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Q ships came in all shapes and sizes – coastal steamer, trawler, barque, yacht or schooner – but all had to look harmless in order to lure their opponents to the surface and encourage them to attack. Armaments differed according to ship size; steamers commonly had 4in guns mounted amidships and in the bow, trawlers 3-pdrs and sailing ships 12-pdrs. Those who served on Q ships had to accept that their U-boat opponents would be able to strike first. Q ship captains kept ready a 'panic crew', which was trained to act out an elaborate evacuation to convince the U-boat commander that the ship was being abandoned by its crew. The Q ship captain would remain behind with a handful of other crewmen manning the guns, which remained hidden until the most opportune time to unmask and engage the U-boat. The Q ship concept had emerged early in the war when no other method seemed likely to counter the U-boat threat, and flourished until new technologies and tactics were developed, tested and implemented.
At the start of World War I a new and potent threat to Britain's naval supremacy took shape in the form of the Kaiser's Imperial German submarines, thanks to their recently acquired ability to submerge and stalk their adversaries. A submarine's crew could not board and capture a merchant ship, however, and at first the German leadership was reluctant to order their U-boat captains to use gunfire or torpedoes to sink merchantmen - crewed by civilian seamen - because of the expected hostile reaction of neutral countries such as the United States. Instead, U-boat captains were ordered to surface, then check the manifest of merchantmen and allow their crews to take to lifeboats before sinking the cargo vessels, rendering the U-boat highly vulnerable to attack. This enabled the Royal Navy to counter the submarine threat with vessels whose outward appearance was that of a merchantman, but which kept hidden an arsenal of weapons that would spring to life if a U-boat surfaced - the Q-ships. Q-ships came in all shapes and sizes - coastal steamer, trawler, barque, yacht or schooner - but all had to look harmless in order to lure opponents to the surface and encourage them to attack. Armaments differed according to ship size; steamers commonly had 4in guns mounted amidships and in the bow, trawlers 3-pdrs and sailing ships 12-pdrs. Those who served on Q-ships had to accept that their U-boat opponents would be able to strike first. Q-ship captains kept ready a 'panic crew', which was trained to act out an elaborate evacuation to convince the U-boat commander that the ship was being abandoned by its crew. The Q-ship captain would remain behind with a handful of other crewmen manning the guns, which remained hidden until the most opportune time to unmask and engage the U-boat. These deceptions did not go unnoticed, however; German captains learnt to be cautious, and frequently would engage with their guns at longer range and later in the war with torpedoes. U-boat boatswain's mate Christof Lassen view of Q-ships as the 'most unpleasant object we could hope to meet' was commonly held. As the Allies condemned the sinking of merchantmen, the Germans vilified Q-ships as a crude deceit manned by pirates and contrary to the rules of civilized warfare. Encounters were often fought with bitterness and little quarter was given. The Q-ship suited the Royal Navy's preference for offensive action to counter the submarine. The Q-ship concept had emerged early in the war when no other method seemed likely to counter the U-boat threat, and flourished until new technologies and tactics were developed, tested and implemented. Q ships instilled wariness into a previously bold and seemingly invincible enemy. The usefulness of Q-ships waned as they lost their surprise factor, but they helped mitigate the U-boat menace until more effective and efficient means of defence were adopted. Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork and drawing upon the latest research, this engaging study brings to life the deadly duel between these two very different vessels at the height of World War I.
Described as the most self-destructive operation undertaken by the U.S. Navy in World War II, the project had very limited success. The only surviving officer of a Q-ship to chronicle details of the project, Kenneth Beyer draws on his personal experiences as well as information uncovered during years of research in U.S., British, and German records and interviews with participants on both sides.
The Q-ship, an ordinary merchant vessel with concealed guns, came into its own during the First World War, when the Royal Navy to trap and destroy German U-boats. Deborah Lake uses a wide range of primary and secondary source material drawn from archives in the UK, Germany and the USA to tell the compelling story of the Q-ships and their U-boat adversaries. The Q-ship operations themselves will be covered by following the careers of the eight men who won the Victoria Cross on Special Service Operations; and by accounts of German U-boat crews being on the receiving end. No book on Q-ships can avoid the Baralong incident in which a Q-ship's crew allegedly executed the survivors of the German submarine U-27, on 19 August 1915. In a subsequent encounter with U-41, more British atrocities were alleged by the only two German survivors. Revealing extracts from the diary of a Royal Marine who served on board the Baralong are reproduced in the book together with other first-hand accounts. With charge and counter-charge, this incident provides a fascinating story.
Q-Ships and Their Story by E. Keble Chatterton Pdf
This work presents a historical account of the remarkable and courageous stories of all the combats during the First World War when Germany's use of submarine warfare provoked public uproar and jeopardized Britain's trade routes and its very ability to carry on the war. The British had to think of something to defeat them, and they considered Q-ships to be the right way. Q-ships were heavily armed merchant ships with hidden weaponry created to draw submarines into making surface attacks in order to get a chance to sink them. The work contains details from the tactics that were used by the royal navy to the life on board a Q-ship and finally how they carried out their plan. Written shortly after the war, based on interviews with numerous personalities and several manuscripts related to the subject, this work contains accurate descriptions of the various ships employed and the daring men sailing them, along with several unknown details. This book is a must-read to get a fact-based and comprehensive outlook of the Royal Navy.
Q-Ships Versus U-Boats by Estate Of Kenneth M Beyer Pdf
Basing his narrative upon research, his own experiences aboard the USS Asterion, and conjecture, U.S. Navy officer Beyer reconstructs the events of the confrontations of the U.S. warships USS Asterion and USS Atik (Disguised as merchant marines in an ill-fated attempt to counter German submarine warfare) with the German navy during World War II.
Q ships came in all shapes and sizes – coastal steamer, trawler, barque, yacht or schooner – but all had to look harmless in order to lure their opponents to the surface and encourage them to attack. Armaments differed according to ship size; steamers commonly had 4in guns mounted amidships and in the bow, trawlers 3-pdrs and sailing ships 12-pdrs. Those who served on Q ships had to accept that their U-boat opponents would be able to strike first. Q ship captains kept ready a 'panic crew', which was trained to act out an elaborate evacuation to convince the U-boat commander that the ship was being abandoned by its crew. The Q ship captain would remain behind with a handful of other crewmen manning the guns, which remained hidden until the most opportune time to unmask and engage the U-boat. The Q ship concept had emerged early in the war when no other method seemed likely to counter the U-boat threat, and flourished until new technologies and tactics were developed, tested and implemented.
Q-Ships and Their Story by E. Keble Chatterton,Frank E. Kidder Pdf
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
"In Defeating the U-boat: Inventing Antisubmarine Warfare, Newport Paper 36, Jan. S. Breemer tells the story of the British response to the German submarine threat. His account of Germany's 'asymmetric' challenge (to use the contemporary term) to Britain's naval mastery holds important lessons for the United States today, the U.S. Navy in particular. The Royal Navy's obstinate refusal to consider seriously the option of convoying merchant vessels, which turned out to be key to the solution of the U-boat problem, demonstrates the extent to which professional military cultures can thwart technical and operational innovation even in circumstances of existential threat. Although historical controversy continues to cloud this issue, ... Breemer ends his lively and informative study with some general reflections on military innovation and the requirements for fostering it. "--Foreword.
The Mystery Ships of Nova Scotia in the First World War by John Grant Pdf
THEY SAILED INTO HARM'S WAY dressed as ordinary fishermen, seeking to be attacked by German submarines. This armed team faced danger, frayed nerves, and boredom. Because their mission was secret, they could not explain their service to Canada in the First World War. In this brisk, readable and respectful history, John N. Grant tells the long-buried story of Canada's Mystery Fleet. He names men who tried to lure U-boats into range, and then sailed into anonymity--until now. Many historic photographs.
2.20PM Directly in front of us I sighted four funnels and the masts of a passenger steamer at right angles to our course coming from the SW and going towards Galley Head. 3:10 PM Torpedo shot at a distance of 700 meters below the surface - from the log of the German submarine U-20. The explosion that followed changed history as the date of the ship's log was may 7, 1915, the steamer was the Lusitania, and the torpedo sent 1195 innocent men, women, and children to a watery grave. In 1914, U-Boats were a new and untried weapon, and when such a weapon can bring a mighty empire to the briink of defeat there is a story worth telling. Edwyn Gray's The U-Boat War is the history of the Kaiser's attempt to destroy the British Empire by a ruthless campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare. It opens with Germany's first tentative experiments with the submarines and climaxes with the naval mutiny that helped bring down the Kaiser. In between is is a detailed account of a campaign of terror which, by April 1917,had the British Empire on the verge of surrender. The cost in lives and equipment was staggering. On the German side, 4894 sailors and 515 officers lost their lives in action; 178 German Submarines were destroyed by the allies; 14 were scuttled and 122 surrendered. According to the most reliable sources, 5,708 ships were destroyed by the U-Boats and 13,333 non-combatants perished in British Ships. World figures for civilian casualties were never released The U-Boat War is a savage but thrilling account of men fighting for their lives beneath the sea, and of the boats that changed the face of naval warfare.
Baylys War is the story of the Royal Navys Coast of Ireland Command (later named Western Approaches Command) during World War One.Britain was particularly vulnerable to the disruption of trade in the Western Approaches through which food and munitions (and later soldiers) from North America and the Caribbean and ores and raw materials from the Southern Americas, all passed on their way to Liverpool or the Channel ports and London. After the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915 and the introduction of unrestricted submarine warfare by the Germans, Britain found herself engaged in a fight for survival as U-boats targeted all incoming trade in an attempt to drive her into submission. Britains naval forces, based in Queenstown on the southern Irish coast, fought a long and arduous battle to keep the seaways open, and it was only one they began to master after American naval forces joined in 1917.Vice-Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly was the man appointed to the Coast of Ireland Command. A fierce disciplinarian with a mania for efficiency, and thought by some of his colleagues to be more than a little mad, Bayly took the fight to the enemy. Utilising any vessel he could muster trawlers, tugs, yachts as well as the few naval craft at his disposal, he set out to hunt down the enemy submarines. The command also swept for mines, escorted merchantmen and fought endlessly against the harsh Atlantic weather. Relief came When America sent destroyers to Queenstown to serve under him, and Bayly, to the surprise of many, integrated the command into a homogenous fighting force.Along the way, the Command had to deal with the ambivalent attitude of the Irish population, the 1916 Easter Rising, the attempt to land arms on Irelands west coast and the resurgence of Irish nationalism in 1917.Baylys War is a vivid account of this vigorous defence of Britains trade and brings to life the U-boat battles, Q-ship actions, merchant ship sinkings and rescues as well as the tireless Bayly, the commander at the centre.
Battle Beneath the Waves by Robert Cecil Stern Pdf
A collection of true stories featuring German U-boatmen vividly tell what it was like to undergo the terror and tedium of living for weeks on end in a narrow, stinking tube, targeting their counterparts for sudden, sinking death. In these first-person accounts, even the torpedo attacks are routine; what creates terror is the sudden instant when something goes horribly, often fatally, wrong.
Raiders of the Deep by Lowell Thomas, Jr.,Lowell Thomas Pdf
In this oral history of the U-boats of the Great War, Lowell Thomas introduces many of the great pioneering submariners such as Hersing, Steinbrink, Hashagen and the most successful submarine commander of all time, the remarkable von Arnauld.
U-Boats at War in World War I and II by Jon Sutherland,Diane Canwell Pdf
A photographic history of German submarines in the world wars, including unseen images from the personal collections of captains and crew. U-boats were the scourge of the seas for Allied shipping during both world wars, almost bringing Britain to the brink of starvation on several occasions. This book contains unseen photographs taken by German submarine crew and captains during each war. The World War One selection features a submariner’s photos of U-25, an early German U-boat. They belonged to WO Friedrich Pohl, who served on U-boats SM-25 and SMU-33. There are many photos of the U-boat itself, crew on deck, and attacks on Norwegian merchant ships with the surface gun. U-25 was launched July 12, 1913, sank a total of twenty-one ships and 14,126 tons, and surrendered to France on February 23, 1919. The World War Two photos include images from an original WW2 U-boat commander’s photo album. It belonged to Kapitan Leutnant Herbert Bruninghaus. As a U-boat navigator, he served on the famous U-38 under ace Heinrich Liebe. Bruninghaus later went on to command three U-boats of his own: U-6, U-148, and U-1059. There are also original images from a Kriegmarine officer’s photo album (unfortunately unnamed), including photos of Commander Prien’s U-47 returning to Kiel after attacks at Scapa Flow.
