jjam, Sure, PM me your e-mail address and I'll send you pdf of it. Best wishes, Michael
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Also ADM 137/3986 Enemy submarines: particulars of attacks on merchant vessels in home waters (1917 Apr.18-Apr.24) -- this includes a questionnaire filed out by ships' masters. On the German side, U 53's KTB (war diary) still exist and includes a short description of the sinking. I have both ADM 137/3986 and U 53's KTB. Best wishes, Michael
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James, Also per Spindler Vol. II, p. 4, U 14 was damaged on the night of February 1/2, 1915 not February 12. Best wishes, Michael
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James, The attack that sank UC 70 was on June 5, 1917 (not July 5). Source: Spindler, Vol IV, p. 330; Naval Staff Monograph 19, p. 123. Best wishes, Michael
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James, I also have UB 20 being damaged during an air raid on Bruges on June 17, 1917. Best wishes, Michael
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Clio, Have the KTB. No mention of what was said to/by the Norwegian survivors. Here's what it says after the torpedo was fired: "Treffer hinter Schornstein. Norwegischer Dampfer Pollux, Bergen, - 1196t, mit Passagieren und Stückgut von England nach Bergen - sinkt sofort. Besatzung und Passagieren - ca. 30 Köpfe, darunter Frau mit Kind - haben sich in 3 Boote gerettet, Segel ges
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Yup, same one. Also the same Penshurst that was damaged by gunnery from UB 32 on March 30, 1917, torpedoed by UC 72 on August 19, 1917, and finally torpedoed and sunk by U 110 on December 24, 1917. Michael
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Nom Anor, Yes, this is a true incident, in which U 84 was nearly sunk. The Q-ship was the Penshurst and the escort was the sloop HMS Alyssum. The incident is described in detail in both Spindler (IV: pp 101-102) and the Naval Staff Monograph (XVIII: pp 211-214). Best wishes, Michael
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Clio, I might have that it. Will check on Tuesday. Best wishes, Michael
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The British official ship loss list British Vessels Lost at Sea 1914-1918 lists Carpathia as being defensively armed. Given that this is a July 1918 loss, it would be absolutely shocking if the liner weren't fitted with one or more guns. Best wishes, Michael
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Haven't heard of this one. There's an obvious problem too: UB 57 was lost off Flanders on August 14, 1918. Best wishes, Michael
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Interesting. I haven't seen that image before, don't know what sinking it's referring to. Best wishes, Michael
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Jan, Welcome to the forum. Spindler does not provide any additional details. I do have UB 62's KTB, which does provide a bit of additinal detail. The U-boat originally opened fire on the Swedish steamer. This was a bit of a disaster; the gun recoiled badly and was very inaccurate before failing entirely but not before causing oil leaks from several tanks. UB 62 then dived again bef
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Christopher, U 153's KTB for her patrol off Africa described the type of mine carried as "Teka." U 156 would presumably have carried mines of the same type. Norman Friedman in "Naval Weapons of World War I" describes German torpedo-tube launched mines like those used by U-cruisers as weighing 320 pounds, having a 190 pound TNT charge, and being 4 feet, 9.5 inches in
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Joe, I've had a look at U 38's KTB, and based upon what's in there, there isn't enough evidence to credit U 38 with damaging ANTINOUS. (A listing in the ships damaged section of "Lloyd's War Losses" isn't enough as LWL includes some ships there that weren't actually damaged.) Based upon the description in the KTB and what's in BVLAS, this ap
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Pierre, Ambaca ran aground while trying to evade a mythical periscope. The captain claimed Ambaca was torpedoed to claim insurance. I'll send you the British report on the sinking. Best wishes, Michael
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Urs, I'm currently working on a book on WWI U-boat losses You identify a key issue — most early cases are either partial successes (depth charge used but the U-boat was already damaged or trapped) or ambiguous. My list: March 12, 1916: U 68 sunk by gunfire and depth charges from the Q-ship Farnborough April 5, 1916: UB 26 caught in net and depth charged at Le Havre August 8, 1916
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We're aware of this action. Helga spotted an oil slick at 1930 on April 4, 1918 and followed it to the wake and then swirl of a diving U-boat. A periscope was soon sighted. Helga dropped depth charges, producing oil and air but nothing more. Sweepers later found an obstruction. The attack at 53°59'N, 5°00'W was listed as probably sinking a U-boat by the Royal Navy. The only U
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Andy, A little more. From the "Rang- und einteilungsliste der K.u.K. Kriegsmarine" as of July 27, 1918: Order of Leopold Orden der Eisernen Krone (Order of the Iron Crown) -- NEW silberne Tapferkeitsmedaile 1. Klasse für Offiziere (Silver Bravery Medal First Class for officers) -- NEW Militärverdienstkreuz mit Kriegsdekoration (the Military Merit Cross third class with war deco
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OK, the next list I have comes from the 1915 "Almanach für die k. und k. Kriegsmarine 1915", which includes foreign awards. As of February 15, 1915, Von Trapp had: Militärverdienstkreuz (the Military Merit Cross third class) -- NEW Military Merit Medal in Bronze on the ribbon of the Bravery Medal -- NEW Silbernes Tapferkeitsmedaille 2. Klasse (= Silver Bravery Medal 2nd Class) Kri
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Stirrick, The best source is going to be the "Rang- und einteilungsliste der K.u.K. Kriegsmarine." The 1911 (corrected to Dec. 24, 1910) and 1912 (corrected to January 12, 1912) lists have von Trapp with four Austrian medals: Silbernes Tapferkeitsmedaille 2. Klasse (= Silver Bravery Medal 2nd Class) Kriegsmedaille (= The (General) War Service Medal) Goldene Jubiläumserinnerun
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Oliver, Per ADM239/26, the British attack happened between 1610 and 1615 and involved three D.H.4s, one of which returned to base, rearmed, and made a second bombing run. Best wishes, Michael
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James, One wasn't sunk. Among the larger boats, UC 71 sailed on April 3 while UC 64 arrived back in port on that date as well. UC 4 laid mines on April near the Shipwash, so also might be a possibility. Best wishes, Michael
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Chiad, The U-boat in question was U 82, which was forced to dive deeper to evade a steamer but not actually rammed. There was then a gunnery actual. The U-boat's commander at the time was Kplt. Hans Adam, who was awarded the Pour le Mérite on November 6, 1917. Best wishes, Michael
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OK, don't need ADM 137/3997 though it would contain additional details. Here's a summary of the action from "Reported Destruction of Submarines" (ADM 239/26): July 25, 47°52’N, 11°44’W (Atlantic) Possibly slightly damaged S.S. Baynyassa at 0600 sighted the periscope of a S/m on port bow. Headed for S/m in order to ram and succeeded in hitting her with port bow. S/m came
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Chiad, Sometimes obituaries contain exaggerations. Very few U-boats were rammed by merchant ships. Based upon the information in the thread you linked to, I suspect that Murray was awarded the DSO for his handling of the steamer Baynyassa (4,937 grt, built 1915 as Nyassa) on July 25, 1917 in a firefight with a U-boat in the Atlantic. The incident can be further researched. The next step wou
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Not that I'm aware of. Best wishes, Michael
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Freddy, Thanks for sharing the link. Will update the uboat.net files later today. The situation with UC 19 and UB 29 has always been kind of a mess. They sailed on the same day (November 27, 1916) and both operated in the western English Channel, making it impossible to tell which U-boat was responsible for certain ship sinkings. To further complicate matters, none of the available sinki
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Phil, Nothing really new. Begonia may — not must, may — have been sunk by a U-boat that did not return from patrol There are three possibilities: U 106, Uc 21, and UB 32. The wreck of U 106 was found off the Dutch coast, but that doesn't change things. A UBII wreck was just found off the Belgian coast which might be UB 32 but that doesn't change the analysis much either. MPL
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It's a UBII class found right off the Flanders coast, so presumable either UB 29 or UB 32. Best wishes, Michael
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