HMS Birmingham sinks the submarine U-15
- Category:
- Military operations
- Front:
- War at sea
- Date:
- 9 August 1914
- Author:
- Łukasz Skowroń
- Tags:
- Royal Navy, Kaiserliche Marine, submarines
On 9 August 1914 in the North Sea, near the island of Fair Isle between Orkney and Shetland, the British light cruiser HMS Birmingham rammed and sank the German submarine U-15. It was the first German submarine sunk by an enemy warship.
Hunting the Grand Fleet
On 6 August ten German submarines sailed from their base at Heligoland. They were to find and attack the ships of the British Grand Fleet in the North Sea. It was the first organised use of U-boats in the war. Submarines were then a new weapon, untested in combat, and neither side yet knew how greatly they would change the war at sea.
On 8 August U-15 fired a torpedo at the British battleship HMS Monarch, but missed. It was one of the first torpedo attacks by a submarine in this war.
The ramming
On the morning of 9 August the crew of HMS Birmingham, part of the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron, spotted in the fog a submarine lying stopped on the surface. U-15 had probably suffered an engine failure, and the British are said to have heard the sounds of repairs coming from inside her. The cruiser opened fire, and when the boat began to dive, Birmingham charged at full speed and struck her with her bow, cutting her in two. U-15 sank with all hands.
At the same time another boat from the group, U-13, also went missing. Her fate is unknown; she probably struck a mine or suffered an accident.
Significance
The sinking of U-15 was a success for the British, but the German submarines’ sortie itself caused alarm. It showed that U-boats could operate far from their bases, as far as the waters near Orkney, where the Grand Fleet was based. The base at Scapa Flow did not yet have defences against submarines, and fear of their attack soon led the British to move the fleet temporarily to safer anchorages. A few weeks later German submarines proved their effectiveness by sinking several British cruisers.
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Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
- 8 August 1914 · Western FrontFrench troops take MulhouseOn 8 August 1914 French troops entered Mulhouse in Alsace. France celebrated, but within two days a German counter-attack forced the French to retreat.
- 8 August 1914 · PoliticsDefence of the Realm ActOn 8 August 1914 the Defence of the Realm Act received royal assent. The British government could now restrict citizens' freedoms by regulation.
- 8 August 1914 · AfricaHostilities begin in East AfricaOn 8 August 1914 the British cruiser Astraea shelled Dar es Salaam in German East Africa. A war began there that lasted until November 1918.
- 8 August 1914 · MilitarySwitzerland mobilises its armyAt the beginning of August 1914 neutral Switzerland mobilised its army to guard its borders. General Ulrich Wille was placed at its head.
Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 5 September 1914 · War at seaSinking of HMS PathfinderOn 5 September 1914 the German U-21 sank the cruiser HMS Pathfinder off Scotland, the first British warship sunk by a submarine.
- 22 September 1914 · War at seaAboukir, Hogue and Cressy are sunkOn 22 September 1914 the German U-9 sank three British armoured cruisers in about an hour. Almost 1,500 sailors were killed.
- 13 October 1914 · War at seaU-boats on the Southampton–Le Havre routeOn 13 October 1914 a British torpedo boat came upon a German submarine off the Isle of Wight. The Admiralty diverted the Canadian convoy to Plymouth.
- 15 October 1914 · War at seaSinking of HMS HawkeOn 15 October 1914 Otto Weddigen's U-9 sank the British cruiser Hawke in the North Sea. More than 520 sailors were killed and about 70 survived.