gordon Campbell's famous commands. 
 
 y-siiii' "Sarah Joxks" 
 
 This craft did not come into the service until about three months before the 
 end of the wiu: Her alias was " ^Margaret ^Murray." 
 
 To face p. lOS
 
 THE SUMMIT OF Q-SHIP SERVICE V,)\) 
 
 was at this time essential. ' This,' commented a 
 well-known London daily, ' is probably the first time 
 since the institution of the V.C. that the bestowal of 
 this coveted honour has been announced witliout 
 details of the deed for which it was awarded.' The 
 popular press named him 'the Mystery V.C.,' and 
 the usual crop of rumours and fantastic stories went 
 round. And while these were being told the gallant 
 commander was busy fitting out another Q-ship in 
 which to go forth and make his greatest of all 
 achievements. 
 
 This ship was the S.S. Vittoiia, a collier of 2,817 
 gross tons. She was selected whilst lying at Cardiff', 
 whence she was sent to Devonport to be fitted out 
 as a decoy. Commander Campbell superintended 
 her alteration, and she began her special service on 
 March 28, 1917. She was armed with one 4-inch, 
 four 12-pounders, two Maxim guns, and a couple of 
 14-inch torpedo tubes. She was a slow creature, 
 7J knots being her speed, but she looked the part she 
 was intended to play. When Commander Campbell 
 took over the command he was accompanied by his 
 gallant crew from Farnborough. She had been 
 fitted with wireless, and down in her holds the useful 
 timber had been stowed. On leaving Devonport she 
 changed her name to Pargust, but she was variously 
 known also as the Snail, Friswell, and Pangloss at 
 later dates. 
 
 She again came under the orders of Sir Lewis 
 Bayly at Queenstown, and then, being in all respects 
 ready to fight another submarine, Pargiist went 
 cruising. She had not long to wait, and on June 7 
 we find her out in the Atlantic again, not very far 
 from the scene of her last encounter. The month of 
 April had been a terrible one for British shipping ;
 
 200 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 no fewer than 155 of our merchant craft had been 
 sunk by submarines, representing a loss of over half 
 a million of tonnage. In May these figures had 
 dropped slightly, but in June they were up again, 
 though in no month of the war did our losses ever 
 reach the peak of April again. Nor was it only 
 British ships that so suffered, and I recollect the 
 U.S.S. Cus/tiiig two days previously bringing into Ban- 
 try Bay thirteen survivors, including three wounded, 
 from an Italian barque. At this time, too, the 
 enemy submarines were laying a number of dangerous 
 minefields off this part of the w^orld, and as one 
 patrolled along the south-west Irish coast pieces of 
 wreckage, a meat-safe or a seaman's chest, would be 
 seen floating from some victimized steamer. 
 
 On the morning, then, of the seventh, picture 
 Pargust in Lat. 51.50 N., Long. 11.50 W., jogging 
 along at her slow speed. At that time there was 
 scarcely a steamer that was not armed with some 
 sort of a gun ; therefore, if a Q-ship did not display 
 one aft, she would have looked suspicious. Pargust 
 kept up appearances by having a dummy gun mounted 
 aft with a man in uniform standing by. I well re- 
 member that day. There was a nasty sea running, 
 and the atmosphere varied from the typical Irish 
 damp mist to heavy rain. At 8 a.m. out of this 
 thickness Pargust descried a torpedo, apparently 
 fired at close range, racing towards her starboard 
 beam. When about 100 yards off it jumped out of 
 the water and struck the engine-room near the water- 
 line, making a large tear in the ship's side, filling the 
 boiler-room, engine-room, and No. 5 hold, and blow- 
 ing the starboard lifeboat into the air. 
 
 Captain Campbell then gave the order to abandon 
 ship, and the panic party went away in three boats,
 
 THE SUMMIT OF Q-SHIP SERVICE 201 
 
 and just as the last boat was pushing off a periscope 
 was sighted 400 yards on the port side forward of the 
 beam. It then turned and made for the ship, and 
 submerged when close to the lifeboat's stern, then 
 came on the starboard quarter, turned towards 
 the ship and, when 50 yards away, partially broke 
 surface, heading on a course parallel, but opposite, to 
 
 Fig. 14. — Diagram to Illustrate Approximate Movements of 
 'Pargust' and UC 29 on June 7, 1917. 
 
 that oi Pargust, the lifeboat meanwhile pulling away 
 round the steamer's stern. The submarine followed, 
 and a man was seen on the conning-tower shouting 
 directions. The lifeboat then rowed towards the 
 ship, and this apparently annoyed the Hun, who 
 now began semaphoring the boats ; but at 8.36 a.m. 
 the submarine was only 50 yards off, and was bearing 
 one point before the beam, so all Pargusfs guns were 
 able to bear nicely. Fire was therefore opened, the
 
 202 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 first shot from the 4 -inch gun hitting the base of the 
 conning -tower and removing the two periscopes. 
 Nearly forty more shells followed, most of them 
 being hits in the conning-tower, so that the submarine 
 quickly listed to port, and several men came out of 
 the hatch abaft the conning-tower. She was already 
 obviously in a bad way, with her heavy list and her 
 stern almost submerged, and oil squirting from her 
 sides. 
 
 The Germans now came on deck, held up their 
 hands, and waved ; so Captain Campbell ordered 
 ' Cease Fire,' Then a typically unsportsmanlike 
 trick was played, for as soon as Pargust stopped firing 
 the enemy began to make off at a fair speed. So 
 there was nothing for it but to resume shelling her, 
 and this was kept up until 8.40 a.m., when an 
 explosion occurred in the forward part of the sub- 
 marine. She sank for the last time, falling over on 
 her side, and 8 feet of her sharp bow end up in the air, 
 300 yards oflf', was the last that was ever seen of her. 
 So perished UC 29, and thus one more submarine was 
 added to the score of this gallant captain and crew. 
 One officer (a sub-lieutenant of Reserve) and an 
 engine-room petty officer were picked up. The 
 former had come on to the submarine's deck with a 
 couple of men to fire the 22-pounder, but owing to 
 the heavy sea knocked up by tlie fresh southerly wind 
 they had been all washed overboard before reaching 
 the gun. 
 
 The captain of UC 20 had been killed by PargusVs 
 fire. This class of submarine carried besides her 
 22-pounder and machine-gun eighteen mines and 
 three torpedoes. She had left Rrunsbiittel on May 25, 
 calling at Heligoland, and the routine was usually 
 first to lay the mines and then operate, sinking ships
 
 BrIDUK of Q-SHIP " DUNKAVEN ' 
 
 Cuptain Gordon Campbell, V.C. D.S. O.. R.N.. inspecting the damage lij- the 
 submarine's shells to his ship. 
 
 To face p. ■20-2
 
 THE SUMMIT OF Q-SHIP SERVICE 203 
 
 with gun or torpedo. As to her mines, it is quite 
 possible that she laid the three mines I recollect 
 sinking on June 12 in the approach to Valentia 
 Harbour, Dingle Bay, and she may have laid three 
 others off Brow Head, one of which 1 remember on 
 June 4, for it was customary for these craft to lay 
 their ' eggs ' in threes. With regard to her three 
 torpedoes we know that one had penetrated Parg'usty 
 another had sunk a sailing ship — probably the Italian 
 barque already mentioned — and the third had been 
 fired at a destroyer, but passed underneath. 
 
 As to Pai'gust, she fortunately did not sink, thanks 
 to her cargo of timber. At 12.30 p.m. another of 
 Admiral Bayly's alert sloops, who always seemed to 
 be at hand when wanted, arrived. This was H.M.S. 
 Croats, who took Pargust in tow. The sloop Zinnia 
 and the United States destroyer Gushing arrived also, 
 and escorted her to Queenstown, which she reached 
 next afternoon. The prisoners had been already 
 transferred to Zinnia, and in Pargust the only casual- 
 ties had been one stoker petty officer killed and the 
 engineer sub-lieutenant wounded. For Parg^isfs 
 splendid victory further honours were awarded. 
 Captain Campbell, already the possessor of the V.C. 
 and D.S.O., now received a bar to his D.S.O. To 
 lieutenant R. N. Stuart, D.S.O. , R.N.R., was given 
 the V.C, and Seaman W. Williams, R.N.R., also 
 received this highest of all decorations. These two, 
 one officer and one man, were selected by ballot to 
 receive this distinction, but every officer and every 
 man had earned it. 
 
 Before Pargust could be ready for sea again much 
 would have to be done to her at Devonport, so 
 Captain Campbell proceeded to look for a new ship, 
 and this was found in the collier Dunraven. She
 
 204 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 was fitted out at Devonport under his supervision, 
 just like her predecessor, and her crew turned over 
 en bloc from Par gust. She was commissioned on 
 July 28, and within a fortnight Captain Campbell, 
 now already promoted to post- captain at an age 
 which must certainly be a record, was engaged in the 
 most heroic Q-ship fight of all the long series of duels 
 only a few days after leaving Devonport. 
 
 Just before eleven on the forenoon of August 8 
 Duiiraven was in the Bay of Biscay, about 130 miles 
 west of Ushant, doing her 8 knots and disguised 
 as a defensively armed British merchantman, for 
 which reason she had a small gun aft. In order to 
 conform further with merchant-ship practice of this 
 time, she was keeping a zigzag course. On the horizon 
 appeared a submarine, about two points forward of 
 JDunravens starboard beam. The German was 
 waiting, you see, in a likely position for catching 
 homeward-bound steamers making for the western 
 British ports, and on sighting this ' tramp ' he must 
 have felt pretty sure she was bringing home a cargo 
 of commodities useful for winning the war. Pursuing 
 the more cautious tactics of the time, the enemy, 
 having apparently ascertained the ' tramp's ' speed 
 and mean course, submerged, but at 11.43 she broke 
 surface 5,000 yards off the starboard quarter and 
 opened fire. In order to maintain the bluff, Captain 
 Campbell replied with his defensive gun, made as 
 much smoke as possible, reduced to 7 knots, and 
 made an occasional zigzag in order to give the enemy 
 a chance of closing. Dunraven was now steaming 
 head to sea, and the enemy's shots were falling over, 
 but after about half an hour of this the submarine 
 ceased firing, came on at full speed, and a quarter of 
 an hour later turned broadside on, and reopened fire.
 
 After the Battlk 
 
 Forebridge of Q-ship " Dnnraven "' unci captain's cabin as the result 
 of tlie submarine's shells. 
 
 To face p. '204
 
 THE SUMMIT OF Q-SHIP SERVICE 205 
 
 In the meantime the decoy was intentionally firing 
 short, and sent wireless signals en clair so that the 
 enemy could still further be deceived. Such messages 
 as ' Submarine chasing and shelling me,' ' Submarine 
 overtaking me, help, come quickly . . . am aban- 
 doning ship,' were flashed forth just as were sent 
 almost daily by stricken ships in those strenuous days. 
 Dunravens next bluff was to pretend his engines had 
 been hit ; so Captain Campbell stopped his ship, 
 which now made a cloud of steam. The next step 
 was to * abandon ship,' and the ' tramp ' had enough 
 way on to allow of her being turned broadside on 
 and let the enemy see that the vessel was being 
 abandoned. Then, to simulate real panic, one of 
 the boats was let go by the foremost fall, an incident 
 that somehow seems to happen in every disaster to 
 steamers. Thus, so far, everything had been carried 
 out just as a submarine would have expected a genuine 
 ' tramp ' to behave. Not a thing had been omitted 
 which ought to have been seen by the enemy, who 
 had already closed and continued his shelling. From 
 now ensued a most trying time. To receive punish- 
 ment with serene stoicism, to be hit and not reply, is 
 the supreme test ; but these officers and men were no 
 novices in the Q-ship art, and none had had greater 
 or more bitter experience. However, not all the 
 tactics and devices could prevent the enemy's shells 
 hitting if the German insisted, and this had to be 
 endured in order that at length the submarine might 
 be tempted inside the desired range and bearing. 
 
 Thus it happened that one shell penetrated Dun- 
 raveiifi poop, exploding a depth charge and blowing 
 Lieutenant C. G. Bonner, D.S.C., R.N.R., out of his 
 control position. This was rather bad luck, and two 
 more shells followed, the poop became on fire, dense
 
 20C Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 clouds of black smoke issued forth, and the situation 
 was perilous ; for in the poop were the magazine and 
 depth charges, and it was obvious that as the fire 
 increased an explosion of some magnitude must soon 
 occur. But the main consideration was to sink the 
 submarine, and it mattered little if the Q-ship were 
 lost ; so Captain Campbell decided to wait until the 
 submarine got in a suitable position. It was exactly 
 two hours to the minute since the submarine had 
 been first sighted when, just as he was passing close 
 to Dunravens stern, a terrific explosion took place 
 in the poop, caused probably by a couple of depth 
 charges and some cordite. The result was that the 
 4 -inch gun and the whole of its crew were blown up 
 into the air, the gun vaulting the bridge and alighting 
 on the well deck forward, while the crew came down 
 in various places, one man falling into the water, and 
 4-inch projectiles being blown about the ship in the 
 most unpleasant manner. 
 
 That this explosion should have happened at this 
 moment was a misfortune of the greatest magnitude, 
 for it spoilt the whole tactics. Captain Campbell was 
 watching the enemy closely, and the latter was coming 
 on so nicely that he had only to proceed a little fur- 
 ther and Dunravens guns would have been bearing 
 at a range of not more than 400 yards. As it was, 
 the explosion gave the whole game away, for firstly it 
 frightened the submarine so that he dived, secondly 
 it set going the ' open fire ' buzzers at the guns. 
 Thus the time had come to attack. The only gun in 
 the ship that would bear was the one on the after 
 bridge, and tliis began to bark just as the White 
 Ensign was hoisted. One shot was thought to have 
 succeeded in hitting the conning-tower just as the 
 enemy was submerging, but if he was damaged it
 
 ^2 ^ 
 
 a 5-^ 
 
 o 5 ^ 
 
 '^ -': i 
 
 s ^:i 
 
 M 5
 
 THE SUMMIT OF Q-SHIP SERVICE 207 
 
 was not seriously, and Captain Campbell realized that 
 the next thing to expect was a torpedo. He therefore 
 ordered the doctor to remove all the wounded, and 
 hoses were turned on to the poop, which was now one 
 mass of flames, the deck being red-hot. So gallant 
 had been this well-disciplined crew that even when it 
 was so hot that they had to lift the boxes of cordite 
 from off the deck the men still had remained at their 
 posts. ^' 
 
 The position now was this : a ship seriously on fire, 
 the magazine still intact but likely to explode before 
 long with terrible effects, a torpedo attack imminent, 
 and the White Ensign showing that this was a ' trap- 
 ship ' after all. The submarine would certainly fight 
 
 * Captain Campbell has been good enough to furnish me with 
 the following details of this heroic episode : 
 
 ' Lieutenant Bonner, having been blown out of his control by the 
 first exjjlosion, crawled into the gun-hatch with the crew. They 
 there remained at their posts with a fire raging in the poop below 
 and the deck getting red-hot. One man tore up his shirt to give 
 pieces to the gun's crew to stop the fumes getting into their 
 throats, others lifted the boxes of cordite off the deck to keep it 
 from exploding, and all the time they knew that they must be 
 blown up, as the secondary supply and magazine were immediately 
 below. They told me afterwards that communication with the 
 bridge was cut off, and although they knew they would be blown 
 up, they also knew they would spoil the show if they moved, so 
 they remained until actually blown up with their gun. Then, 
 when as wounded men they were ordered to remain quiet in 
 various places during the second action, they had to lie there un- 
 attended and bleeding, with explosions continually going on aboard 
 and splinters from the shell-fire penetrating their quarters. Lieu- 
 tenant Bonner, himself wounded, did what he could for two who were 
 with him in the wardroom. When I visited them after the action, 
 they thought little of their wounds, but only expressed their 
 disgust that the enemy had not been sunk. Surely such bravery 
 is hard to equal. The strain for the men who remained on board 
 after the ship had been torpedoed, poop set on fire, cordite and 
 shells exploding, and then the enemy shell-fii'e, can easily be 
 imagined.'
 
 208 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 now like the expert duellist, and it would be a fight 
 to the finish, undoubtedly. Realizing all this, and 
 full well knowing what was inevitable. Captain Camp- 
 bell made a decision which could have been made 
 only by a man of consummate moral courage. To a 
 man-of-war who had answered his call for assistance 
 
 <i 1^9fi h (Establ.shed— Mav. 1900 ) 
 J. IQCV U. j^^^i^pj Janiiar'v 1«17) 
 
 P.O. of Watch - 
 
 
 Re«d by — 
 
 NAVAL SEGNAL. 
 
 Reported ^y^/l /O 
 
 
 To- 
 
 
 
 Logged by- 
 
 /V -^VTl/uCc^^-Cw 
 
 System- (jj .1 
 
 D--^Zo4 S"^ 
 
 
 T.me- /2 SO f^ 
 
 l\ £^h ^a...,j-^s^ l^ A^ fyu^u.^t' 
 
 .M 1704/00 
 Sta. 6/14. 
 tita. i9G/lC. 
 
 U'JISj (0«M/I>6II iCL'tuP.J. 2/11 II 
 
 Fig. 15. — The Great Decision. 
 
 Captain Campbell's famous wireless signal refusing assistance wlien the Q-ship 
 Dunraven wa.s already crippled and about to be attacked again. 
 
 when the explosion occurred he now sent a wireless 
 signal requesting him to keep away, as he was already 
 preparing for the next phase, still concentrating as he 
 was on sinking the submarine.* 
 
 * See illustration above.
 
 THE SUMMIT OF Q-SHIP SERVICE 209 
 
 It was now twenty minutes since that big explosion, 
 and the expected torpedo arrived, striking Dunraven 
 abaft the engine-room. The enemy was aware of 
 two facts : he had seen the first ' abandon ship ' party 
 and this he now knew was mere bluff, and that there 
 were others still remaining on board. In order, there- 
 fore, to deceive the German, Captain Campbell now 
 sent away some more of his crew in boats and a raft. 
 It would then look as if the last man had left the 
 ship. From 1.40 to 2.30 p.m. followed a period of 
 the utmost suspense, during which the periscope 
 could be seen circling around scrutinizing the ship to 
 make quite sure, whilst the fire on the poop was 
 still burning fiercely, and boxes of cordite and 4-inch 
 shells were going off every few minutes. To control 
 yourself and your men under these circumstances and 
 to continue thinking coolly of what the next move 
 shall be, this, surely, is a very wonderful achievement : 
 more than this could be asked of no captain. 
 
 At half-past two the submarine came to the surface 
 directly astern (where Dunravens guns would not 
 bear) and resumed shelling the steamer at short range, 
 and used her Maxim gun on the men in the boats. 
 This went on for twenty minutes, and then she dived 
 once more. Captain Campbell next decided to use 
 his torpedoes, so five minutes later one was fired 
 which passed just ahead of the submarine's periscope 
 as the enemy was motoring 150 yards off on the port 
 side ; and seven minutes afterwards Dunraven fired a 
 second torpedo which passed just astern of the peri- 
 scope. The enemy had failed to see the first torpedo, 
 but evidently he noticed the second. It was obvious 
 that by now it was useless to continue the contest 
 any further, for the submarine would go on torpedo- 
 ing and shelling Dunraven until she sank : so Captain 
 
 14
 
 22nd August, 1917. 
 
 It is with very great pleasure that I 
 convey to you, by the directions of the War 
 Cabinet, an expression oX their high appreciation 
 of the gallantry, skill, and devotion to duty, 
 which have been displayed throu^i many months of 
 arduous service by yourself and the officers and 
 men of His iMajesty's ship under your command. 
 
 In conveying to you this message of the 
 War Cabinet, which expresses the hi^ esteem with 
 which the conduct of your officers and men is 
 regarded by His Majesty's Government, I wish to 
 add on behalf of the Board of Admiralty, that they 
 warmly endorse this commendation. 
 
 Will you please convey this message to 
 all ranks and ratings under your command? 
 
 Fig. 16. — Lettkr of Appreciation from tuk First Lord of thb 
 Admiralty to Captain Gordon Campbell after the Historic 
 Actio Fouau t by Q-Siiip ' Dunravkn.'
 
 THE SUMMIT OF Q-SHIP SERVICE 211 
 
 Campbell signalled for urgent assistance," and almost 
 immediately the U.S.S. Noma arrived and fired at a 
 periscope seen a few hundred yards astern of Dun- 
 raven. Then came the two British destroyers Attack 
 and Christopher. Dunraven then recalled her boats 
 and the fire was extinguished, but it was found that 
 the poop had been completely gutted and that all 
 depth charges and ammunition had been exploded. 
 From Noma and Christopher doctors came over and 
 assisted in tending the wounded, a couple of the most 
 dangerously injured being taken on board Noma to 
 be operated on and then landed at Brest. 
 
 At 6.45 p.m. Christopher began towing Dmiraven, 
 but this was no easy matter, for there was a nasty 
 sea running, the damaged ship would not steer ; her 
 stern went down, the sea broke over it and worked 
 its way forward. In this way the night passed, and 
 at 10.15 the next morning Christopher was able to 
 report that she was now only 60 miles west of Ushant 
 and bringing Dunraven towards Plymouth at 4 knots. 
 By six that evening the ship was in so bad a condition 
 that she might sink any moment, so Captain Camp- 
 bell transferred sixty of his crew to the trawler Foss. 
 About 9 p.m. two tugs arrived, took over the towing, 
 and carried on during the night until 1.30 a.m. of 
 August 10. It was time then for the last handful of 
 men to abandon her in all true earnestness, so the 
 Christoplier came alongside, in spite of the heavy sea 
 running, and the last man was taken off. It was 
 only just in time, for almost immediately she capsized, 
 and was finally sunk by Christopher dropping a depth 
 charge and shelling her as a dangerous derelict soon 
 
 * In the meantime he arranged for a further ' abandon ship ' 
 evolution, having only one gun's crew on board.
 
 212 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 after 3 a.m. Thus the Hfe of Dunraven as a man-of- 
 war had been both brief and distinguished. 
 
 As to the officers and men, it is difficult to imagine 
 greater and more persistent bravery under such 
 adverse circumstances, and the King made the 
 following awards : Captain Gordon Campbell, V.C, 
 D.S.O., received a second bar to his D.S.O, ; Lieu- 
 tenant C. G. Bonner, D.S.C., R.N.R., received a 
 V.C, as also did Petty Officer E. Pitcher. To 
 Assistant-Paymaster R. A. Nunn, D.S.C., R.N.R., 
 was awarded a D.S.O. Three other officers received 
 a D.S.C., whilst Lieutenant P. R. Hereford, D.S.O., 
 D.S.C., and two engineer officers, all received a bar 
 to their D.S.C. 
 
 Such is the story of Captain Campbell's last and 
 greatest Q-ship fight, for after this he was appointed 
 to command a light cruiser at Queenstown. In these 
 duels we reach the high-water mark of sea gallantry, 
 and the incidents themselves are so impressive that 
 no further words are necessary. Let us leave it at 
 that.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 LIFE ON BOARD A Q-SHIP 
 
 In history it is frequently the case that what seems 
 to contemporaries merely ordinary and commonplace 
 is to posterity of the utmost value and interest. How 
 little, for example, do we know of the life and routine 
 in the various stages and development of the sailing 
 ship ! In a volume entitled ' Ships and Ways of 
 Otlier Days,' published before the war, I endeavoured 
 to collect and present the everyday existence at sea 
 in bygone years. Some day, in the centuries to 
 come, it may be that the historical student will 
 require to know something of the organization and 
 mode of life on board one of the Q-steamships, and 
 because it is just one of those matters, which at the 
 time seemed so obvious, I have now thought it 
 advisable here to set down a rough outline. As time 
 goes on the persons of the drama die, logs and 
 diaries and correspondence fall into unsympathetic 
 hands and become destroyed ; therefore, whilst it is 
 yet not too late, let us provide for posterity some 
 facts on which they can base their imagination of 
 Q-ship life. 
 
 Elsewhere in the pages of this book the reader 
 will find it possible to gather some idea of the types, 
 sizes, and appearances of the ships employed. The 
 following details are chiefly those of one of the most 
 distinguished Q-ships, the famous Penshurst, and as 
 
 213
 
 214 Q SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 such they have especial interest as showing the 
 organization of a tiny little tramp into a valiant and 
 successful man-of-war that sank several powerful 
 enemy submarines ; and it is through the courtesy of 
 her gallant late commanding officer, Captain F. H. 
 Grenfell, D.S.O., R.N., that I am able to present 
 these facts. 
 
 Penshurst was a three-inasted, single-funnelled, 
 single-screw steamer, owned by a London firm. She 
 had been fitted out as a decoy at the end of 1915 by 
 Admiral Colville at Longhope. Her length between 
 perpendiculars was 225 feet, length over all 232 feet, 
 beam 35 feet 2 inches, draught 14 feet 6 inches, 
 depth of hold 13 feet 7 inches. Her tonnage was 
 1,191 gross, 740 registered, displacement 2,035 tons. 
 Fitted with four bulkheads, the ship had the maximum 
 amount of hold, the engines being placed right aft. 
 The crew were berthed in the forecastle, the engineers' 
 mess and cabins being aft, whilst the captain's and 
 officers' mess and cabins were adjacent to the bridge 
 just forward of midships. The engine-room pressure 
 was 180 pounds, and the maximum speed, with every- 
 thing working well and a clean bottom, was 10 knots. 
 Her armament consisted of five guns. A 12-pounder 
 (18 cwt.) was placed on the after hatch, but disguised 
 in the most ingenious manner by a ship's boat, which 
 had been purposely sawn through so that the detached 
 sections could immediately be removed, allowing the 
 gun to come into action. Originally there were 
 mounted a 3-pounder and (J-pounder on each side of 
 the lower bridge deck. These were hidden behind 
 wooden screens sucli as are often found built round 
 tlie rails in this kind of ship. These screens were 
 specially hinged so that on going into action they 
 immediately fell down and revealed the guns. Thus
 
 c 
 
 SrS 
 
 
 c3^
 
 LIFE ON BOARD A Q-SHIP 215 
 
 it was possible always to offer a broadside of three 
 guns. In the spring of 1916 Penshurst was trans- 
 ferred from Longhope to Milford and Queenstown, 
 and Admiral Bayly had the arrangement of guns 
 altered so that the 3-pounders were now concealed 
 in a gunhouse made out of the engineers' mess and 
 cabins, the intention being to enable both these guns 
 to fire right aft. The (J-pounders were then shifted 
 forward into the positions previously occupied by the 
 3-pounders on the lower bridge deck. How success- 
 ful this arrangement was in action the reader is able 
 to see for himself in the accounts of Penshursfs 
 engagements with submarines. The ship was also 
 supplied with depth charges, rockets, and Verey's 
 lights. 
 
 The crew consisted of Captain Grenfell and three 
 temporary R.N.R. officers, an R.N.R. assistant-pay- 
 master, thirteen Royal Navy gunnery ratings, eight 
 R.N.R. seamen, a couple of stewards, two cooks, a 
 shipwright, carpenter's crew, an R.N.R. chief engine- 
 room artificer, an engine-room artificer, and R.N.R. 
 stokers, bringing the company up to forty-five. 
 
 In arranging action stations in a Q-ship the diffi- 
 culty was that internally the vessel had to be organized 
 as a warship, while externally she must necessarily 
 keep up the character of a merchantman. In Pens- 
 hu?\s-t Captain Grenfell had arranged for the following 
 signals to be rung from the bridge on the alarm gong. 
 One long ring meant that a submarine was in sight 
 and that the crew were to stand by at their respective 
 stations ; if followed by a short ring it denoted the 
 enemy was on the starboard side ; if two short rings 
 the submarine was on the port side. Two long rings 
 indicated that the crew were to go to panic stations ; 
 three long rings meant that they were to go to action
 
 216 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 stations without ' panic' ' Open fire ' was ordered 
 by a succession of short rings and whistles. 
 
 With regard to the above, in the case of action 
 stations the look-out men on the bridge proceeded to 
 their gun at the stand-by signal, keeping out of sight, 
 while the crews who were below, off watch, went also 
 to their guns, moving by the opposite side of the 
 ship. In order to simulate the real mercantile crew, 
 the men under the foc's'le now came out and showed 
 themselves on the fore well deck. If ' panic ' was to 
 be feigned, all the crew of the gun concealed by the 
 collapsible boat were to hide, the signalman stood by 
 to hoist the White Ensign at the signal to open fire, 
 and the boat party ran aft, turned out the boats, 
 lowered them, and ' abandoned ' ship, pulling away 
 on the opposite bow. The signal for standing-by 
 to release the depth charge was when the captain 
 dropped a red flag, and all guns' crews were to look 
 out to fire on the enemy if the depth charge brought 
 the U-boat to the surface. 
 
 Special arrangements had been made in the event 
 of casualties. Thus, if the captain were laid out a 
 certain officer was to carry on and take over com- 
 mand. Similar arrangements were m-tde in the event 
 of all officers on the bridge becoming casualties, an 
 eventuality that was far from improbable. In fact, 
 Captain Grenfell gave orders that if a shell burst on 
 or near the bridge a certain officer was to be informed 
 in any case ; and if the latter did not receive word of 
 this explosion he was to assume that everyone on the 
 bridge was a casualty and he was to be ready to open 
 fire at the right time. One of the possibilities in the 
 preliminary stages of these attacks was always that 
 owing to the hitting by the enemy's shells, or, more 
 likely still, by the explosion of his torpedo against
 
 LIFE ON BOARD A Q SHIP 217 
 
 the side of the ship, some portion of the screens or 
 dummy deckhouses might have been damaged, and 
 thus the guns be revealed to the enemy. So, while 
 Penshursfs captain was busily engaged watching the 
 movements of the submarine, the information as to 
 this unfortunate fact might have been made known. 
 It was therefore a standing rule that the bridge was 
 to be informed by voice-pipe of such occurrences. 
 Damage received in the engine-room was reported up 
 the pipe to the bridge. Conversely there were placed 
 three men at the voice-pipes — one on the bridge, one 
 in the gunhouse aft, and one at the 12-pounder — 
 whose duty it was to pass along the messages, the 
 first-mentioned passing down the varying bearing and 
 range of the submarine and the state of affairs on the 
 bridge, and when no orders were necessary he was to 
 keep passing along the comforting remark ' All right.' 
 By this means the hidden officers and guns' crews 
 were kept informed of the position of affairs and able 
 to have the guns instantly ready to fire at the very 
 moment the screens were let down. Obviously 
 victory and the very lives of every man in the ship 
 could be secured only if the vessel came into action 
 smartly and effectively without accident or bungling. 
 Sometimes victory was conditional only on being 
 torpedoed, so that the enemy might believe he had got 
 the steamer in a sinking condition and the vessel was 
 apparently genuinely abandoned. Inasmuch as the 
 submarine on returning home had to afford some sort 
 of evidence, the U-boat captain would approach the 
 ship and endeavour to read her name. It was then 
 that the Q-ship's opportunity presented itself, and the 
 guns poured shells into the German. Special drills 
 w^ere therefore made in case Penshurst should be hit 
 by torpedo, and in this eventuality the boat ' panic
 
 218 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 party ' was to lower away and at once start rowing off 
 from the ship, whilst the remainder hid themselves at 
 their respective stations. As for the engineers, their 
 duty was to stop the engines at once, but to try to 
 keep the dynamo running as long as possible so that 
 wireless signals could still be sent out. The engine- 
 room staff were to remain below as long as conditions 
 would allow, but if the water rose so that these were 
 compelled to come up, their orders were to crawl out 
 on to the deck on the disengaged side and there lie 
 down lest the enemy should see them. As these 
 Q-ships usually carried depth charges and the latter 
 exploded under certain conditions of pressure from 
 the sea, it was one of the first duties on being 
 torpedoed that these should be secured. 
 
 Now, supposing the Q-ship were actually sunk and 
 the whole crew were compelled 7'eally to abandon 
 ship, what then ? The submarine would certainly 
 come alongside the boats and make inquiries. She 
 would want to know, for instance, the name of the 
 ship, owners, captain, cargo, where from, where 
 bound. That was certain. She would also, most 
 probably, insist on taking the captain prisoner, if the 
 incident occurred in the last eighteen months of the 
 war. All these officers and men would, of course, be 
 wearing not smart naval uniform, but be attired in 
 the manner fitting the personnel of an old tramp. 
 The captain would be wearing a peaked cap, with the 
 house-flag of his Company suitably intertwined in 
 the cap badge, while the men would be attired in 
 guernseys, old suits, and mufflers, with a dirty old 
 cloth cap. Now, if the LT-boat skipper was a live 
 man and really knew his work lie would, of course, 
 become suspicious on seeing so many hands from one 
 sunken tramp. ' This,' he would remark, ' is no
 
 LIFE ON BOARD A Q-SHIP 219 
 
 merchant ship, but a proper trap,' and would proceed 
 to cross-examine the boats' crews. It was therefore 
 the daily duty of Q-ship men to learn a suitable lie 
 which would adequately deceive the German. Here 
 is the information which Pe7ishurst was, at a certain 
 period of her Q-ship career, ready to hand out to any 
 inquisitive Hun if the latter had sunk the ship. 
 
 In answer to questions the crew would reply : 
 'This is the S.S. Penshurst, owned by the Power 
 Steam Ship Company of London. Her master was 
 Evan Davies, but he has gone down with the ship, 
 poor man. Cargo ? She was carrying coal, but she 
 was not an Admiralty collier.' Then the enemy 
 would ask where from and to. If it happened that 
 Penshurst was in a likely locality the reply would be : 
 * From Cardiff '; otherwise the name of a well distant 
 coal port, such as Newcastle or Liverpool, was decided 
 upon. For instance, if Pe?ishurst were sunk in the 
 neighbourhood of Portland Bill whilst heading west 
 it would be no good to pretend you were from the 
 Mersey or Bristol Channel. When the German com- 
 mented on the singularly large number of the crew, 
 he would get the reply : ' Yes, these aren't all our 
 own chaps. We picked up some blokes two days 
 ago from a torpedoed ship.' Then in answer to 
 further questions one of the survivors from the latter 
 would back up the lie with the statement that they 
 were the starboard watch of the S.S. Carron, owned 
 by the Carron Company, 2,350 tons, bound with a 
 cargo of coal from Barry (or Sunderland) to a French 
 port. In this case Captain Grenfell would pretend to 
 be the master of the Carron, and of PcuHJiursfs four 
 officers one would pretend he was the first mate of 
 the Carron, another the first mate of the collier 
 Penshurst^ another the Penahursfs second mate,
 
 220 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 whilst the assistant-paymaster, not being a navigator, 
 passed as chief steward. Thus, every Httle detail 
 was thought out for every possible contretemps. To 
 surprise the enemy and yet not to let him surprise 
 you was the aim. 
 
 If, by a piece of bad luck, your identity as a Q-ship 
 had been revealed — and this did occur — so that the 
 enemy got away before you had time to sink him, 
 there was nothing for it but to get the other side of 
 the horizon and alter the appearance of the ship. To 
 the landsman this may seem rather an impossible 
 proposition. I admit at once that in the case of the 
 Q-sailing-ships this was rather a tall order, for the 
 plain reason that topsail schooners and brigantines in 
 these modern days of maritime enterprise are com- 
 paratively few in number. But the greatest part of 
 our sea-borne trade is carried on in small steamers of 
 more or less standardized type or types. Vessels 
 of the type such as Penshiwst and Siijfblk Coast are 
 to be seen almost everywhere in our narrow seas : 
 except for the markings on their funnels they are as 
 much like each other as possible. In a fleet of such 
 craft it would be about as easy for a German to tell 
 one from another as in a Tokio crowd it would be for 
 an Englishman to tell one Japanese from another. 
 The points which distinguish these craft the one from 
 the other are of minor consideration, such as the 
 colour of the hull, the colour of the funnel, the device 
 on the funnel, the number of masts, tlie topmast, 
 demcks, cross-trees, and so on. Thus, in the case of 
 Pensliurst tliere were any amount of disguises which 
 in a few hours would render her a different ship. For 
 instance, by painting her funnel black, with red flag 
 and wliite letters thereon, she miglit easily be taken 
 for one of the Carron Company's steamers, such as
 
 I 
 
 
 Q-suip "IUkranca" 
 
 In one form of disguise. Hull painted a light colour, black boot-top to funnel. 
 
 funnel painted a light colour, alley ways open. She is here seen in her original 
 
 colour as a West Indian fruit-carrier. 
 
 Q-sHip " Barranca " 
 
 Appearance altered by painting hull black and funnel black with white band. 
 
 She is here disguised as a Spaniard, with Spanish colours painted on the ship's 
 
 side just forward of the bridge, though not discernable in the photograph. 
 
 To face p. L'iO
 
 LIFE ON BOARD A Q-SHIP 221 
 
 the Forth. By giving her a black funnel with a 
 white V she might be the Gloucester Coast of the 
 Powell, Bacon, and Hough Lines, Ltd. ; by altering 
 the funnel to black, white, red, white, and black 
 bands she might have been the Streatkam, owned by 
 Messrs. John Harrison, Ltd. Other similar craft, 
 such as the Blackburn and Bargang, had no funnel 
 marks ; so here again were more disguises. Peiishurst 
 further altered her appearance at times by taking 
 down her mizzen-mast altogether, by filling in the 
 well deck forward, by adding a false steam-pipe to 
 the funnel, by shortening and levelling the derricks, 
 by removing the main cross-trees, by painting or 
 varnishing the wood bridge-screen, by giving the 
 deckhouses a totally different colour, by showing red 
 lead patches on the hull, and varying the colour of 
 the sides with such hues as black to-day, next time 
 green or grey or black, and adding a sail on the 
 forestay. 
 
 If you will examine the photos of Commander 
 Douglas's Q-ship Barranca., you will see how cleverly, 
 by means of a little faking, even a much bigger ship 
 could be disguised. In one picture you see her alley- 
 ways covered up by a screen, funnel markings altered, 
 and so on ; whilst in another the conspicuous white 
 upper- works, the white band on the funnel, and the 
 dark hull make her a different ship, so that, he tells 
 me, on one occasion after passing a suspicious neutral 
 steamer and not being quite satisfied, he was able to 
 steam out of sight, change his ship's appearance, and 
 then overtake her, get quite close and make a careful 
 examination without revealing his identity. To the 
 landsman all this may seem impossible, but inasmuch 
 as the sea is traversed nowadays by steamers differing 
 merely in minute details, distinguished only to the
 
 222 Q SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 practised eye of the sailor, such deception is possible. 
 I remember on one occasion daring the war a sur- 
 prising instance of this. Being in command of a 
 steam drifter off the south-west Irish coast, I obtained 
 Admiral Bayly's permission at my next refit to have 
 the ship painted green, the foremast stepped, the 
 funnel and markings painted differently, and a Dublin 
 fishing letter and number painted on the bows, a suit- 
 able name being found in the Fisherman's Almanack. 
 The 6 -pounder gun forward was covered with fishing 
 gear, which could be thrown overboard as soon as the 
 ship came into action. Discarding naval uniform and 
 wearing old cloth caps and clothes, we left Queens- 
 town, steamed into Berehaven, and tied up alongside 
 a patrol trawler with whom we had been working in 
 company for nearly a year. The latter's crew never 
 recognized us until they saw our faces, and even then 
 insisted that we had got a new ship ! In fact, one of 
 them asserted that he knew this Dublin drifter very 
 well, at which my Scotch crew from the IMoray Firth 
 were vastly amused. 
 
 Routine at sea of course differed in various Q-ships, 
 but it may be interesting to set down the following, 
 which prevailed in that well-organized ship Pensliurst : 
 
 
 SEA ROUTINE. 
 
 ' Call guns' crew of morning watch ; .'>-pounder crew 
 lash u}) and stow. Guns' crew close up, uncover 
 guns, unship 6-pounder night-sights. Gunlayers 
 report their crews closed up to officers of the 
 watch. 
 
 5.30 a.m. Call cooks and stewards. 
 
 6.0 a.m. 12-i)0under crew and one of 3-])ounder crew to Avash 
 down bridges and saloon-decks. 
 
 7.0 a.m. Call guns' crews of forenoon watch, lash up and 
 stow hammocks. Hands to wash. 
 
 l.'iO a.m. Forenoon watch to breakfast.
 
 tj-SHIP "iiARKANCA" 
 
 Disguised as a different ship with yellow funnel and lilack lioot-toy. 
 
 Q SHIP " Barranca ' 
 
 Appearance changed by closing up alley-ways, painting hull, sb 
 funnel so as' to resemble a freighter of the P. >\: O. L 
 
 hull, ship's boats, and 
 ~ ine. 
 
 To face p. •222
 
 LIFE ON BOARD A Q-SHIP 223 
 
 8.0 a.m. Change watches. Morning watch lash up and stow 
 hammocks. Breakfast. 
 
 9.0 a.m. Watch below clean mess-deck, etc. 
 
 1 1.30 a.m. Afternoon watch to dinner. 
 
 12.30 p.m. Change watches. Forenoon watch to dinner. 
 
 1.30 p.m. Cooks clean up mess-deck. 
 
 3.30 p.m. Tea. 
 
 4.0 p.m. Change watches. Afternoon watch to tea. 
 
 6.0 p.m. Change watches. 
 
 7.0 p.m. Supper. 
 
 8.0 p.m. Change watches. Watch below to supper. 
 
 Sunset. Clean guns, ship 6-pounder night-sights. Cover 
 guns. Drill as required. 
 
 A few weeks after the war, Lord Jellicoe remarked 
 publicly that in the ' mystery ship ' there had been 
 displayed a spirit of endurance, discipline, and courage, 
 the like of which the world had never seen before. 
 He added that he did not think the English people 
 realized the wonderful work which these ships had 
 done in the war. No one who reads the facts here 
 presented can fail to agree with this statement, which, 
 indeed, is beyond argument. Discipline, of course, 
 there was, even in the apparently and externally 
 most slovenly tramp Q-ship ; and it must not be 
 thought that among so many crews of ' hard cases ' 
 all the hands were as harmless as china shepherd- 
 esses. When ashore, the average sailor is not always 
 at his best : his qualities are manifest on sea and in 
 the worst perils pertaining to the sea. The landsman, 
 therefore, has the opportunity of observing him when 
 the sailor wants to forget about ships and seas. If 
 some of the Q-ships' crews occasionally kicked over 
 the traces in the early days the fault was partly their 
 own, but partly it was as the result of circumstances. 
 Even Q-ship crews were human, and after weeks of 
 cruising and pent-up keenness, after being battered 
 about by seas, shelled by submarines while lying in
 
 224 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 dreadful suspense, and then doing all that human 
 nature could be expected to perform, much may be 
 forgiven them if the attractions of the shore tempo- 
 rarily overpowered them. In the early stages of the 
 Q-ship the mistake was made of sending to them the 
 ' bad hats ' and impossible men of the depots ; but 
 the foolishness of this was soon discovered. Only 
 the best men were good enough for this special 
 service, and as the men were well paid and well 
 decorated in return for success, there was no difficulty 
 in choosing from the forthcoming volunteers an ideal 
 crew. Any Q-ship captain will bear testimony to 
 the wonderful effect wrought on a crew by the first 
 encounter with an enemy submarine. The average 
 seaman has much in him of the simple child, and has 
 to be taught by plain experience to see the use and 
 necessity of monotonous routine, of drills and dis- 
 cipline ; but having once observed in hard battle the 
 value of obedience, of organization and the like, he is 
 a different man — he looks at sea-life, in spite of its 
 boredom, from a totally different angle. Perfect 
 discipline usually spelled victory over the enemy. 
 Presently that, in turn, indicated a medal ribbon and 
 ' a drop of leaf ' at home, so as to tell his family all 
 about it. Never again would he overstay his leave : 
 back to the ship for him to give further evidence of 
 his prowess. 
 
 This was the kind of fellow who could be relied 
 upon to maintain at sea the gallant traditions of British 
 seamanhood, and in their time of greatest peril the 
 true big-souled character manifested itself, as real 
 human truth always emerges in periods of crisis. I 
 am thinking of one man who served loyally and faith- 
 fully in a certain Q-ship. In one engagement this 
 gallant British sailor while in the execution of his
 
 LIFE ON BOARD A Q-SHIP 225 
 
 duty was blown literally to pieces except for an arm, 
 a leg in a sea-boot, and the rest a mere shattered, 
 indescribable mass, his blood and flesh being scattered 
 everywhere by the enemy's attack. And yet the last 
 words of this good fellow, spoken just before it was 
 too late, did much to help the Q-ship in her success. 
 In a previous engagement this man's gun had the 
 misfortune to start with seven missfires. This was 
 owing to ammunition rendered faulty by having been 
 kept on the deck too long as ' ready-use.' Conse- 
 quently his gun did not come into action as quickly 
 as the others. This piece of bad luck greatly upset 
 such a keen warrior, and he was determined that no 
 such accident should occur again. Therefore, in the 
 next fight, just as he was crouching with his gun's 
 crew behind the bridge-screen, he was heard to say to 
 his mates : ' Now, mind. We're to be the. first gun in 
 action this time.' Immediately afterwards a shell 
 came and killed him instantaneously. 
 
 Or, again, consider the little human touch in the 
 case of the Q-ship commanded by Lieut. -Commander 
 McLeod, which had been ' done in ' and was sinking, 
 so that she had really to be abandoned. When all 
 were getting away in the boats, Lieut. -Commander 
 Mcl^eod's servant was found to be missing. At the 
 last moment he suddenly reappeared, carrying with 
 him a bag which he had gone back to fetch. In it 
 was Lieut.-Commander McLeod's best monkey- 
 jacket. ' I thought as you might want this, sir, seeing 
 you'll have to go and see the Admiral when we get 
 back to Queenstown,' was his cool explanation. 
 Nothing could crush this kind of spirit, which pre- 
 vailed in the trenches, the air, and on sea until the 
 Armistice was won. It is the spirit of our forefathers, 
 the inheritance of our island race, which, not with - 
 
 15
 
 226 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 standing political and domestic tribulations, lies silent, 
 dormant, undemonstrative, until the great hour comes 
 for the best that is in us to show itself. Germany, of 
 course, had her disguised armed ships, such as the 
 Moewe, the Wolf, and so on, and with them our late 
 enemies performed unquestionably brilliant work all 
 over the world. It is true, also, that a similar 
 achievement was attained in one disguised sailmg 
 ship ; nor can we fail to admire the pluck and enter- 
 prise which enabled them to get through the British 
 blockade. To belittle such first-class work would be 
 to turn one's back on plain truth. 
 
 But the Q-ship service was not a short series of 
 three or four spasms, but took its part in the persistent 
 prosecution of the anti-submarine campaign. It 
 remained a perpetual thorn in the enemy's side, and 
 it was a most dangerous thorn. Unlike the U-boat 
 service in its later stages, it continued to be composed 
 of volunteers, and it was certainly the means of 
 bringing to light extraordinary talent and courage. 
 Like other children, the seaman loves dressing up and 
 acting. In the Q-ship he found this among the other 
 attractions, of which not the least was the conscious 
 joy of taking a big share in the greatest of all wars. 
 In one Q-ship alone were earned no fewer than four 
 D.S.O.'s and three bars, five D.S.C.'s and seven bars, 
 one Croix de Guerre, and six ' mentions ' among the 
 officers. Among the men this ship earned twenty- 
 one D.S.M.'s and four bars, as well as three ' mentions.' 
 To-day as you pass some tired old tramp at sea, or 
 watch a begrimed steamer taking in a cargo of coals, 
 you may be gazing at a ship as famous as Grenville's 
 Revenue or Drake's Golden Hind. At the end of 
 the war the Admiralty decided to place a memorial 
 tablet on board each merchant vessel that had acted
 
 LIFE ON BOARD A Q-SHIP 227 
 
 as a decoy during the war, the tablet being suitably 
 inscribed with details of the gallant ship's service, 
 together with the names of the commanding officer 
 and members of the crew who received decorations. 
 The first of these ships so to be commemorated 
 was the Lodorer, better known to us as Captain 
 Campbell's Q-ship Farnhorough. After hostilities, 
 in the presence of representatives of the owners and 
 the JNIinistry of Shipping, Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander 
 DiifF unveiled Lodorer s tablet, and those who read it 
 may well think and reflect.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 Q-SHIPS EVERYWHERE 
 
 In the spring of 1917 there was a 2,905-ton steamship, 
 called the Bracondalc, in the employment of the 
 Admiralty as a collier. It was decided that she 
 would make a very useful Q-ship, so at the begin- 
 ning of April she was thus commissioned and her 
 name changed to Chagford. She was fitted out at 
 Dev^onport and armed with a 4-inch, two 12-pounders, 
 and a couple of torpedo tubes, and was ready for sea 
 at the end of June. Commanded by Lieutenant 
 D. G. Jeffrey, R.N. R., she proceeded to Falmouth 
 in order to tune everything up, and then was based 
 on Buncrana, which she left on August 2 for what 
 was to be her last cruise, and I think that in the 
 following story we have another instance of heroism 
 and pertinacity of great distinction. 
 
 Chdg fords position on August 5 at 4.10 a.m. was 
 rouglily 120 miles north-west of Tory Island, and she 
 was endeavouring to find two enemy submarines which 
 had been reported on the previous day. At the time 
 mentioned she was herself torpedoed just below the 
 bridge, and in this one explosion was caused very 
 great injury : for it disabled botli lier torpedo tubes 
 and her 4-inch gun ; it sluittercd the boats on the 
 starboard side as well as the captain's cabin and chart 
 room. In addition, it also wrecked all the voice-pipe 
 connections to the torpedo tubes and guns, and it 
 
 «28
 
 Q-SHIPS EVERYWHERE 229 
 
 flooded tlie engine-room and put the engines out of 
 commission, killing one of the crew. Lieutenant 
 Jeffrey therefore ' abandoned ' ship, and just as the 
 boats were getting away two periscopes and a sub- 
 marine were sighted on the starboard side 800 yards 
 away. As soon as the enemy came to the surface 
 fire was opened on her by the two 12-pounders and 
 both Lewis and machine-guns, several direct hits 
 being observed. The submarine then dived, but at 
 4.40 a.m. she fired a second torpedo at Chagfhrd, 
 which hit the ship abaft the bridge on the starboard 
 side. 
 
 From the time the first torpedo had hit, the enemy 
 realized that Chagford was a warship, for the 4-inch 
 gun and torpedo tubes had been made visible, and 
 now that the second explosion had come Lieutenant 
 Jeffrey decided to recall his boats so that the ship 
 might genuinely be abandoned. The lifeboat, dinghy, 
 and a barrel raft were accordingly filled, and about 
 5.80 a.m. the enemy fired a third torpedo, which 
 struck also on the starboard side. Having sent 
 away in the boats and raft everyone with the ex- 
 ception of himself and a lieutenant, R.N.R., two 
 sub-lieutenants, R.N.R., also an assistant-paymaster, 
 R.N.R., and one petty officer, Lieutenant Jeffrey 
 stationed these in hiding under cover of the fo'c'sle 
 and poop, keeping a smart look-out, however, through 
 the scuttles. 
 
 Here was another doomed ship rolling about in the 
 Atlantic without her crew, and only a gallant handful 
 of British seamanhood still standing by with but a 
 shred of hope. To accentuate their suspense peri- 
 scopes were several times seen, and from 9 a.m. until 
 9 p.m. a submarine frequently appeared on the 
 surface at long range, and almost every hour a peri-
 
 230 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 scope passed round the ship ins23ecting her cautiously. 
 During the whole of this time Cliagford was settling- 
 down gradually but certainly. At dark Lieutenant 
 Jeffrey, fearing that the enemy might attempt board- 
 ing, placed Lewis and Maxim guns in position and 
 served out rifles and bayonets to all. JNlidnight 
 came, and after making a further examination of the 
 damage, Lieutenant Jeffrey realized that it was im- 
 possible for the Chafs;ford to last much longer, for 
 her main deck amidships was split from side to side, 
 the bridge deck was badly buckled, and the whole 
 ship was straining badly. Therefore, just before 
 half-past midnight, these five abandoned the ship in 
 a small motor- boat which they had picked up at sea 
 some days previously, but before quitting Chagford 
 they disabled the guns, all telescopic sights and 
 strikers being removed. 
 
 Having shoved off, they found to their dismay 
 that there were no tanks in the motor-boat, so she 
 had to be propelled by a couple of oars, and it will 
 readily be appreciated that this kind of propulsion in 
 the North Atlantic was not a success. They then 
 thought of going back to the ship, but before they 
 could do so they were fortunately picked up at 
 7.30 a.m. by H.M. trawler Saxon, a large submarine 
 having been seen several times on the horizon between 
 4 and 7 a.m. The trawler then proceeded to hunt 
 for the submarine, but, as the latter had now made 
 off, volunteers were called for and went aboard 
 Chagford, so that by 4 p.m. Saxon had commenced 
 towing her. Bad luck again overcame their efforts, 
 for wind and sea had been steadily increasing, and of 
 course there was no steam, so the heavy work of 
 handling cables had all to be done by hand. Until 
 the evening the sliip towed fairly well at 2 knots,
 
 Q-SHIPS EVERYWHERE 231 
 
 but, as she seemed then to be breaking up, the tow- 
 rope had to be shpped, and just before eight o'clock 
 next morning (August 7) she took a final plunge and 
 disappeared. The Saxon made for the Scottish coast 
 and landed the survivors at Oban on the morning of 
 the eighth. In this encounter, difficult as it was, 
 Chagf'ord had done real service, for she had damaged 
 the submarine so much that she could not submerge, 
 and this was probably U 44 which H.M.S. Oracle 
 sighted in the early hours of August 12 off the north 
 coast of Scotland, evidently bound to Germany. 
 Oracle chased her ; U 44 kept diving and coming to 
 the surface after a short while. She had disguised 
 herself as a trawler, and was obviously unable to dive 
 except for short periods. Oracle shelled and then 
 rammed her, so that U 44 was destroyed and Chagj'ord 
 avenged. Nothing more was seen of Chagj'ord except 
 some wreckage found by a trawler on August 11, who 
 noticed the word Bracondale on the awnings. 
 
 After Lieutenant Jeffrey and crew had returned to 
 their base they proceeded to fit out the 2,794-ton 
 S.S. Arvonian. This was to be a very powerful 
 Q-ship, for she was armed with three 4-inch guns 
 instead of one, in addition to three 12-pounders, two 
 Maxim guns, and actually four 18-inch torpedo tubes. 
 She was, in fact, a light cruiser, except for speed and 
 appearance, but the Cfiagford crew were destined to 
 disappointment, for this is what happened. The 
 reader will recollect that in her engagement of June 7, 
 1917, Captain Campbell's famous ship Par gust 
 received so much damage that she had to be left in 
 dockyard hands while he and his crew went to sea in 
 the Dunraven. Now, at the beginning of October 
 Admiral Sims asked the British Admiralty for a ship 
 to carry out this decoy work, and to be manned by
 
 232 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 the United States Navy. The Admiralty therefore 
 selected Pargust, and Admiral Sims then assigned 
 her to the U.S.N, forces based on Queenstown. Her 
 repairs, however, took rather a longer time than had 
 been hoped ; in fact, she was not finished and com- 
 missioned again until the following ]May, so it was 
 decided to pay off Arvonian on November 26, 1917, 
 and she was then recommissioned with a United 
 States crew under Commander D. C. Hanrahan, 
 U.S.N., and changed her name to Santee. By the 
 time she left Queenstown for her maiden cruise she 
 was a very wonderful ship. Her 4-inch guns had 
 been disguised by being recessed, and by such con- 
 cealments as lifebuoy lockers, hatch covers, and so on. 
 The 12-pounder gun aft had a tilting mounting, as 
 also had the two 12-pounders forward at the break of 
 the fo'c'sle on either side. Thus they were concealed, 
 but could be instantly brought into position. Her 
 four torpedo tubes were arranged so that there was 
 one on each beam, one to fire right ahead, and one to 
 fire right astern. She also boasted of a searchlight, a 
 wireless set, and an emergency wireless apparatus. 
 She had two lifeboats, two skiffs, two Carley floats, 
 and also a motor-boat. She was thus the last word 
 in Q-ship improvements, and embodied all the lessons 
 which had been learnt by bitter and tragic experience. 
 Two days after Christmas, 1917, she left Queenstown 
 at dusk on her way to Bantry Bay to train her crew, 
 but in less than h\'e hours she was torpedoed. It 
 was no disgrace, but a sheer bit of hard luck which 
 might have happened to any other officer, British or 
 American. Commander Hanrahan was one of the 
 ablest and keenest destroyer captains of the American 
 Navy, and no one who had ever been aboard his ship 
 could fail to note his efficiency. He had been one of
 
 Q-SHIPS EVERYWHERE 233 
 
 the early destroyer arrivals when the United States 
 that summer had begun to send their destroyer 
 divisions across the Atlantic to Queenstown, and he 
 had done most excellent work. 
 
 But on this night his Q-ship career came to a 
 sudden stop, though not before everything possible 
 had been done to entrap the enemy. It was one of 
 those cloudy, moonlight, wintry nights with good 
 visibility. As might have been expected under such 
 a captain there was a total absence of confusion ; all 
 hands went to their stations, the ' panic ' party got 
 away in accordance with the best ' panic ' traditions, 
 while on board the crews remained at their gun 
 stations for fiv^e hours, hoping and longing for the 
 submarine to show herself. No such good fortune 
 followed, for the submarine was shy ; so just before 
 midnight Commander Hanrahan sent a wireless 
 message to Admiral Bayly at Queenstown, and very 
 shortly afterwards the U.S. destroyer Cumminga 
 arrived. At 1 a.m. the tug Paladin took Santee in 
 tow, escorted by four United States destroyers and 
 the two British sloops Viola and Bluebell. Santee 
 got safely into port and was sent to Devonport, where 
 she was eventually handed back by the U.S.N, to the 
 British Navy, owing to the time involved in repairs. 
 On June 4, 1918, she was once more recommissioned 
 in the Royal Navy and took the name of Bendisli, the 
 crew having come from the Q-ship Starmount. By 
 this date the conditions of submarine warfare had 
 undergone a modification. In home waters it was 
 only the quite small Q-ships of the coaster type, of 
 about 500 tons, which could be expected to have any 
 chance of successfully engaging a submarine. This 
 class would normally be expected to be seen within 
 the narrow seas, and the enemy would not be so
 
 234 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 shy. But for such vessels as Bendlsh and Pargust 
 the most promising sphere was Hkely to be between 
 Gibraltar and the Azores and the north-west coast of 
 Africa, where German so-called ' cruiser ' submarines 
 of the Deutschland type were operating. Therefore a 
 special force, based on Gibraltar but operating in the 
 Azores area or wherever submarines were to be 
 expected, was organized, consisting of four Q-ships. 
 These were the Bendlsh (late Santee), Captain 
 Campbell's former ship Pargust but now named the 
 Pcuigloss, the Uiideriving, and the 31ars]ifort^ the 
 whole squadron being under the command of Lieut. - 
 Commander Dane in Beiidish. After being at last 
 ready for sea in May, 1918, Pangloss, commanded by 
 Lieutenant Jeffrey, who for his fine work in Chagford 
 had received the D.S.O., had then been assigned 
 to serve under the Vice-Admiral Northern Patrols 
 until she was sent south. 
 
 Under the new scheme just mentioned these four 
 Q-ships were so worked that they always arrived 
 and sailed from Gibraltar as part of the convoy of 
 merchant ships, from which class they could not be 
 distinguished. But already long before this date 
 Q-ships had been employed in such distant waters. 
 For instance, in the middle of November, 191 G, the 
 Barranca (Lieut. -Commander S. C. Douglas, R.N.) 
 was sent from Queenstown via Devonport, and 
 proceeded to operate in the neighbourhood of Madeira 
 and the Canaries, based on Gibraltar. This ship, 
 known officially as Q 3 (alias Kchunga), had been 
 taken over from Messrs. Elders and Fyffcs, Ltd. Her 
 registered tonnage was 4,11.5, and she had a speed of 
 14 knots, so she was eminently fitted for this kind 
 of work. She had been employed as a Q-ship since 
 June, 191G, and was armed with a 4-inch, two
 
 (.^■SHIP TUANSFORMATION 
 Crew painting funnel wbile at sea (see pp. •i'iO-l) 
 
 Q-sHip "Barranca" at Sea 
 
 The look-out man aft is disguisfd as one of the Mercantih' cicw. 'J'he dummy 
 wheel, dummy sky-light, and dummy deck-house are seen. The latter con- 
 cealed a.4-iach gun and two 1'2-pounders. 
 
 To face p. •J34
 
 Q-SHIPS EVERYWHERE 235 
 
 12-poiinder.s, and two O-pounders, and terminated lier 
 service in the following May. Her captain had been 
 one of the earliest officers to be employed in decoy 
 work, having been second in command to Lieut. - 
 Commander Godfrey Herbert when that officer com- 
 manded the Antiverp. Soon after this date the Q-ship 
 Dunclutha left for that part of the Atlantic which 
 is between the north-east coast of South America and 
 north-west coast of Africa. This ship, together with 
 Ooma, both of them being vessels of between 3,000 
 and 4,000 tons, had commenced their special service 
 at the end of 1910 and been sent to work under 
 the British Commodore off the east coast of South 
 America in the hope of falling in with one of the 
 German raiders, such as the Moewe. In May, 1918, 
 both these vessels had to be withdrawn from such 
 service, as the shortage of tonnage had become acute, 
 and were required to load general cargo in a Brazilian 
 port. Another of these overseas Q-ships was the 
 Bovihala (alias Willow Branch). She was a 3,314-ton 
 steamer and had left Gibraltar on April 18, 1918, for 
 Sierra Leone. A week later, off the West African 
 coast, she sighted a submarine off the port quarter, 
 and a few minutes later a second one off the starboard 
 bow. Both submarines opened their attack with 
 shells, this class of submarine being armed with a 
 couple of 5 •9-inch guns. After about thirty rounds 
 the enemy had found the range, and then began to 
 hit the ship repeatedly, carrying away the wireless 
 and causing many casualties. Bombala shortened the 
 range so that she could use her 4-inch and 14-pounder, 
 and the action went on for two and a half hours. By 
 that time Bombala was done for, and it was impossible 
 to save the ship ; so the crew were ordered into the 
 boats, and then the ship foundered, bows first. How-
 
 236 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 ever, the Q-ship had not sunk without severely 
 damaging the enemy, for when the submarines came 
 alongside Bomhalas boats it was found that in one of 
 the submarines there were seven killed and four 
 wounded. 
 
 Q-ships were kept pretty busy, too, in the JNIedi- 
 terranean. On INIarch 11, 1917, when IFonganclla 
 (Lieut.-Commander B. J. D. Guy, R.N.) was on her 
 way from JNIalta to England via Gibraltar, she was 
 shelled by a submarine, and while the ' panic ' party 
 were getting out the boats, a shell wounded the 
 officer and several of the crew in the starboard life- 
 boat. Another shell went through the bulwarks of 
 the ship, wounding some men and bursting the 
 steam-pipe of the winch, thus rendering unworkable 
 the derrick used for hoisting out the third boat, and 
 the port lifeboat was also damaged. Shells burst in 
 the well deck and holed the big boat, so in this case, 
 as all his boats were ' done in,' the captain had to 
 give up the idea of ' abandoning ' ship. There was 
 nothing for it but to open fire, though it was not 
 easy for orders to be heard in that indescribable din 
 when shells were bursting, steam pouring out from 
 the burst winch-pipe, wounded men in great pain, 
 and Wonganellas own boiler-steam blowing off with 
 its annoying roar. As soon as fire was opened, the 
 submarine dived and then fired a torpedo, which was 
 avoided by WonganeUa going astern witli her engines, 
 the torpedo just missing the ship's fore-foot by 10 feet. 
 No more was seen of the enemy, and at dusk the 
 armed steam yacht loJanda was met, from whom a 
 doctor was obtained, thus saving tlie lives of several 
 of the wounded. In this engagement, whilst the 
 White Ensign was being hoisted, the signal halyards 
 were sliot away, so the ensign had to be carried up 
 the rigging and secured thereto.
 
 Q-SHIPS EVERYVVHEUE 237 
 
 Wanganella was holed on the water-hne and hit 
 elsewhere, but she put into Gibraltar on March 13, 
 and on the evening of June 10 of the same year we 
 find her out in the Atlantic west of the south-west 
 Irish coast on her way homeward-bound from Halifax. 
 A submarine bore down on her from the north, and 
 at the long range of 8,000 yards was soon straddling 
 Wonganelhi. Now the Q-ship happened to have on 
 board thirty survivors from a steamer recently sunk, 
 so again it was impossible to attempt the ' abandon 
 ship ' deception. She therefore used her smoke-screen 
 — at this time ships were being supplied with special 
 smoke- making apparatus — and then ran down the 
 wind at varying speeds and on various courses, with 
 the hope that the enemy would chase quickly. JVon- 
 ganella would tlien turn in the smoke-cloud and 
 suddenly emerge and close the enemy at a more 
 suitable range. But the best-laid schemes of Q-ships 
 are subject to the laws of chance, for now there 
 appeared another merchant ship heading straight 
 towards this scene, and thus unwittingly frustrated 
 the further development of the encounter. This 
 'merchant ship' was the Q-ship Aubrietia (Q 13), 
 who did, in fact, receive a signal from Wonganella 
 that no assistance was required ; but by that time it 
 was too late to withdraw. The submarine, after 
 shelling Wonganella through the smoke, abandoned 
 the attack and withdrew without ever scoring a hit. 
 
 During all these months the disguised steam 
 trawlers were continuing their arduous work. On 
 August 20, 1916, the Gunner from Granton engaged 
 a submarine during the afternoon, but the German 
 subsequently dived. Giuiner then proceeded on a 
 westerly course whilst she altered her disguise, and 
 then that same evening encountered this submarine
 
 238 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 again, shelled her, but once more the enemy broke 
 off the fight. The disguised Granton trawler Speed- 
 well was also operating in a manner similar to Gunne?', 
 and in the following March the trawler Commissionei^ 
 began her decoy work. She was a 161 -ton ship armed 
 with a 12-pounder, her method of working being as 
 follows: Lieutenant F. W. Charles, R.N.R., was in 
 command of the fighting portion of the crew, but her 
 fishing skipper was otherwise in charge of the ship. 
 Commissioner proceeded to join the Granton fishing 
 fleet, looking like any other steam trawler, and then 
 shot her trawl and carried on like the rest of the fleet. 
 When a submarine should appear Commissioner would 
 cut away her fishing gear and then attack the enemy. 
 Such an occasion actually occurred the very day after 
 she first joined the fishing fleet, but the submarine 
 was not sunk. 
 
 A similar decoy was the Granton steam trawler 
 Rosskeen, which left the Firth of Forth to ' fish ' 
 about 20 miles east of the Longstone. Three days 
 later she was just about to shoot her trawl when a 
 shot came whistling over her wheelhouse, and a large 
 submarine was then seen 8,000 yards away. After 
 twenty minutes, during which the enemy's shells fell 
 uncomfortably close, Rosskeen cut away her gear and 
 ' abandoned ' ship. The submarine then obhgingly 
 approached on the surface towards the rowing boat, 
 and when the range was down to 1,200 yards Ross- 
 kee?if who was armed with a 12-pounder and G-pounder, 
 opened fire from the former and hit the submarine, 
 the conning-tower being very badly damaged by the 
 third shot. Two more shells got home, and by this 
 time the enemy had had enough, and dived. 
 
 These trawlers were undoubtedly both a valuable 
 protection to the fishermen (who had been repeatedly
 
 Q SHIPS EVERYWHERE 239 
 
 attacked by the enemy) and a subtle trap for some 
 of the less experienced submarine captains. During 
 May two more trawlers, the Strathallan and Strath- 
 earn^ were similarly commissioned, and even steam 
 drifters such as the Fort George (armed with one 
 G-pounder) were employed in this kind of work. On 
 the thirteenth of Jime Strathearn was fishing 19 miles 
 east of the Bell Rock when five shots were fired at 
 her, presumably by a submarine, though owing to 
 the hazy weather nothing could be seen. The enemy 
 then evidently sighted a destroyer and disappeared. 
 On the following day Fort George was fishing about 
 35 miles east of May Island, when she was attacked 
 by submarine at 2,000 yards. It was ten o'clock at 
 night, and the drifter, after the third round, secured 
 her fishing gear and returned the fire. The enemy 
 was evidently surprised, for after the drifter had fired 
 three shells the German broke off the engagement 
 and submerged, but with his fourth and fifth rounds 
 he had hit Fort George, killing two and wounding 
 another couple. 
 
 But on the following twenty-eighth of January 
 Fort George was about 14 miles east of May Island, 
 with the decoy trawler W. S. Bailey (Lieutenant 
 C. H. Hudson, D.S.C., R.N.R.). the two ships 
 were listening on their hydrophones when a sub- 
 marine was distinctly heard some distance away, and 
 it was assumed that the enemy was steering for May 
 Island, so the W. S. Bailey after proceeding for a 
 quarter of an hour in that direction listened again, 
 and the sounds were heard more plainly. For an 
 hour and a half the enemy was determinedly hunted, 
 and just after 9 p.m. the sounds became very distinct, 
 so the trawler steamed full speed ahead in the sub- 
 marine's direction, dropped a depth charge, listened,
 
 240 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 and then, as the enemy was still heard on the hydro- 
 phone, a second charge was dropped. The trawler 
 then went full speed astern to check her way, and 
 just as she was stopping there were sighted two 
 periscopes not 20 yards away, on the starboard 
 quarter, and going full speed. The trawler then 
 dropped a third depth charge over the spot where 
 the periscopes had disappeared, and nothing further 
 was heard on the hydrophone, but a fourth charge 
 was then let go to make sure, and the position was 
 buoyed, and the disguised craft remained in the 
 vicinity until January 30. A few days later the 
 JV. S. Bailey swept with her chain- sweep over the 
 position, and on each occasion the sweep brought up 
 in the place that had been buoyed, and a quantity of 
 oil was seen. Local fishermen accustomed to working 
 their gear along this bottom reported that the ob- 
 struction was quite new. In short, the IV. S. Bailey 
 had succeeded in destroying UB 03, a submarine 
 about 180 feet long and well armed with a 4-1-inch 
 gun and torpedoes. For this useful service Lieutenant 
 Hudson received a bar to his D.S.C., while Skipper 
 J. H. Lawrence, R.N. R., was awarded the D.S.C. 
 
 Thus, in all waters and in all manner of ships wear- 
 ing every kind of disguise, the shy submarine was 
 being tempted and sought out, though every month 
 decoy work was becoming more and more difficult : 
 for thougli you might fool the whole German sub- 
 marine service in the early stages of Q-ships, it was 
 impossible that you could keep on bluffing all of them 
 every time. The most that could be expected was 
 that as a reward for your constant vigilance and per- 
 fect organization you might one day catch liim off his 
 guard tlirougli liis foolishness or lack of experience or 
 incautiousncss. But every indecisive action made it
 
 Q-SHIPS EVERYWHERE 241 
 
 worse for tlie Q-ships, for that vessel was a mark for 
 future attack and the enemy's intelhgence department 
 was thereby enriched, and outgoing submarines could 
 be warned against such a trawler or such a tramp 
 whose guns had a dead sector on such a bearing. 
 Thus an inefficient Q-ship captain would be a danger 
 not merely to himself and his men, but to the rest of 
 the force. Nothing succeeds like success, and there 
 was nothing so useful as to make a clean job of the 
 submarine-sinking, so that he could never get back 
 home and tell the news. Surprise, whether in real 
 life or fiction, is a factor that begins to lose its power 
 in proportion to its frequency of use. It was so in 
 the Q-ships, and that is why, after a certain point had 
 been reached, this novel method became so difficult 
 and so barren in results. 
 
 16
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 SHIPS OF ALL SIZES 
 
 The unrestricted phase of submarine warfare insti- 
 tuted in February, 1917, had, apart from other means, 
 been met by an increase in the number of Q-ships, so 
 that by the end of May there were close upon eighty 
 steamers and sailing craft either being fitted out as 
 decoys or already thus employed. By far the greater 
 number of the big Q-ships were serving under 
 Admiral Bayly, the other large craft being based on 
 Longhope, Portsmouth, the south-east of England, 
 and Malta. Of the smaller types, such as trawlers 
 and sailing ships, no fewer than one-half were based 
 on Granton, under Admiral Startin, the rest of these 
 little vessels working out of Stornoway, Longhope, 
 Peterhead, Lowestoft, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Fal- 
 mouth, Milford Haven, and Malta. 
 
 One of the moderate-sized Q-steamers was the 
 1,680-ton Stoiiecrop, alias Glcnfoyle^ which was armed 
 with a 4-inch, a 12-pounder, and four 200-lb. howit- 
 zers. She had begun her special service at the end of 
 May, 1917, under Commander M. B. R. Blackwood, 
 R.N. She was very slow, and her captain found her 
 practically unmanageable in anything of a head wind 
 and sea. Her first cruise was in the English Channel, 
 and she left Portsmouth on August 22. Three days 
 later when 1.5 miles south of tlie Scillies she saw a 
 large steamer torpedoed and sunk. Stonccrop herself 
 
 242
 
 SHIPS OF ALL SIZES 243 
 
 was caught in bad weather, and had to run before the 
 gale and sea towing an oil bag astern. Arriving back 
 at Portsmouth she needed a few repairs, and left again 
 on September 11 to cruise off' the western approaches 
 of tlie British Isles. Six days later she was off" the 
 south-west coast of Ireland steering a westerly course 
 when a submarine was seen on the surface. This was 
 the U 88, one of the biggest types, over 200 feet long, 
 armed with a 4*l-inch and a 22-pounder, plus tor- 
 pedoes. It was now 4.40 p.m., and though the enemy 
 was still several miles away he opened fire three 
 minutes later with both guns. Stonecrop accordingly 
 pretended to flee from his wrath, turned 16 points, 
 made off* at her full speed (which was only 7 knots), 
 made S.O.S. signals on her wireless, followed by 
 ' Hurry up or I shall have to abandon ship ' — en clair 
 so that the submarine should read it. And in order 
 further still to simulate a defensively armed merchant 
 ship she replied with her after gun. 
 
 Thus it went on until 5.15 p.m., by which time the 
 submarine had not registered a hit and was gradually 
 closing : but most of the shells were falling very near 
 to the steamer, so that the German might easily have 
 supposed they were hits. In order to fool the enemy 
 further still Commander Blackwood had his smoke 
 apparatus now lit. This was most successful, the 
 whole ship becoming enveloped in smoke and seeming 
 to be on fire. A quarter of an hour later Stonecrop 
 'abandoned' ship, sending away also a couple of 
 hands in uniform to represent the men from the 
 deserted defensive gun. The submarine then dis- 
 played the usual tactics : submerged, came slowly 
 towards the ship, passing down the port side, round- 
 ing the stern, and then came to the surface 600 yards 
 off the starboard quarter, displaying the whole of his
 
 244 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 length. For three minutes the British and German 
 captains remained looking at each other, the former, 
 of course, from his position of concealment. But at 
 ten minutes past six, as there were still no signs of 
 anyone coming out of the conning-tower hatch, and 
 as the U-boat seemed about to make for Stonecrop's 
 boats. Captain Blackwood decided this was the critical 
 moment and gave the order. From the 4- inch gun 
 and all howitzers there suddenly poured across the 
 intervening 600 yards a very hot fire, which had 
 unmistakable effect : for the fourth shot hit the base 
 of the conning-tower, causing a large explosion and 
 splitting the conning-tower in two. The fifth shot 
 got her just above the water-line under the foremost 
 gun, the sixth struck between that gun and the 
 conning-tower, the seventh hit 30 feet from the end 
 of the hull, the eighth got her just at the angle of the 
 conning-tower and deck, the ninth and tenth shells 
 came whizzing on to the water-line between the after 
 gun and conning-tower, whilst the eleventh hit the 
 deck just abaft the conning-tower and tearing it up. 
 Good gunnery, certainly ! 
 
 Tliis was about as much as the stunned submarine 
 could stand, and forging ahead she suddenly sub- 
 merged and sank stern first, but a few seconds later 
 she rose to the surface with a heavy list to starboard, 
 and then sank for good and all. For, on submerging, 
 she had found she was leaking so badly that her con- 
 dition was hopeless, and she was doubtless intending 
 to surrender, but apparently the fourth shot from 
 Stoncxrojj had so damaged the conning-tower hatch 
 that it could not be opened. Thus there perished 
 U 88, but this was more than the sinking of an 
 ordinary submarine, for with lier there went to his 
 doom Lieut. -Commander Schwieger, who, when in
 
 SHIPS OF ALL SIZES 245 
 
 command of U 20, had sunk the Lusitaiiia on JNIay 7, 
 1915, with the loss of over eleven hundred men, 
 women, and children. Altogether StonecropH action 
 had been very neat. He had lured the enemy into a 
 short range, utterly fooled him, and then disabled him 
 before he woke up. For this service Commander 
 Blackwood received the D.S.O., and three R.N.R. 
 lieutenants and a naval warrant officer each received 
 a D.S.C. But Q-ship life was always full of un- 
 certainties, for on the very next day Stoiiecrop was 
 herself torpedoed by another submarine at 1 p.m., 
 though fortunately this was in a position a little nearer 
 the coast. Two officers and twenty survivors were 
 picked up by a motor-launch of the Auxiliary Patrol 
 and landed at Berehaven ; sixty-four men in one boat 
 and a raft were remaining behind, but all available 
 craft were sent out to rescue them. 
 
 The employment of small coasting steamers was, 
 during the last phase of the war, more and more 
 developed. What the Q-ship captain liked was that 
 the enemy should attack him not with torpedoes but 
 with gunfire. Now, even the biggest German sub- 
 marines carried usually not more than ten torpedoes, 
 and inasmuch as his cruise away from any base lasted 
 weeks, and, in the case of the DeutscJiland class, even 
 months, it was obvious that the U-boat had to con- 
 serve his torpedoes for those occasions which were 
 really worth while. From this it follows that a sub- 
 marine captain who knew his work, and was anxious 
 to make a fine haul before ending his cruise, would 
 not, as a rule, waste his torpedoes on a 500-ton 
 steamer when he might have secured much bigger 
 tonnage by using the same missile against a 20,000-ton 
 liner. 
 
 This suggested an avenue of thought, and as early
 
 246 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 as January, 1918, the matter was considered by 
 Admiral Bayly and developed. Already there were 
 in existence several small vessels acting as Q-ships, 
 but simultaneously carrying out in all respects the 
 duties of cargo- carriers from port to port, and thus 
 paying their way. It was now decided to look for a 
 little steamer which, based on Queenstown, would 
 work between the Bristol Channel, Irish Sea, and the 
 south coast of Ireland, where even during the height 
 of the submarine campaign it was customary to see 
 such craft. As a result of this decision Captain 
 Gordon Campbell was sent to inspect the S.S. We.vford 
 Coast, which was being repaired at Liverpool. Her 
 gross tonnage was only 423, she had a well deck, 
 three masts, and engines placed aft : just the ordinary- 
 looking, innocent steamer that would hardly attract a 
 torpedo. Owned by JNIessrs. Powell, Bacon, Hough, 
 and Co., of Liverpool, this vessel had already done 
 valuable work in the war ; for in 1915 she had been 
 requisitioned for store-carrying in the Dardanelles, 
 where she was found invaluable in keeping the troops 
 supplied, and when that campaign came to an end 
 assisted at the evacuation. Returning to England, 
 she was again sent out as a store- carrier, this time to 
 the White Sea. Wexford Coast was now taken up 
 as a Q-ship, her fitting-out being supervised by Lieut. - 
 Commander L. S. Boggs, R.N.R., who had been in 
 command of the Q-ship Tamarisk, and from the last 
 ship came a large part of her new crew. She was 
 duly armed, and fitted with a cleverly concealed wire- 
 less aerial, to be used only in case of emergency, and 
 was then connnissioned on March 13, 1918, as ' Store- 
 Carrier No. 80,' this title being for the purpose of 
 preserving secrecy. She put to sea in her dual 
 capacity, but on August 31 had the misfortune to be
 
 SHIPS OF ALL SIZES 247 
 
 run into by the French S.S. Bidarty six miles south- 
 east of the Start, at four o'clock in the morning — 
 another instance of this fatal hour for collisions. The 
 Frencliman grounded on the Skerries and capsized, 
 and the JVcxford Coast had to put in to Devonport. 
 After the sinking of the Q-ship Stock force (to be 
 related presently), Admiral Bayly wished the captain 
 and crew of the latter to be appointed to a coaster 
 similar to Wexford Coast, so the Suffolk Coast was 
 chosen at the beginning of August whilst she was 
 lying in the Firth of Forth. Before the end of the 
 month she had arrived at Queenstown, where she was 
 fitted out. On November 10 she set out from 
 Queenstown, but on the following day came the 
 Armistice, which spoiled her ambitions. However, in 
 this, the latest of all Q-ships, we see the development 
 so clearly that it will not be out of place here to 
 anticipate dates and give her description. 
 
 Suffolk Coast was intentionally the most ordinary- 
 looking little coaster, with three masts, her engines 
 and funnel being placed aft, and the very last thing 
 she resembled was a man-of-war. But she was 
 heavily armed for so small a ship. In her were 
 embodied all the concentrated experience of battle 
 and engineering development. All that could be 
 learned from actual fighting, from narrow escapes, 
 and from defects manifested in awkward moments 
 was here taken advantage of. Instead of a r2-knot 
 4,000-ton steamer the development had, owing to the 
 trend of the campaign, been in the direction of a ship 
 one-eighth of the size, but more cleverly disguised 
 with better 'gadgets.' In fact, instead of being a 
 model of simplicity as in the early days, the Q-ship 
 had become a veritable box of tricks. It was the 
 triumph of mind over material, of brain over battle.
 
 248 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 Coolness and bravery and resolute endurance were 
 just as requisite in the last as in the first stages of the 
 campaign, but the qualities of scientific blufif' had 
 attained the highest value. The basic principle was 
 extreme offensive power combined with outward 
 innocence : the artfulness of the eagle, but the 
 appearance of a dove. 
 
 In Suffolk Coast there was one long series of 
 illusions from forward to aft. On the fo'c'sle head 
 was a quite usual wire reel such as is used in this 
 class of ship for winding in a wire rope. But this reel 
 had been hollowed out inside so as to allow the 
 captain to con the ship. Near by was also a peri- 
 scope, but this was disguised by being hidden in a 
 stove-pipe such as would seem to connect with the 
 crew's heating arrangements below. Now this was 
 not merely a display of ingenuity but an improve- 
 ment based on many a hard case. What frequently 
 happened after the ' abandon ship ' party pushed ofJ' ? 
 As we have seen, this was often the time when the 
 real fight began, and the enemy would shell the bridge 
 to make sure no livhig thing could remain. That 
 being so, the obvious position for the captain was to 
 be away from the bridge, though it broke away from 
 all the traditions of the sea. In Suffolk Coast the 
 enemy could continue sweeping the bridge, but the 
 captain would be under the shelter of the fo'c'sle head 
 and yet watching intently. Similarly both he and his 
 men need not, in passing from the bridge or one end 
 of the ship to another, be exposed to the enemy's fire, 
 for an ingenious tunnel was made right into the fo'c'sle 
 through the hold. In a similar manner, if the forward 
 part of the ship had been 'done in,' there was a peri- 
 scope afl disguised as a pipe coming up from the 
 galley stove.
 
 SHIPS OF ALL SIZES 249 
 
 Now, when a submarine started shelling a Q-ship,the 
 latter would naturally heave-to and then pretend she 
 had been disabled by being hit in the engine-room. 
 This was achieved by fitting a pipe specially arranged 
 to let steam issue forth. The importance of wireless 
 in these death-struggles may well be realized, so not 
 merely was one wireless cabinet placed below, but 
 another was situated in the fo'c'sle. The Suffolk Coast, 
 with her two 4-inch and two 12-pounders, was armed 
 in a manner superior to any submarines excepting 
 those of the biggest classes such as voyaged south to the 
 Canaries and north-west African coast. This Q-ship's 
 guns were concealed in the most wonderfully ingenious 
 manner, so that it would have puzzled even a sea- 
 man to discover their presence. Thus the forward 
 12-pounder was mounted in No. 1 hold, the hatch 
 being suitably arranged for collapsing. The first 
 4-inch gun was placed further aft, covered by a deck, 
 and the sides made to fall down when the time came 
 for action. The second 4-inch was mounted still 
 further aft and similarly concealed, whilst the other 
 12-pounder was allowed to be conspicuous at the 
 stern so that all U-craft might believe she was the 
 usual defensively armed merchant ship. Without 
 this they might have become suspicious. In this 
 ' mystery ship ' everything was done to render her 
 capable of remaining afloat for the maximum of time 
 after injury, and, in addition to having a well-stowed 
 cargo of timber, she had special watertight bulkheads 
 fitted. With a thorough system of voice-pipes, so 
 that the captain could keep a perfect control o^'er the 
 ship's firing — a most essential consideration, as the 
 reader will already have ascertained — and a crew of 
 nearly fifty experienced officers and men, such a small 
 ship represented the apotheosis of the decoy just as
 
 250 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 the war was terminating. Every sort of scheme 
 which promised possibiHties was tried, and many 
 clever minds had been at work, but this represented 
 the standard of success after four long years. 
 
 Every new aspect of the submarine advancement 
 had to be thought out and met, and the variations 
 were most noticeable, but during the last few months 
 of the war considerable attention had to be concen- 
 trated on the areas of the Azores, the north, south, 
 east, and west of Ireland, the Bristol Channel, and 
 the approaches to the English Channel in the west. 
 But by the spring of 1918 the crews of German 
 submarines had become distinctly inferior. Their 
 commanding officers were often young and raw, there 
 was a great dearth of trained engineer officers and 
 experienced petty officers, and this was shown in 
 frequent engine-room breakdowns. So many sub- 
 marines had failed to return home, and others reported 
 such hairbreadth escapes, that the inferior crews 
 became nervous and were not sorry to be taken 
 prisoners. The fact was that not only were expert, 
 highly skilled officers hard to find, but the hands he 
 was compelled to go to sea with were no longer 
 chosen by the captain ; he had to accept whatever 
 recruits were drafted to his craft. Of the best 
 personnel that remained many had lost their nerve 
 and had a very real dread of mines, depth charges, 
 and decoy ships. The institution of our convoy 
 system and of Q- ships as part of the convoy did not 
 add to the pleasures of the U-boat officers. It is true 
 that the often excellent shooting of the submarines 
 was due to the fact that their gun-layers were generally 
 selected from the High Sea Fleet, but as against this 
 many of our Q-ship expert gunners were out of the 
 Grand Fleet. It is true that the cruiser submarines
 
 SHirS OF ALL SIZES 2.51 
 
 with their two 5"9-inch guns, plus torpedoes, were 
 formidable foes even for the most heavily armed 
 decoy, but as against this they took a long time to 
 dive, and thus represented a better target. 
 
 If we consider these facts in regard to the later 
 tactics of the submarines in contest with our decoy 
 ships, there is much that becomes clear. The ex- 
 cellence of our intelligence system has been shown 
 by various British and German writers since the war, 
 and, as a rule, we were extraordinarily prepared for 
 the new developments with which our Q-ships were 
 likely to be faced. On the other hand, the enemy's 
 supply of intelligence was bad, and if we put ourselves 
 in the position of an inexperienced young U-boat 
 captain we can easily see how difficult was his task 
 toward the end of hostilities. He was sent out to 
 sink ships, and yet practically every British ship was 
 at least armed defensively, and there was nothing to 
 indicate which of them might be a well-armed decoy, 
 save for the fact that he had been informed by his 
 superiors that trap-ships were seldom of a size greater 
 than 4,000 tons. Sailing ships, fishing craft, and 
 steamers might be ready to spring a surprise, so that 
 it was not easy for the German to combine ruthless 
 attack with reasonable caution : thus, in effect, the 
 battle came down to a matter of personality. It was 
 not merely a question of the man behind the gun, 
 nor of the man behind the torpedo, but the man 
 at the periscope of the submarine versus the man 
 peeping at him from the spy-hole of the steamer. 
 They were strange tactics, indeed, to be employed in 
 naval war when we consider the simple, hearty 
 methods of previous campaigns in history, but even 
 as an impersonal study of two foes this perpetual 
 battle of wits, of subtleties, and make-believe, must
 
 252 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 ever remain both interesting and instructive in spite 
 of the terrible loss of life accompanying it. Life on 
 board one of the small steam Q-ships was, apart from 
 its dangers arising through mines and submarines, 
 distinctly lacking in comfort. The following extracts 
 from the private diary of a Q-ship's commanding 
 officer at different dates afford, in the fewest words, 
 an insight into the life on board : 
 
 ' The heavy westerly gale was banking up the west- 
 going tide, and made the most fierce and dangerous 
 sea that I have ever seen. The ship made little head- 
 way and was tossed about like a small boat. Fortu- 
 nately we managed to keep end on to the sea, or I 
 think the old tub would have gone slick over. As it 
 was she behaved well, though her movements were 
 pretty violent. Seas broke over the stern and washed 
 away the stern gratings, one big sea broke right over 
 the forward deck, a tumbling mass of foam, into the 
 water on the other side of the ship, carrying away a 
 ventilator and some steam-pipes. I had one spasm of 
 anxiety, when in the middle of all this the wheel 
 jammed for a few seconds, and I feared she would 
 broach- to. If we had done so, I think the ship would 
 at once have been rolled over and smothered. I have 
 never before seen such enormous breakers. . . .' 
 
 ' Had just finished tea and was sitting at the table 
 yarning with the others when the alarm gong went 
 and we all dashed out. . . . Immediately before the 
 
 gong went, INI , our young R.N.V.R. signalman, 
 
 who had never been to sea before, and who was on 
 
 watch, remarked to W , the officer of the watch, 
 
 " What's that funny-looking stick sticking out of the 
 
 water over there ?" W cast an eye at the said 
 
 " funny-looking stick sticking out of the water " 200 
 yards on our starboard beam, and remarked profanely :
 
 SHIPS OF ALL SIZES 253 
 
 " Good God, man, why, it's a periscope !" and promptly 
 rang the gong.' It was, indeed, a periscope, and 
 presently the submarine opened fire and sent a shell 
 through the ship's engine-room, which disabled the 
 ship, though she was afterwards towed into port, 
 where she was repaired and refitted for her next 
 encounter. 
 
 ' Completed loading timber at 11 a.m. Total 599 
 tons. That ought to keep us afloat if we are tor- 
 pedoed. . . . The ship's behaviour is quite different 
 to what it was with coal ballast. She moves, but 
 with a much easier motion, and without that terrible 
 
 jerkiness she had before. . . . When off the we 
 
 fell in with a lifeboat under sail, evidently with 
 survivors from a sunk ship. Stopped and took them 
 on board. They turned out to be the captain, 2nd 
 officer, purser, 3rd engineer, and ten men, part of the 
 
 crew of the S.S. , which had been torpedoed at 
 
 11.30 a.m. yesterday. . . . Discussing the daily lie 
 
 for Fritz with S : To-day we are from Cape 
 
 Coast Castle with kernels, bound for London. I 
 wonder if it will go down with Fritz. . . .' 
 
 And the following entry after successfully sinking 
 a German submarine notwithstanding many months 
 of monotonous uneventfulness : 
 
 ' I then " spliced the main-brace." We passed the 
 
 S Light at 11.30 p.m., and just before picking 
 
 up the Examination boat received a wireless message 
 from [the Commander-in-Chief], which reads : " Very 
 well done. A year's perseverance well rewarded." . . . 
 We anchored at midnight, and a boat at once came 
 off with a doctor, who removed the wounded. ... A 
 tug brought off the armed guard sent ... to re- 
 ceive our prisoners. . . . We formally mustered the 
 prisoners and handed them over, with the signing of
 
 254 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 receipts for their custody and disposal, etc. It was 
 an impressive moment when 1 led the officer in 
 charge to the saloon, and handed over to him the 
 commanding officer of the submarine. A couple of 
 bluejackets with rifles fixed promptly closed up at 
 either elbow, and he was marched out. He had the 
 grace to pause at the door, where I was standing, and 
 to thank me for my treatment of him. He was no 
 doubt very much upset by the loss of his ship : we 
 found him extremely glum and did our best to cheer 
 him up. He had lunch with us, and I think he 
 really did find that we were human. Similarly the 
 other officers tendered their thanks (they all went 
 away in a good deal of our clothing), and when it 
 
 came to the marching off of the men, stepped 
 
 out of the ranks and tendered to me their grateful 
 thanks for the excellent treatment they had received 
 at our hands.'
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE LAST PHASE 
 
 One of the effects of the British blockade on Germany- 
 was to prevent such valuable war material as iron 
 reaching Germany from Spain. Now Spanish ores, 
 being of great purity, were in pre-war days imported 
 in large quantities for the manufacture of the best 
 qualities of steel, and it was a serious matter for Ger- 
 many that these importations were cut off. But 
 luckily for her she had been accustomed to obtain, 
 even prior to the war, supplies of magnetic ore from 
 Sweden, and it was of the utmost importance that 
 this should be continued now that the war would last 
 much longer than she had ever expected. 
 
 If you look at a map of Scandinavia inside the 
 Arctic Circle you will notice the West Fjord, which 
 is between the Lofoten Isles and the Norwegian 
 mainland. Follow this up and you come to the 
 Ofoten Fjord, at the head of which is the Norwegian 
 port of Narvik. From here there ran across the 
 Swedish border to Lulea what was the most northerly 
 railway in Europe, and Narvik was a great harbour 
 for the export of magnetic iron ore. Hither German 
 ships came, loaded, and then, by keeping within the 
 three-mile limit of territorial waters, going inside 
 islands, and taking every possible advantage of night, 
 managed to get their valuable cargoes back home 
 for the Teutonic munition makers. 
 
 Now it was obviously one of the duties of our 
 
 255
 
 256 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STOKY 
 
 Tenth Cruiser Squadron, entrusted with the intercep- 
 tion of shipping in the north, to see that Germany- 
 did not receive this ore. But having regard to the 
 dehcacy of not violating the waters of a neutral 
 nation, and bearing in mind the pilotage difficulties 
 off a coast studded with islands and half-tide rocks, 
 this was no easy matter. It was here that the small 
 ships came in so useful. We can go back to June, 
 1915, and find the armed trawler Tenby Castle (Lieu- 
 tenant J. T. Randell, R.N.R.) attached nominally to 
 the Tenth Cruiser Squadron, iDut sent to work single- 
 handed, as it were, off the Norwegian coast intercepting 
 shipping. As a distinguished admiral remarked, here 
 she lay in a very gallant manner for twenty days, 
 during which time she sank one enemy ship, very 
 nearly secured a second, and was able to hand over to 
 the Tenth Cruiser Squadron a neutral ship with iron 
 ore. It was a most difficult situation to handle, for it 
 required not merely a quick decision and bold initia- 
 tive, but very accurate cross bearings had to be made, 
 as these offending steamers were on the border-line of 
 territorial waters. That great enemy of all seamen 
 irrespective of nationality, fog, was in this case actually 
 to be a very real friend to our trawler ; for in thick 
 weather and the vicinity of a rock-bound coast full of 
 hidden dangers, skippers of the ore ships would natur- 
 ally be inclined to play for safety and stand so far out 
 from the shore as to be in non- territorial waters. A 
 further consideration was that owing to the effect of 
 the magnetic ore on their compasses they could not 
 afford to take undue navigational risks in thick 
 weather. What they preferred was nice clear weather, 
 so that they could hug the land. 
 
 The success of Tenby Castle was such that lialf a
 
 THE LAST PHASE 257 
 
 dozen other trawlers were selected and stationed off 
 that coast except in the wild wintry months, and this 
 idea, as we shall presently see, was developed still 
 further, but it will assist our interest if we appreciate 
 first the difficulties as exemplified in the case of the 
 Tenby Castle. On the last day of June, 1915, this 
 trawler was about five miles N.E. of the Kya Islet, 
 and it was not quite midday, when she sighted a 
 steamer coming down from Nero Sound ; so she 
 closed her and read her name, Pallas. Inasmuch as 
 the latter was showing no colours, Tenby Castle now 
 hoisted the White Ensign and the international signal 
 to stop immediately. This was ignored, so the 
 trawler came round and saw she was a German ship 
 belonging to Flensburg, and fired a shot across the 
 enemy's bow. The German then stopped her engines, 
 ported her helm, and headed in the direction of the 
 coast, having a certain amount of way on. The 
 trawler closed and ordered her to show her colours, 
 but the German declined ; so the latter was then told 
 to steer to the westward, which he also refused to do. 
 Lieutenant Randell, informing him now that he would 
 give him five minutes in which to make up his mind 
 either to come with him or be sunk, sent a wireless 
 signal informing H.M. ships of the Tenth Cruiser 
 Squadron, then went alongside the German and put an 
 armed guard aboard ; but the captain of Pallas rang 
 down for full speed ahead and starboarded his helm, 
 whereupon Tenby Castle fired a couple of shots at the 
 steamer's steering gear on the poop, damaging it. The 
 German stopped his engines once more, but the ship 
 was gradually drawing towards the shore, so that 
 when f^ictorian arrived Pallas was about two and a 
 half miles from the land, thus being just within 
 
 17
 
 258 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 territorial waters, and had to be released. There had 
 been no casualties. 
 
 The next incident occurred a week later. At ten 
 minutes to six on the morning of July 7 Tenby Castle 
 was lying off the western entrance of the West Fjord, 
 the weather being thick and rainy, when a large 
 steamer was seen to the N.N.W., so Tenbij Castle put 
 on full speed and ordered her to stop. This was the 
 Swedish S.S. Malmland, with about 7,000 tons of 
 magnetic ore. After being ordered to follow the 
 trawler, 31almland put on full speed and drew ahead ; 
 so she was made to keep right astern at reduced 
 speed, and just before half-past eight that morning 
 was handed over to H.M.S. India of the above- 
 mentioned cruiser squadron. The day passed, and it 
 was a few minutes after midnight when this trawler, 
 again lying off the West Fjord, sighted a steamer 
 coming down from Narvik. A shot was fired across 
 the steamer's bows, and on rounding-to under the 
 steamship's stern it was observed that she was the 
 German S.S. Frederich Arp, of Hamburg. She was 
 ordered to stop, then the trawler closed and ordered 
 the steamer to follow. The German refused to obey 
 and steamed towards the land, so the Tenby Castle was 
 compelled to fire a shot into his quarter, and this 
 caused him to stop. After he had several times refused 
 to follow, Lieutenant Randell gave him five minutes 
 and informed him he would either have to accompany 
 the trawler or else be sunk. The five minutes passed, 
 the obstinate German still declined, and two minutes 
 later put his engines ahead and made towards the 
 shore. It was now an hour since the ship had first 
 been sighted, so there was nothing for it but for the 
 trawler to sink her, and she was shelled at the water- 
 line and sunk four and a half miles away from the
 
 THE LAST PHASE 259 
 
 nearest land, her crew of thirteen being handed over 
 a few hours later to H.M.S. India. Thus a cargo of 
 4,000 tons of magnetic ore was prevented from 
 reaching Germany. 
 
 Now, it was quite obvious that the information of 
 these incidents would not be long in reaching Germany 
 from an agent via Norway. The German Captain 
 Gayer has stated since the war that news reached 
 Germany that ' an English auxiliary cruiser was 
 permanently stationed ' off West Fjord, whose task, he 
 says, was 'to seize and sink the German steamers 
 coming with minerals from Narvik.' Therefore, on 
 August 3, Germany despatched U 22 from Borkum 
 to West Fjord, and this craft had scarcely taken up her 
 position when she saw the armed merchant cruiser 
 India enter West Fjord and torpedoed her at long 
 range, so that India was sunk. Gayer, who occupied 
 during the war a high administrative position in the 
 U-boat service, adds the following statement : ' It 
 was,' he remarks, ' one of the few instances in which 
 a submarine found with such precision the object of 
 attack really intended for it, when the information 
 had been given by an agent.' 
 
 We pass over the intervening years and come to 
 February, 1918. On the nineteenth of that month 
 the Q-ship Tay and Tyne had left Lerwick, in the 
 Shetlands, to perform similar work off the Norwegian 
 coast, where she arrived on the twenty-second. This 
 was a little 557-ton steamer, which had been requisi- 
 tioned at the end of the previous July and fitted out 
 at Lowestoft with a 4-inch gun aft, suitably hidden, 
 and a couple of 12-pounders. She was a single-screw 
 ship, built at Dundee in 1909, having a funnel, two 
 masts, and the usual derricks. In addition to her 
 guns she carried one torpedo tube and also smoke-
 
 260 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 making apparatus. She was commanded by Lieu- 
 tenant Mack, R.N., with whom Lieutenant G. H. P. 
 Muhlhauser, R.N.R., went as second in command, 
 both of these officers, as the reader will remember, 
 having served together in the Q-sailing-ship Result. 
 Having commissioned the new ship, Lieutenant Mack 
 then took her from Lowestoft to the secluded area of 
 the Wash in order to practise gunnery and the 
 ' panic ' party arrangements. JNIonths passed, but on 
 February 22 something of interest happened, for some 
 distance below the Vigten Islands a couple of 
 steamers were sighted, so course was then altered 
 to cut off the one that was bound to the southward. 
 When 1,000 yards away the latter hoisted German 
 colours, so Tay and Tijne (alias Cheviton and 
 Dundreary) hoisted the international signal 'M.N.' 
 to stop immediately. This ship was the Dusseldorf\ 
 a nine-year-old, typical German flush-decked tramp 
 of 1,200 tons, with 1,700 tons of magnetic ore on 
 board. As she disregarded the signal, a shell was 
 fired across her bows, and this caused her to stop and 
 hoist the answering pennant. Lieutenant Mack then 
 steamed round the stern, keeping her covered all the 
 time with his gun, and now took up station inshore 
 of the German. 
 
 Dusseldorf had been completely taken by surprise, 
 and never supposed that this little steamer could 
 possibly be a trap-ship. Tay and Tync lowered a 
 boat containing several of the British crew, under 
 Lieutenant Muhlhauser, armed with revolvers and 
 rifles, and this guard then boarded the enemy, on 
 board whom were found a couple of Norwegian 
 Customs House officials and two Norse pilots. Lieu- 
 tenant Muhlhauser then ordered the German captain 
 to muster his crew, which he promptly did, and now
 
 THE LAST PHASE 261 
 
 the terrified crew were given five minutes to collect 
 their clothes. The captain handed over the ship's 
 papers and protested that the ship was in territorial 
 waters. Eleven Germans and the four Norwegians 
 were then transferred to the Q-ship, who landed the 
 four Norwegians in the Dusseldorfs boat at Sves 
 Fjord, and this boat they were allowed to keep. The 
 British boarding party had consisted of a dozen men, 
 but Lieutenant Muhlhauser sent three back to the 
 Q-ship, and retained three German stokers and the 
 two German engineers in order to get the prize back 
 to England, these five men working under the super- 
 vision of one of the l^ay and Tyne's crew. 
 
 Having received orders to proceed, Lieutenant 
 Muhlhauser then began to take the Dusseldorf across 
 the North Sea. I am indebted to him for having 
 allowed me to see his private diary of this voyage, and 
 I think it well illustrates the unexpected and sur- 
 prising difficulties with which Q-ship officers so 
 frequently found themselves confronted. Having 
 parted company with the 2'ay and Tyne, Dusseldorfs 
 new captain proceeded to look for navigational 
 facilities, but in this respect she was amazingly ill- 
 found. The only chart available showed just a small 
 portion of the North Sea, and there was no sextant 
 in the ship. This was a delightful predicament, for 
 with all her magnetic ore it could be taken for certain 
 that the compass would have serious deviation, and, 
 having regard to the number of minefields in the 
 North Sea and the physical dangers of the east coast 
 of Scotland, it was a gloomy prelude to crossing from 
 one side to the other. 
 
 Having been round the ship, it was now possible 
 to ascertain her character. She was not a thing of 
 beauty, there was no electric light, the engine-room
 
 262 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 was in a neglected condition, and round it were the 
 engineers' cabins, the skipper and mate being berthed 
 in a deckhouse under the bridge. However, as the 
 prize dipped to the North Sea swell it was a joy to 
 realize that all the hundreds of tons of ore would not 
 reach Germany. At this late stage of the war she 
 was very short of this commodity, and the loss to her 
 would be felt. The Tay and Tyne had certainly 
 made a most useful capture. Fortunately there was 
 found plenty of food in Dusseldorf\ and enough coal 
 for about three weeks, so if only a few days' fine, clear 
 weather could be ensured, the ship would soon be 
 across and anchored in a British harbour. That, of 
 course, was always supposing there was no encounter- 
 ing of mines or torpedoes. 
 
 By dusk of the first day the Halten Lighthouse 
 (Lat. 64.10 N., Long. 9.25 E.) was made out, and then 
 the night set in. For some time the glass had been 
 falling, and before the morning it was blowing a gale 
 of wind with a heavy sea. Loaded with such a cargo 
 Dusseldorf made very heavy weather, and was like a 
 half- tide rock most of the time, and during the next 
 day made only 30 miles in twenty-four hours ! 
 Strictly speaking, this is not the North Sea but the 
 Atlantic Ocean, and February is as bad a month as 
 you could choose to be off this Norwegian coast in a 
 ship that could make good only a mile an hour. By 
 the afternoon of the twenty-fourth the Romsdal 
 Islands had been sighted, and then, fearing lest the 
 enemy might have received news of the capture and 
 sent out some of his light forces, the ship was kept 
 well out from the shore. The Germans should never 
 get this ore, and arrangements were made to sink her 
 rather than give her up. 
 
 With no chart, a doubtful compass, and so few
 
 THE LAST PHASEi 263 
 
 appliances, was there ever an Atlantic voyage made 
 under more casual circumstances ? Bearings were 
 taken of the Pole Star and Sirius in order to get a 
 check on the compass, and the ship proceeded roughly 
 on a W.S.W. course. During the twenty-fifth and 
 twenty-sixth it blew a westerly gale, and the seas 
 crashed over her without mercy. Owing to the cargo 
 being heavy and stowed low, the IDusseldorf disip\a,yed 
 a quick, lively roll, and already had broken down 
 twice, when for a third time on the evening of the 
 twenty-sixth she again stopped. She was now four 
 days out, and the captain was a little anxious as to his 
 position, but it was impossible to ascertain it. A cast 
 of the lead was taken and bottom was found at thirty 
 fathoms. From this it was assumed that they were 
 now somewhere near the Outer Skerries (East of the 
 Shetlands) ; and inasmuch as it was believed there 
 was a German minefield, laid this year, not far away, 
 anxiety was in nowise lessened. As soon as the 
 repairs had been effected, course was altered to south- 
 east for 16 miles, then south for the same distance, 
 and north-west in the hope of making the land. This 
 was done, but no land appeared, and it was blowing 
 a gale from the north-west. Whether the ship was 
 now in the North Sea or whether she had overshot 
 the Shetlands and got the other side of Scotland, 
 who could say? Neither the error of the compass 
 nor the error of the log could be known. It was now 
 the twenty-seventh, and they might be north, south, 
 east, or west of the Shetlands, but, on the whole. 
 Lieutenant Muhlhauser believed he was in the North 
 Sea, so decided to run south until well clear of the 
 Moray Firth minefields, and then south-west until 
 the land was picked up. 
 
 The twenty-eighth of February passed without land
 
 264 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 being sighted, and there was always the horrible 
 possibility that suddenly the ship might strike the 
 shore in the darkness. It was a long-drawn-out 
 period of suspense, aggravated by bad weather and 
 the presence of mines and submarines. But as spring 
 follows winter and dawn comes after night, so at 
 length there came relief. At six in the morning of 
 the first of March a light was picked up on the star- 
 board bow, which, on consulting a nautical almanack, 
 was identified as the Bell Rock (east of the Tay). 
 Continuing further south, two trawlers and an armed 
 yacht were sighted off JNIay Island, so a signal was 
 sent through the yacht to Admiral Startin at Granton 
 reporting the arrival of a prize captured by Tay and 
 Tyne, and, in due course, having steamed up the 
 Firth of Forth, Dusseldorf at last came to anchor and 
 reported herself. It had been a plucky voyage made 
 under the worst conditions, and many an officer has 
 been decorated for an achievement less than this. 
 
 As for Tay and Tyne, she, too, had passed through 
 a trying period. After landing the Norwegian pilots 
 and Customs House officials in Sves Fjord she had 
 steamed out to sea and made bad weather of the gale, 
 water even pouring into the engine-room ; but she 
 had been saved from foundering by taking shelter in 
 a Norwegian fjord, and next day cruised about the 
 coast looking for more ore ships, but had no further 
 luck, so on February 25 shaped a course for I^erwick, 
 where she duly arrived, and the German prisoners 
 were taken out of the fo'c'sle and handed over to the 
 naval authorities. 
 
 In the following month Tay and I'ync, accom- 
 panied by another Q-ship named the Glendale, was 
 again off' the Norwegian coast on the look-out for ore 
 ships, just as in Elizabethan days our ancestral seamen
 
 THE LAST PHASE 265 
 
 were in a western sea looking out for the Spanish 
 ships with their rich cargoes. Glendale (aHas Speed- 
 well II. and Q 23) was a disguised trawler of 273 tons 
 belonging to Granton, and armed with a couple of 
 12-pounders, a 6-pounder, and two torpedoes. On 
 the twenty-first of March, Glendale was off the Oxnaes 
 Lighthouse when she captured the German S.S. 
 Valeria with 2,200 tons of ore. In vile weather 
 these three ships then started to cross to Lerwick, 
 but, after they had got part of the way across, 
 Valeria's small supply of .coal gave out, so on the 
 twenty-third she had to be abandoned and then sunk 
 by the shelling from the two Q-ships, the crew having 
 been previously taken off by boats, while both Q-ships 
 poured oil on to the sea. Although Valeria never 
 reached a British port this was most useful work ; for 
 not only was the ore prevented from reaching Ger- 
 many, but they were deprived of a brand-new 1,000- 
 ton ship. Her captain, who, together with the rest of 
 the crew, was brought into Lerwick, had only just left 
 the German Navy, and this was his first trip. In- 
 cidents such as these show what excellent service can 
 be rendered in naval warfare irrespective of the size of 
 ships and of adverse circumstances, provided only that 
 the officers have zeal and determination. The risks 
 run by these two small ships were very great when we 
 consider the manner in which our Scandinavian con- 
 voys had been cut up in spite of destroyer protection. 
 Conversely, seeing how necessary for the prosecution 
 of the war these supplies of ore were to Germany, is 
 it not a little surprising that she did not station a 
 submarine off the Norwegian coast to act as escort, 
 submerged, and then torpedo the Tay and Tyne as 
 soon as she began to close the ore ship ? One of her 
 smaller submarines could surely have been spared for
 
 266 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 such an undertaking, and it would have been, ii'om 
 their point of view, more than worth while. 
 
 Finally, we have to relate the fight of another small 
 coasting steamer transformed into a Q-ship. This 
 was the StockfoTce (alias Charyce), which had been 
 requisitioned at Cardiff at the beginning of 1918, and 
 then armed with a couple of 4-inch guns, a 12-pounder, 
 and a 3-pounder. Her captain was Lieutenant Harold 
 Auten, D.S.C, R.N.R., who had had a great deal of 
 experience in Q-ships under Admiral Bayly, and had 
 recently commanded the Q-ship Heather. On the 
 thirtieth of July, 1918, Stockforce was about 25 miles 
 south-west of the Start, steaming along a westerly 
 course at 7\ knots, the time being just before five in 
 the afternoon, when the track of a torpedo was seen 
 on the starboard beam coming straight on for the 
 ship. The crew were sent to their stations, the helm 
 was put hard aport and engines full speed astern, in 
 the hope of avoiding the torpedo ; but it was too late. 
 The ship was struck on the starboard side abreast of 
 No. 1. hatch, putting the forward gun out of action, 
 entirely wrecking the fore part of the ship, including 
 the bridge, and wounding three ratings and an officer. 
 
 As soon as the torpedo had exploded there came a 
 tremendous shower of timber, which had been packed 
 in the hold for flotation purposes, and besides these 
 12-pounder shells, hatches, and other debris came 
 falling on to the bridge and fore part of the ship, 
 wounding the first lieutenant, the navigating officer, 
 two ratings, and adding to the injuries of the forward 
 gun. All this had happened as the result of one 
 torpedo. Tlie enemy, perhaps, being homeward 
 bound with a spare torpedo in his tube, had not 
 hesitated to use such a weapon on a small coaster 
 instead of employing his guns. Stockforce had been
 
 THE LAST PHASE 267 
 
 fairly caught and was settling down by the head. 
 The ' abandon ship ' party then cleared away their 
 boat and went through their usual make-believe, 
 whilst the ship's surgeon had the wounded taken down 
 to the 'tween deck, where their injuries could be 
 attended to. Here it was none too safe, for the bulk- 
 heads had been weakened by the explosion so that 
 the water flowed aft, flooding the magazine and 
 'tween decks to a depth of three feet, and thereby 
 rendering the work of the surgeon not merely difficult 
 but hazardous. 
 
 Whilst the ' panic ' party were rowing ahead of the 
 ship, the rest lay at their stations on board, behaving 
 with the greatest equanimity and coolness, while 
 Lieutenant Auten, as the fore-control and bridge were 
 out of action, exercised his command from the after 
 gunhouse. Five minutes later the submarine rose to 
 the surface half a mile distant, and, being very shy, 
 remained there for a quarter of an hour carefully 
 watching Stockforce for any suspicious move. In 
 accordance with the training, the ' panic ' party then 
 began to row down the port side towards the port 
 quarter so as to draw the enemy on, and this manoeuvre 
 succeeded in fooling the German, who now came 
 down the port side as required, being only about three 
 hundred yards away. As soon as the enemy was full 
 on the beam of Stockforce, the latter handed him the 
 surprise packet. It was now 5.40 p.m. as both 4-incli 
 guns opened fire from the Q-ship. The first round 
 from the after gun passed over the conning-tower, 
 carrying away the wireless and one of the periscopes, 
 the second shell hitting the conning-tower in the 
 centre and blowing it away, sending high into the air 
 a man who was in the conning-tower. 
 
 Stochjhrces second 4-inch gun with her first shot
 
 268 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 hit the enemy on the water-line at the base where the 
 conning-tower had been, tearing the submarine right 
 open and blowing out many of the crew. A large 
 volume of blue smoke began to pour out of the 
 U-boat, and shell after shell was then poured into the 
 German until she sank by the stern, by which time 
 twenty direct hits had been obtained. The enemy 
 submerged, leaving a quantity of debris on the water, 
 and was never seen again. But in the meantime 
 Stockforce was in a critical condition, and every 
 attempt now was made to save her from foundering. 
 Having recalled the ' panic ,' party, the engines were 
 put full speed ahead in the effort to reach the nearest 
 land and beach her, as she was rapidly listing to star- 
 board and going down by the head. At 6.30 p.m. 
 two trawlers were sighted who closed the ship, and as 
 Stockforce was already practically awash forward and 
 along most of the starboard side, all the wounded and 
 half the men were now transferred to one of these 
 trawlers. 
 
 With a volunteer crew the Q-ship then went ahead 
 again, but the engine-room was leaking badly, and in 
 the stokehold there were several feet of water, and it 
 was clear that the life of Stockforce was a matter of a 
 very short while, for the water in both engine-room 
 and stokehold began now to rise rapidly and the ship 
 was about to sink. But two British torpedo-boats 
 had now arrived, and at 5.15 p.m., when off Bolt 
 Tail, with Plymouth Sound only a few miles off, the 
 Stockforce' s captain had to send the rest of the ship's 
 company from the sinking ship, while he remained on 
 board with only the first lieutenant. Five minutes 
 later a dinghy from one of the torpedo-boats fetched 
 them also, and after only another five minutes Stock- 
 force sank. It had been a plucky fight and a fine
 
 THE LAST PHASE 269 
 
 endeavour to save the ship, but this was not to be 
 successful. Handsome awards were made in respect 
 of these efforts, the coveted Victoria Cross being 
 conferred on Lieutenant Auten, whilst the Distin- 
 guished Service Cross was bestowed on Lieutenant 
 H. F. Rainey, R.N.R., Lieutenant L. E. Workman, 
 R.N.R., Lieutenant W. J. Grey, R.N.R., Sub- 
 Lieutenant G. S. Anakin, R.N.R., Assistant- Pay- 
 master A. D. Davis, R.N.R., and Surgeon-Probationer 
 G. E. Strahan, R.N.V.R. 
 
 This last fight represents Q-ship warfare at its 
 highest point of development. We have here the 
 experienced officers of each nation, knowing all the 
 tricks of their highly specialized profession, fighting 
 each other in the most cunningly devised craft. 
 Each of these vessels represented all that could be 
 done by a combination of intellect and engineering 
 skill, so that when the two should meet in the sea 
 arena the fight could not fail to be interesting. After 
 the preliminary moves had been made how would 
 matters stand ? The answer is that in the final appeal 
 it was largely a matter of luck. Now, in the duel 
 we have just witnessed the first round of the match 
 was undoubtedly won by the submarine, whose 
 torpedo got home and wrought such damage that the 
 ship was doomed from the first. Round number two, 
 when the ' panic ' party succeeded in luring the enemy 
 on to the requisite range and bearing, was distinctly 
 in favour of Stockforce. So also was round three, in 
 which she managed to shell him so thoroughly. But 
 here the element of luck enters and characterizes the 
 rest of the day. To all intents and purposes the sub- 
 marine was destroyed and sunk ; whereas, in point 
 of fact, notwithstanding her grievous wounds, she 
 managed to get back home. It was touch-and-go
 
 270 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 with her, as it had been witli von Spiegel's submarine 
 after being shelled by the Piize, but good fortune 
 just weighed the scales and prevented a loss. On 
 the other hand, Stockforce might have had the luck 
 just to keep afloat a few more miles and get into 
 Plymouth Sound, but as it was she sank a little too 
 soon, and thus the actual result of the encounter 
 might by some be called indecisive, or even in 
 favour of the enemy. This is not so. To us the loss 
 of a small coaster turned temporarily into a man-of- 
 war was of little consequence. A similar ship, the 
 Suffolk Coast, would soon be picked up and then 
 turned over to the dockyard experts to be fitted out ; 
 but in the case of a submarine there were only limited 
 numbers. That particular U-boat would now have a 
 long list of defects and be a non-combatant for a long 
 time, and her crew would morally be seriously affected 
 by their miraculous escape, and they would not forget 
 to pass on their impressions to their opposite numbers 
 in other submarines. 
 
 It was rather the cumulative effect of Q-ships, 
 destroyers, mines, auxiliary patrol craft, depth charges, 
 hydrophones, convoys, and good staff work which 
 broke the spirit of the German submarine menace, so 
 that if the war had continued much longer U-boats 
 would have been thwarted except within certain 
 limits of the North Sea. Every weapon has its rise 
 and fall in the sphere of usefulness ; the shell is 
 repelled by armour-plate, the Zeppelin is destroyed 
 by the aircraft, and so on. So it was with the Q-ship. 
 It came into being at a time when no other method 
 seemed likely to deal with submarines adequately. It 
 became successful, it rose into popularity to its logical 
 peak, and tlien began to wane in usefulness as the sub- 
 marine re-adapted herself to these new conditions.
 
 THE LAST PHASE 271 
 
 Afterwards came the period when the mine barrages in 
 the Hehgoland Bight, in the Dover Strait, and across 
 the northern end of the North Sea, and the hydro- 
 phones, in swiftly moving Hght craft, made the Hfe of 
 any submarine precarious in his going and coming. 
 The hydrophone has made such wonderful develop- 
 ments since the war that in the future within the 
 narrow seas a submarine would find life a little too 
 thrilling to be pleasant. 
 
 But for a long period the Q-ship did wonders, and 
 to the officers and men of this service for their bravery 
 and endurance we owe much. They were taking 
 enormous risks, and they turned these risks into 
 successes of great magnitude as long as ever the game 
 was possible. JNlost, though not all, of the ships and 
 officers and men came from the Mercantile Marine, 
 and in this special force we see the perfect co-opera- 
 tion between the two branches of our national sea 
 service for the good of the Empire. The Royal Navy 
 could teach them all that was to be known about the 
 technicalities of fighting, could provide them with 
 guns and expert gunners, could give them all the 
 facilities of His Majesty's dockyards, whilst at the 
 same time the Mercantile Marine provided the ships 
 and the personnel who knew what were the normal 
 habits and appearances of a tramp, a collier, or a 
 coaster. Originally known as special service ships, 
 as decoys, then as Q-ships, these vessels during 1917 
 and 1918 were known as H.M.S. So-and-So, but it 
 was under the designation of Q-ships that they 
 reached their pinnacle of fame, and as such they will 
 always be known, so it has been thought well thus to 
 describe them in these pages. But whether we think 
 of them as mystery ships or as properly commissioned 
 vessels of His Majesty's Navy, there will ever remain
 
 272 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 for them a niche in our great sea story, and the valour 
 of all ranks and ratings in all kinds of these odd craft, 
 amid every possible condition of difficulty and danger, 
 should be to those who come after an immortal lesson 
 and a standard of duty to the rising race of British 
 seamanhood. Otherwise these men toiled and endured 
 and died in vain.
 
 INDEX 
 
 The names of Q-ships are In heavy-faced type. 
 
 Acton, 161 
 
 Alcala. See Q 19 
 
 Alexander, C. J., Lieutenant, E.N.R., 
 
 164 
 Ali/ssum, lUr.S., 120, 122-3 
 Amiral (fanteaume, 7 
 Anakin, G. S., Sub-Lieutenant, R.N.R., 
 
 269 
 Andalusian, 9 
 Anrjlo-Colunihian, 26 
 Antwerp (formerly Vienna), 8, 9, 21, 
 
 235 
 Arabic, 20, 32, 132 
 
 Armstrong, M., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 67 
 Arvonian (Santee, Bendish), 231-4 
 Athos. See Glen 
 Attack, II. JLS., 211 
 Attentive, H.M.S., 7 
 Aubrietia. See Q 13 
 Aud, 140 
 Auten, Harold, Lieutenant, R.N.R., 
 
 164, 266-9 
 
 Ba,jdale,H.M.T.,&i-b 
 
 Baralong ( Wyandra), 20-3, 25, 26-31, 41, 
 
 104, 109 
 Baron Ardro.ssan, 34 
 Baron Napier, 33-5 
 Baron Rose, 190 
 Barranca. See Q 3 
 Bartel, Leutnant Karl, 116 
 Bayard, 77 
 Bayly, Admiral Sir Lewis, 46, 104, 198, 
 
 203, 215, 233, 246, 247, 266 
 Barjonne, 123 
 Beaton, W. D., Lieutenant, R.N.R. 
 
 146 
 Begonia, 139, 163 
 Bendish. See Arvonian 
 Berlin, 161 
 Bernays, Leopold A., Commander 
 
 R.N., 161-3 
 Beryl, H.M.Y.,UQ 
 Beswick, W., Lieutenant, R.N.R. , 41, 
 
 43 
 Betsy Jameson, 77 
 Bidart, 247 
 Blackwood, M. B. R., Commander, 
 
 R.N.,242, 245 
 Blair, A. D., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 61 
 Blessing, 57 
 
 Bluebell, II. 3f.S., 179,233 
 Boggs, L. S., Lieut. - Commander, 
 
 R.N.R., 246 
 Bolham. See Sarah Colebrooh 
 Bombala ( Willow Branch), 235-6 
 
 Bonner, G. G. , Lieutenant, R.N.R., 
 
 205, 207, 212 
 Bracondale. See Chagford 
 Bradford City (Saras), 31, 101 
 Bremen, 139 
 
 Brewer, Skipper, R.N.R., 145, 149 
 Brig 10. See () 17 
 Brig 11. See Q 22 
 Brown Mouse, 77, 78 
 Buttercup, U.M.S., 197 
 
 Camel ia, H. M.S., 160 
 
 Campbell, Captain Gordon, R.N., 24, 
 
 39-46, 109, 161, 192-208, 246 
 Canadian, 120 
 Candytuft, 174-6 
 Capelle, Admiral von, 134 
 Carrigan Head, 48-9 
 Casement, Sir R. , 140 
 Cedric, H.M.S., 110 
 Century. See Penhallow 
 Chagford (Bracondale), 228-31 
 Chancellor, 26 
 Charles, F. W., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 
 
 238 
 Charyce. See Stoclcforcc 
 Cheero, 55-6 
 
 Cheriton. See Tay and Ti/ne 
 Christopher. H.31.'S., 167, i71, 174, 211 
 Cochrane, W. O'G., Captain, R.N., 
 
 174-5 
 Colville, Admiral Sir Stanley, 13, 214 
 Commissioner, 238 
 Crocus, II. M.S., 203 
 Crompton, Ober-Leutnant, 28, 30 
 Cullist { Westphalia, Jurassic, Ilaylinfj, 
 
 Prim), 164, 166-8 
 Cummings, U.S.S., 2SS 
 Cushing, U.S.S., 200, 203 
 Cymric, 189-90 
 
 Daffodil, II. M.S., 165 
 
 Dag. See Result 
 
 Dane, Commander, R.N., 234 
 
 Dargle, 77, 177, 190 
 
 Davis, A. D., Assistant-Paymaster, 
 
 R.N.R., 269 
 Deutschland, 139, 234 
 Donlevon (Haven-stone), 159, 160 
 Doubleday, G. H. D., Sub-Lieutenant, 
 
 R.N.R., 167 
 Douglas, S. C, Commander, R.N., 234 
 Dowie, J. M., Temporary Engineer, 
 
 R.N.R., 30 
 Drayton, U.S. 8., 165 
 Dreadnought, H.M.S.. 9 
 
 273 18
 
 274 Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 Duff, Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander, 227 
 
 Dunclutha, 235 
 
 Duncombe, 17 
 
 Dundreaxy. See Tay and Tijne 
 
 Dunois, 107-8 
 
 Dunraven, 203-12 
 
 Dusseldorf, 260-4 
 
 E 13, H.M. Submarine, 23 
 
 Echunga. See Q 3 
 
 Edith E. Cummins. See Fresh Hope 
 
 Eigler, Ingenieur-Aspirant, 116 
 
 Elixir. See Q 30 
 
 Elizabeth, 189 
 
 Else. See Q 21 
 
 Errington, Lieutenant, R.N.E., 175-6 
 
 Eudora, 193 
 
 Falaba, 31 
 
 Fame. See Bevenqe 
 
 First Prize. See Q 2\ 
 
 Flying Sportsman, H.M. Tug, 198 
 
 Flying iSj^ray, H.M. Tug, 160 
 
 Fort George, 239 
 
 Foss, 211 
 
 Frank, F. A., Lieut. - Commander, 
 R.N.R., 105-6, 164 
 
 Frederich Arp, 258 
 
 Fresh Hope (Edith E. Cummins, Iro- 
 quois), 189-90 
 
 Friswell. See Pargust 
 
 G and E, 20 
 
 G.L.M. See George L. Muir 
 
 G. L. Munro. See George L. Muir 
 
 Gaelic. See Q 22 
 
 Gayer, Cajitaiu, 259 
 
 George L. Muir {G. L. Munro, G.L.M. , 
 
 Padre), 111 
 Glen {Sidncg, Athns), 77-9, 180-4 
 Glendale. See (,> 23 
 Glenfoyle. See Stonecrop 
 Glen Isla, 17 
 antra, 1 
 
 Gobo. See Q 22 
 Grenfell, F. H., Captain, R.N., 109-17, 
 
 124, 160, 214-6 
 Grey, W. J., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 269 
 Gunner, 11, 237 
 Guy, B. J. D., Lieut.-Commander, 
 
 R.N., 35-6, 236 
 
 Jiadzial-a, 173 
 
 Halcyon, n.M.S.,\)0 
 
 Hallwright, W. W., Liout. -Commander, 
 
 R.N., 141 
 Hannaford, Skipper R. W., R.N.R., 64 
 Hannah, Lieutenant, R.N.V.R., 150 
 Hanrahan.D. C, Commander, U.S.N., 
 
 2.32-3 
 Hanson, Lieut.-Commander, 26, 29 
 
 Harlech Castle, H.M. Traioler,l%% 
 Harvey, H. W., Lieutenant, R.N.V.R., 
 
 55 
 Hayes, J., Sub-Lieutenant, R.N.R., 57 
 Hayling. See Ctdlist 
 Heather. See Q 16 
 Helgoland. See Q 17 
 Herbert, Godfrey, Commander, R.N., 
 
 8, 48-9, 235 
 Hereford, P. R., Lieutenant, 212 
 Hermes, H.M.S., 7 
 Hesione, 26 
 
 Hick, Captain Allanson, 30-1 
 Hobbyhawk. See Telesia 
 Hodson, G. L., Lieut.-Commander, 
 
 R.N., 33-4 
 Horley. See Q 17 
 Hudson, C. H., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 
 
 239-40 
 Hughes, E. L., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 57 
 Hughes, T., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 74-5 
 Hutchinson, E. , Lieutenant, R.N.R., 130 
 
 Imogene, 189-90 
 
 Ina Williams, H.M. Trawler, 46 
 
 India, H. M.S., 258-9 
 
 Intaba, 139 
 
 Inrercauld, 120 
 
 Inverlyon, 20 
 
 Iolanda,H.M.Y.,2d& 
 
 lolo, 193 
 
 Iroquois. See Fresh Hope 
 
 Irvine, G. , Lieutenant, R.N.R., 178 
 
 Island Queen. See Q 19 
 
 Jeffrey, D. G., Lieutenant, R.N.R,, 
 
 228-31, 2.34 
 Jellicoc, Admiral Viscount, 10, 152, 157, 
 
 223 
 Jurassic. See Cullist 
 
 Kaye, A.B., R.N.R., 40 
 
 Kermes, 57 
 
 Kerr, J., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 74 
 
 Keyes, Adrian, Commander, R.N., 173 
 
 Laburnum, H.M.S., 197 
 
 Lady Olive. See Q 18 
 
 Lady Patricia. See Pa.rton 
 
 Laggan ( Pladda), 104. 164 
 
 Lammeroo. See liemembrance 
 
 Lawrence, Skipper, J. H., R.N.R. , 240 
 
 Lawrie, J., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 69-75 
 
 Leonidas, H.M.S., 128 
 
 lAnsdell, 80 
 
 Lisette, 78 
 
 Lodorer. See Q 5 
 
 Jjodscn, 49 
 
 Loidsc, 16 
 
 LoveloBs, Eugincer-Lioutcuaut, 43 
 
 Luneda, H.M. Trawler, 1U8
 
 INDEX 
 
 275 
 
 Lusitania, 13, 31, 32, 132, 245 
 Lyons, 9, 25 
 
 McClure, Sub-Lieutenant, R.N.R., 33 
 Mack, P. J., Lieutenant, R.N., 80, 86, 
 
 260 
 McLeod, J. K, Lieut. -Commander, 
 
 R.N., 164,225 
 McLeod, W., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 141 
 Malachite, 7 
 Malmland, 258 
 Manford. See Q 7 
 Maracaio. See Q 28 
 Margit, 32-5 
 Marshfort, 234 
 Marx, Admiral, 101, 160 
 Mary B. Mitchell. See Q 9 
 Maru Base, H.M.S., 138 
 Matheson, C. G., Lieut. -Commander, 
 
 R.N.R., 170-1 
 Mavis. See Q 26 
 Maxwell, F. N., 13 
 Meade, Skipper, R.N.R., 146-7 
 Melville, Lord, 66 
 Merops. See Q 28 
 Mitchell. See Qd 
 Moev>e, 226, 235 
 Morris, K., Sub-Lieuteiiaut, R.N.R., 
 
 79, 184 
 Muhlhauser, G. H. P., Lieutenant, 
 
 R.N.R.,80-2, 86, 260-4 
 Myosotin, H.M.S., 160 
 
 Naylor, Cedric, Lieutenant, R.N.R., 
 
 124-5, 128, 130 
 Nicosian, 22-3 
 Niger, H. M.S., 7 
 Noake, Basil S., Lieut. -Commander, 
 
 R.N., 163 
 Noma, U.S.S., 211 
 Noodt, Ober-Leutnant Erich, 116 
 Nunn, R. A., Assistant-Paymaster, 
 
 R.N.R., 212 
 Nyroca. See Q 26 
 
 Olphert, W., Lieut. - Commander, 
 
 R.N.R., 164 
 Ooxna, 235 
 
 Oracle, H. M.S., 231 
 Orestes, H. M.S., 171 
 
 Padre. See George L. Muir 
 Paladin, H.M. Tuq, 233 
 Pallas, 257 
 
 Pangloss. See Par gust 
 Pargust ( Vittoria, Snail, Friswell, Pan- 
 gloss), 161, 199-204, 231, 234 
 Paxton (Lady Patricia), 104 
 PenhallOW {Century), 31 
 Penshurst. See Q 7 
 P6riere, Arnauld de la, 93 
 
 Pet, 20 
 
 Phillips, Lieutenant, R.N.R., 175 
 Pitcher, E., Petty Officer, 212 
 Pladda. See Laggan 
 Powell, Commander Frank, 139 
 Prevalent, 78 
 Prim. See Cullist 
 Prima, 7 
 
 Prince Charles, 13-16 
 Princess Ena, 24 
 Privet. See Q 19 
 Prize. See Q 21 
 Probus. See Q 30 
 
 Purdy, James, Engineer Sub-Lieuten- 
 ant, R.N. R., 49 
 
 Q 3 (Barranca, Echunga), 221, 234 
 
 Q 5 (Lodorer, Farnh or on gk), 24, 40-7, 109, 
 
 192-9 227 
 Q 7 (Penshurst, Manford), 17, 47, 109-30, 
 
 161, 213-22 
 Q 9 (Mary B. Mitchell, Mary Y. Jose, 
 
 Jeannette, Brine, Neptun, Marie The- 
 
 rese, Eider, Arius, Cancalais), 67-74 
 Q 12 (Tulip), 138 
 
 Q 13 (Aubrietia), 101, 1.S9, 160, 237 
 Q 15 (Salvia), 98-101, 139, 164 
 Q 16 (Heather), 17, 139, 141, 164, 266 
 Q 17 (Helgoland, Horlei/, Brig 10), 59-64, 
 
 78, 190 
 Q 18 (Lady Olive), 104 
 Q 19 (Privet, Island Queen, Sioisher, 
 
 Alcala), 170-1 
 Q 21 (Else, First Prize, Prize) 77, 144 
 Q 22 [Gaelic, Gobo, Brig 11), 65-6, 178-9, 
 
 183-4 
 Q 23 (Glendale, Speedwell II.), 264-5 
 Q 25, 104 
 
 Q 26 (Mavis, Nyroca), 104, 172-4 
 Q 28 (Merops, Maracaio), 11, 190 
 Q 30 (Thirza, Beady, Probus, Elixir), 18, 
 
 185-9 
 Quickly, 11 
 
 Rainey, H. F., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 269 
 Randell, J. T., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 
 
 256-8 
 Ravenstone. See Donlevon 
 Ready. See Q 30 
 Remembrance (Lammeroo), 31 
 Rentoul, 189, 190 
 Result (Dag), 11, 79, 81-6, 260 
 Revenge (Fame), 56 
 Rival II., H.M. Drifter, 150 
 Rolfe, C. N., Lieut. -Commander, R.N., 
 
 164 
 Rosskeen, 238 
 
 Salvia. See Q 15 
 
 Sanders, W. E. L., Lieut.-Commandor, 
 R.N.R., 60, 61, 144, 157
 
 276 QSHIPS AND THEIR STORY 
 
 San tee. See An-onian 
 
 Sarah Colebrooke {Bolhani), 77 
 
 Sardinia, 70-1 
 
 Saros. See Bradford City 
 
 Saxon, H.M. Trawler, 230-1 
 
 Scheer, Admiral von, 133 
 
 Schwieger, Lieut. -Commander, 244 
 
 Scott, W. F., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 55 
 
 Sidney. See Glen 
 
 Simpson, S. H., Commander, R.N., 164, 
 167, 168 
 
 Sims, Admiral, 231-2 
 
 Smart, R. C. C, Lieut. -Commander, 
 R.N.,101 
 
 Smith, .J. S., Temporary Engineer Sub- 
 Lieutenant, R.N.R., 41, 44 
 
 Smith, Skipper W., R.N.R., 64 
 
 Snail. See Faryust 
 
 Soerakarta, 4.b 
 
 Speedwell, 238 
 
 Speedwell II. See Q 23 
 
 Speed)/, H. M.S., 81 
 
 Spence, G., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 167 
 
 Spencer, J. G., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 
 14 
 
 Spiegel, Lieut. - Commander Freiherr 
 von, 145-8 
 
 SpringtoeU, 35-6 
 
 Starmount, 233 
 
 Startin, Admiral, 10 
 
 Stockforce {Chary ce), 247, 266-70 
 
 Stonecrop (G I enfoi/le), 242-5 
 
 Strahau. G. E., Surgeon-Probationer, 
 R.N.V.R.,269 
 
 Strathallan, H.M. Traivler, 239 
 
 Strathearn, H.M. Traioler, 239 
 
 Strumbles, 57 
 
 Stuart, R. N., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 203 
 
 Suffolk Coast, 220, 247-9 
 
 Sussex, 132 
 
 Swisher. See Q 19 
 
 Tamarisk, 1.39, 164, 246 
 
 Tay and Tyne (C/ieriton, Dundrcar>j), 
 
 259-62, 264-5 
 Telesia (Hohhijhawk), 53-6 
 Tenby Castle, 256-8 
 Thalia, 57 
 Thirza. See Q 30 
 Thomhill. See Werrihee 
 Torrent, H.M. S.,^1 
 Treriiaynr, 175 
 Tulip. ' See Q 12 
 Tiirnbull, R. J., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 
 
 79, 180-1 
 Tweedie, Lieutenant, R.N.R., 33 
 
 £/' 9, 6 ; f7 18, 7 ; U 20, 245 \ V 21, 1 ; 
 
 U 22, 259; V 23, 10; U 27, 22, 26; 
 
 ?7 29, 9 ; U 34, 172 ; U 36, 16 ; U 40, 
 
 10; U 41, 26, 28-31, 40; U 43, 145; 
 
 U 44, 231 ; U 62, 138 ; U 68, 42 ; U 83, 
 
 194-6 ; U 84, 120 ; V 88, 242-4 ; V 93, 
 
 145-52 
 I'B 4, 20; I'B 13, 54; UB 19, 116; 
 
 UB 37, 119; UB 39, 180-1; UB 48, 
 
 155-6 ; UB 63, 240 
 UC 3, 56 ; UC 29, 202 ; UC 45, 81, 86 
 Underwing, 234 
 Urhino, 28, 30 
 
 Vala, 16, 17, 47, 161-2 
 
 Valeria, 265 
 Vereker. See Viola 
 
 Victorian, H.M.S., 257 
 Vienna. See Antwerp 
 
 Vindictive, H.M.S., 24 
 
 Viola {Verelcer), 138, 164, 189-90, 233 
 
 Vittorla, 7 
 
 Vittoria. See Pargust 
 
 W. S. Bailey, 239-40 
 
 Wadsworth, 104 
 
 Wardlaw, Mark, Lieutenant, R.N., 14- 
 
 16 
 Warrington, U.S.S., 165 
 "Wegener, Lieut. -Commander, 23 
 Wellholme. Sec ]Vcrrihcc 
 Werribee {Tliornhill, Wellliolmc, Wonga- 
 
 nella), 31. .35-6, 236-7 
 Westmore, G. G. , Lieutenant, R.N.R., 
 
 62, 64 
 Westphalia. See Cullist 
 Wexford Coast, 246 
 
 Wharton, W. S., Skipper, R.N.R., 53-4 
 K hit e friars, 174 
 Wileijside, 111 
 Williams, J. W., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 
 
 139, 164 
 Williams, Seaman W., R.N.R.. 203 
 Willow Branch. See Bomhala 
 Wilmot-Smith, A., Lieut.-Commandcr, 
 
 R.N., 26, 29, 30 
 Wolf, 226 
 
 Wonganella. See Werribcc 
 Workman, L. E., Lieutenant, R.N.R., 
 
 269 
 Wroford, 90 
 Wyandra. Sec Baralong 
 
 Ziegler, Sub-Licutenaut, 151-3 
 Zinnia, H.M. S., 203 
 Zylpha, 24, 47, 164-5 
 
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