(excludes
Fishing and Sailing Vessels unless involved in
significant incidents - see below; and convoy escorts even when
employed as Special Service Q-ships - see Convoy
Escorts)
Acton (Q.34),
credited by German sources with sinking coastal
submarine "UC.72" on 20th August 1917 in Bay of Biscay.
Some sources still show her loss due to aircraft
attack on the 22nd August 1917. Assuming
"Acton" did sink "UC.72" this
would have been the last confirmed Q-ship sinking
Anchusa - see
"Lady Patricia"
Baralong sank
"U.27"
on the 19th August 1915 of SW England. Known as the
"Baralong Incident" following German
accusations that "U.27s" crew were
executed
Baralong, now
renamed "Wyandra" sank "U.41" on 24th September 1915, SW of
England
Bombola - see
"Willow Branch"
Boverton - see "Dunraven"
BRACONDALE, 7th August 1917, North Atlantic - torpedoed three times by German
"U.44". Q-ship
"Bracondale" (or "Chagford",
collier, 2,100grt, 1-4in/2-12pdr/2-18in tt, built
1903) was sunk in the action but not before seriously
damaging the U-boat by gunfire. Although it was
dangerous to dive, "U.44" remained on
patrol, but five days later off Norway was rammed and
sunk by British destroyer "Oracle".
"Bracondales" complement and
casualties are not known
BRADFORD
CITY, 16th
August 1917, Central Mediterranean off SW Italian coast in the
Straits of Messina - torpedoed by German U-boat.
Q-ship
"Bradford City" (or "Saros",
ex-collier, 3,700grt, 2-4in, built 1910) had been
allocated to Senior Naval Officer, Gibraltar; her
complement and casualties are not known
Britannia - see
"Willow Branch"
Chagford - see "Bracondale"
Charyce - see "Stockforce"
Cullis - see "Westphalia"
Donlevon - see "Glenfoyle"
DUNRAVEN, 10th August 1917, English
Channel, to the
north of Ushant island, France (48°38N,
5°28W) - foundered from torpedo and gunfire
damage by German "UC-71". British Q-ship
"Dunraven" (or "Boverton",
collier, 3,100grt, 1-4in, 4-12pdr, 2-14in tt, built
1910), commanded by Capt Gordon Campbell V.C.
(his third Q-ship after "Farnborough" and
"Pargust") was slightly bigger than the
earlier "Pargust" damaged and paid off in
June 1917, but with the same crew. On the 8th August
1917, 130 miles southwest of Ushant in the Bay of
Biscay at 48°00N, 7°37W, coastal
minelayer "UC-71" was seen which submerged
and closed before surfacing astern at the start of a
three hour engagement. The submarine slowly
approached and at 11.43hrs opened fire at long range,
Campbell making smoke and sending off a panic party.
"Dunraven"
was hit, her depth charges detonated and the stern
caught fire. Crew members, including Lt Bonner and PO
Pitcher stayed hidden as the fire raged. A 4 inch gun
and crew was then blown away revealing
"Dunraven's" identity and "UC-71"
dived. A second panic party abandoned ship, and after
"Dunraven" had been hit by a torpedo, yet a
third party went over the side, leaving only two guns
manned. "UC-71" came back up, shelled
"Dunraven" and again submerged. Campbell
now replied with two torpedoes that missed, and
around 15.00hrs, the U-boat finally headed away;
"Dunravens" complement is not known,
but one of her crew was killed.
British destroyer
"Christopher" picked up the survivors
and took "Dunraven" in tow before
heading for Plymouth, but she sank at 01.30hrs
early on the 10th August 1917 to the north of
Ushant (48°38N, 5°28W). Two V.C.'s were again awarded by
ballot (the first time was two months earlier in
"Pargust"), one to the First
Lieutenant, Lt Charles George Bonner RNR and the
other to the 4in gunlayer, PO Ernest Herbert
Pitcher
Farnborough
sank "U.68" on 22nd March 1916 SW of
Ireland (first sinking by Lt Cdr Gordon Campbell,
and his first Q-ship command)
Farnborough damaged 17th February 1917
while sinking "U.83" SW of Ireland (second sinking
by Cdr Gordon Campbell - awarded VC)
Glenfoyle is
credited in some sources with the sinking "U.88" on the 17th September 1917 in
the Atlantic. The U-boat was more likely mined on the
5th September 1917 in the North Sea.
GLENFOYLE, 18th September 1917, North Atlantic - German U-boat. Q-ship "Glenfoyle"
(or "Stonecrop", or "Donlevon",
ex-collier, 1,680grt, 1-4in, 4-18in tt, built 1913)
was lost the day after her claimed sinking of
"U.88"; "Glenfoyles"
complement and casualties are not known
Jurassic - see
"Westphalia"
LADY
OLIVE, 19th
February 1917, English Channel, west of the Channel Island of Jersey
(49°15N, 02°34W) - sunk by German coastal
minelayer "UC.18". Q-ship "Lady Olive"
("Q-18", steam coaster "Tees
Trader", 700grt, 1-4in, built 1913) sank "UC.18" in the action. The U-boat was
caught in a mined anti-submarine net, forced to
surface and finished off by gunfire. "Lady
Olive" was sunk possibly by a torpedo.
LADY
PATRICIA, 20th
May 1917, North Atlantic, about 100 miles west of Fastnet Rock,
southern Ireland - torpedoed by German
"U-46". Q-ship
"Lady Patricia" (or "Anchusa", or
"Paxton", "Q-25", cargo ship,
1,370grt, 1-4in/2-12pdr, built 1916) was in action
earlier that day with a U-boat which submerged and
disappeared. Then at 19.15hrs, "Lady
Patricia" (Lt Cdr George Hewett) was torpedoed
by "U.46" and two men killed. Still afloat,
a second torpedo fifteen minutes later sank her in
four minutes. Cdr Hewett and one his officers was
taken prisoner. Her complement and other casualties
are not known.
Lammeroo - see
"Remembrance"
Loderer - see "Farnborough"
Manford - see "Penshurst"
Pargust, damaged 7th June 1917 while
sinking coastal minelayer "UC.29" off SW Ireland (third sinking
by Cdr Gordon Campbell and his second Q-ship
command. Two VC's were awarded by ballot)
Paxton - see
"Lady Patricia"
Paxton - see also "Perugia"
Penshurst sank
coastal submarines "UB.19" on the 30th November 1916 and "UB.37" on 14th January 1917, both in
the English Channel
PENSHURST, 25th December 1917, North Atlantic, off the Bristol Channel, SW
Britain - torpedoed by German "U-110". Q-ship "Penshurst"
(or "Manford", "Q-7", cargo ship,
1,190grt, 2-4in, 1906) sank "UB-19" and
"UB-37". Her loss came on Christmas Day;
casualties are not known
PERUGIA, 3rd December 1916, Central
Mediterranean, of
the NW coast of Italy in the Gulf of Genoa -
torpedoed by German "U-63". Q-ship "Perugia" (or
"Paxton", "Q-1", cargo ship,
4,350grt, 1-4in/2-13pdr, 1901); her complement and
casualties are not known
PEVERIL, 6th November 1917, North Atlantic, west of the Straits of
Gibraltar (35°44N, 6°48W) - sunk by German
"U-63". Q-ship
"Peveril" (or "Puma", or
"Polyanthus", "Q-36", cargo ship,
1,460grt, 2-12pdr, 1904) was apparently sunk by the
"U.63" which also accounted for
"Perugia" (above) off Italy. Although
"U.63" was out in the Mediterranean from
late 1916 to the end of the war, the reason for her
being in the Atlantic off Gibraltar at this time is
not known. Neither are "Peverils"
complement and casualties.
Polyanthus -
see "Peveril"
Prince Charles,
270t collier sank "U.36" on the 24th July 1915 off the
Hebrides, the first success by a Q-ship working alone
i.e. not acting as a decoy to an accompanying
submarine
Privet sank "U.85"
on the 12th March
1917 in the English Channel. Some sources credit her
with sinking "U.34" on the 9th November
1918 in the Straits of Gibraltar, but the U-boat's
cause of loss is still unknown
Puma - see
"Peveril"
Q-1 - see
"Perugia"
Q-5 - see "Farnborough"
Q-6 -see "Zylpha"
Q-7 - see "Penshurst"
Q-8 - see "Vala"
Q-10 - "Azalea" class sloop
"Begonia" - see convoys escorts for Q-10 to
Q-16 following
Q-12 - "Aubretia" class sloop
"Tulip"
Q-13 - "Aubretia" class sloop
"Aubretia"
Q-15 - "Aubretia" class sloop
"Salvia"
Q-16 - "Aubretia" class sloop
"Heather"
Q-18 - see "Lady Olive"
Q-19 - see "Privet"
Q-21 - see "Prize"
Q-25 - see "Lady Patricia"
Q-27 - see "Warner"
Q-34 - see "Acton"
Q-36 - see "Peveril"
REDBREAST, 15th July 1917, Mediterranean - sunk by German coastal
minelayer "UC-38". Q-ship "Redbreast" (naval
fleet messenger, 1,300grt, 1908) was allocated to the
Senior Naval Officer Malta for operations as a
Special Service ship; her complement and casualties
are not known
REMEMBRANCE, 14th August 1916, Eastern
Mediterranean in
Aegean Sea - sunk by German "U.38". Q-ship "Remembrance"
(or "Lammeroo", collier, 3,660grt, 2-4in,
1910); her complement and casualties are not known
Saros - see
"Bradford City
STOCK
FORCE, 30th
July 1918, English Channel, 25 miles SW of Start Point, Devon, SW
England - torpedo and gunfire of German U-boat.
Q-ship "Stock
Force" (or "Stockforce", or
"Charyce", steam coaster, 730grt, 2-4in,
2-14in tt, 1917) was torpedoed forward and badly
damaged in the English Channel. The commanding
officer, Lt Auten ordered the panic party to abandon
the flooding ship, waited for the U-boat to approach,
and opened fire, apparently damaging her. "Stock
Force" (Lt Harold Auten DSC RNR, who was awarded
the
Victoria Cross)
sank in tow that evening. The U-boat was the
"UB-80" or "U-98", depending on
sources, and contrary to some accounts, the
attacker was not sunk. "Stock
Forces" complement and casualties are not
known
Stonecrop - see
"Glenfoyle"
Tees Trader - see "Lady Olive"
VALA, 21st August 1917, Atlantic Ocean - sunk by German medium
submarine "UB-54. Q-ship "Vala"
("Q-8", collier, 1,010grt, 4-12pdr, 1894);
her complement and casualties are not known
WARNER, 13th March 1917, North Atlantic, west of Ireland - torpedoed
once by German "U-38". Q-ship "Warner"
("Q-27", cargo ship, 1,300grt, 1911) was on
an eastward course as a tempting U-boat target. She
was torpedoed around 09.00hrs, going down in five
minutes. Some of her survivors were picked up by
British submarine "D.3"; her complement and
casualties are not known
WESTPHALIA, 11th February 1918, Irish Sea, NE of Dublin, Ireland - sunk
by German
U-boat. Q-ship
"Westphalia" (or "Cullis",
ex-cargo ship "Jurassic", 1,470grt, 1-4in,
2-14in tt, 1913); her complement and casualties are
not known
WILLOW
BRANCH, 25th
April 1918, Central Atlantic, NE of the Cape Verde Islands, off Cape
Blanco (now Ras Nouadhibou), Mauritania
(20°50N, 17°20W) - sunk by German
submarine cruisers "U-153" &
"U-154". Q-ship "Willow Branch" (or
"Bombola", or "Britannia",
collier, 3,300grt, 2-14pdr, 1892) was sunk in a hard
fought action with "U-153" and
"U-154" each armed with two 10.5cm and two
8.8cm guns. They were working together off NW Africa
at the time. "Willow Branchs"
complement is not known, but there were no survivors
Wyandra - see
"Baralong"
ZYLPHA, 15th June 1917, Atlantic Ocean, SW of Ireland - German U-boat. Q-ship "Zylpha"
("Q-6", collier, 1894, 2,910grt, 3-12pdr);
complement and casualties are not known
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Cheerio - see
action with "Telesia"
Cymric,
barquentine sank British submarine "J.6" in error on 15th October 1918
in the North Sea
Else - see
"Prize"
Energic - see action with "Telesia"
Ethel & Millie - see loss of
"Nelson"
First Prize - see "Prize"
G&E - see "Nelson"
Glen, schooner,
is credited by some sources with sinking "UB.39" on 17th May 1917 in the
English Channel. The U-boat was more likely mined two
days earlier around the 15th May
Inverlyon, 93t
trawling smack sank coastal submarine "UB.4" on the 15th August 1915 in the
North Sea
NELSON
with ETHEL & MILLIE, 14th August 1917, central North Sea, off Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire
on the English East Coast - gunfire of German
"UC.63". Special
Service trawling smacks "Nelson" (or
"G&E", 61grt, 1-3pdr, built 1905) &
"Ethel and Millie" (58grt, 1-6pdr, built
1908) were fishing with trawls shot, when in
mid-afternoon a U-boat was sighted at 3 to 4 miles
which closed and opened fire with her 8.8cm gun. The
smacks were out of range and waited for
"UC.63" to come nearer. "Nelson"
was hit and Skipper Crisp mortally wounded, but
remained in command, giving orders to open fire and
then abandon ship. His son took command of the ship's
boat, and Skipper Thomas Crisp DSC RNR,
posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, went down with his smack. The
"Ethel & Millie" was also sunk by
gunfire. Some sources date the action on the 15th;
total complements and casualties are not known
Princess Louise,
decoy steam trawler and submarine "C.27"
sank "U.23" on 20th July 1915 between the
Orkneys and Shetlands off Fair Isle, the second and
last success employing this Q-ship combination. The
first was by "Taranaki" (below).
Princess Marie
José - in some sources identified as the trawler
associated with the sinking of "U.23"; see "Princess
Louise".
Prize, damaged 30th April 1917, North Atlantic, about 120 miles SW of Fastnet
Rock, southern Ireland - gunfire of German
"U-93". With
U-boats increasingly wary of suspicious steamships,
full-rigged and auxiliary sailing vessels were
sailing as Q-ships. The "Prize", a 200t,
three masted topsail schooner was out in the Atlantic
off southern Ireland in the early evening of the
30th. "U-93" came to the surface and opened
fire with her 10.5cm gun at medium range.
"Prize" was hit, the panic party went over
the side and with the schooner apparently sinking,
closed right in. At less than 100 yards,
"Prize" opened up a devastating fire with
her 3-12pdr guns, "U-93" appeared to sink
and her commanding officer Lt Cdr von Spiegel and two
of his crew were picked up. The damaged Q-ship
(Acting Lt William Sanders RNR, awarded the
Victoria Cross) reached Kinsale, S Ireland on the 2nd
May. The badly damaged submarine also reached port.
PRIZE, 30th August 1917, North Atlantic - sunk by German U-boat. "Prize" (or
"First Prize", or "Else",
"Q-21", 3 masted topsail schooner, 200t,
3-12pdr, 1901) was lost exactly four months after her
action with "U.93"; complement and
casualties are not known
Taranaki, steam
trawler, working as a decoy Q-ship with submarine
"C.24" helped sink
"U.40"
on 23rd June 1915 in the North Sea. The first of only
two U-boat sinkings of this kind.
Telesia &
Energic (or "Cheerio"), 59t Special
Service fishing smacks sank "UB.13"
on 24th April 1916
off Belgian using mined nets
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