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North Sea
Tag
(42)
1914
August
10
British air coastal patrol
On 10 August 1914 British naval aviation began regular patrols over the east coast of England, watching for German warships and mines.
28
Battle of Heligoland Bight
On 28 August 1914 British ships surprised the Germans off Heligoland. They sank three light cruisers and a torpedo boat without losing a single ship.
September
03
Sinking of HMS Speedy
On 3 September 1914 the old torpedo gunboat HMS Speedy, serving as a minesweeper, struck a German mine off the mouth of the Humber and sank.
05
Sinking of HMS Pathfinder
On 5 September 1914 the German U-21 sank the cruiser HMS Pathfinder off Scotland, the first British warship sunk by a submarine.
22
Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy are sunk
On 22 September 1914 the German U-9 sank three British armoured cruisers in about an hour. Almost 1,500 sailors were killed.
October
03
British lay mines off the Belgian coast
In early October 1914 the Royal Navy laid its first minefield in open waters, between the Goodwin Sands and Belgium, to protect the Channel routes.
15
Sinking of HMS Hawke
On 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.
17
Battle off Texel
On 17 October 1914 the British cruiser Undaunted and four destroyers sank four German torpedo boats off Texel that were on their way to lay mines.
30
Wreck of the hospital ship Rohilla
On 30 October 1914 the British hospital ship Rohilla was wrecked in a storm off Whitby. The rescue lasted three days. About 85 people died.
November
02
North Sea declared a war zone
On 2 November 1914 the Admiralty declared the whole North Sea a military area. From 5 November neutral ships were to sail through the English Channel.
03
German raid on Yarmouth
On 3 November 1914 Hipper's German battlecruisers shelled the coast near Yarmouth and laid mines. The British submarine D5 sank on one of them.
04
Sinking of the cruiser Yorck
On 4 November 1914 the German armoured cruiser Yorck strayed in fog onto German mines at the mouth of the Jade and sank. Several hundred sailors died.
December
16
Bombardment of Scarborough and Hartlepool
On 16 December 1914 Hipper's battlecruisers shelled Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby. Over a hundred people died, mostly civilians, and the Germans escaped.
1915
January
24
Battle of Dogger Bank
On 24 January 1915 Beatty's battlecruisers intercepted Hipper's squadron in the North Sea. The German cruiser Blücher was sunk; the other Germans escaped.
February
01
British ports closed to neutral fishing vessels
On 1 February 1915 the Admiralty barred neutral fishing vessels from using British ports, fearing espionage and minelaying.
March
15
First aircraft attack on a merchant ship
On 15 March 1915 a German seaplane dropped bombs on the British steamer Blonde off the Kent coast. None hit, and the ship got away safely.
October
28
Wreck of the cruiser Argyll
On 28 October 1915 the British cruiser Argyll ran onto the Bell Rock at night in a storm, because the lighthouse was unlit. Destroyers saved the whole crew.
1916
February
11
Sinking of the cruiser Arethusa
On 11 February 1916 the cruiser Arethusa, Commodore Tyrwhitt's flagship, struck a mine off Harwich. She could not be towed in and was wrecked on a shoal.
April
25
Bombardment of Lowestoft and Yarmouth
At dawn on 25 April 1916 German battlecruisers shelled Lowestoft, destroying about 200 houses, and hit the cruiser Conquest of Tyrwhitt's force.
May
04
Destruction of airship L 7
On 4 May 1916 off the coast of Schleswig the British cruisers Galatea and Phaeton shot down the airship L 7. The submarine E31 picked up seven surviving airmen.
31
Key event
Start of the Battle of Jutland
On 31 May 1916 the Grand Fleet and the High Seas Fleet clashed off Jutland. By day the British lost three battlecruisers but cut off the Germans' way home.
June
01
End of the Battle of Jutland
On 1 June 1916 the High Seas Fleet slipped home past Horns Reef, and Jellicoe turned back after a fruitless search. Both sides claimed victory.
August
19
Sinking of HMS Falmouth and HMS Nottingham
On 19 August 1916 Scheer's fleet sailed for Sunderland and the Grand Fleet put out to meet it. No battle followed, but U-boats torpedoed two cruisers.
October
26
First German destroyer raid in the Strait of Dover
On the night of 26–27 October 1916 German destroyers from Zeebrugge struck the Dover Strait barrage, sinking Flirt, several drifters and the transport Queen.
November
26
German destroyer raid off the Suffolk coast
On the night of 26 November 1916 German destroyers from Flanders approached the Suffolk coast, sank the armed trawler Narval and took her crew prisoner.
1917
January
23
Harwich Force clashes with German torpedo boats
On the night of 23 January 1917 the Harwich Force tried to intercept the German 6th Flotilla bound for Flanders. It damaged V69 but lost the destroyer Simoom.
25
Shelling of Southwold
On the night of 25 January 1917 German torpedo boats from Flanders shelled Southwold in Suffolk. The shells damaged a few houses; no one was killed.
February
25
Raid on Margate and Broadstairs
On the night of 25 February 1917 German torpedo boats from Flanders shelled seaside towns in Kent. According to the Admiralty a woman and a child were killed.
March
18
Raid on Ramsgate and Broadstairs
On the night of 17/18 March 1917 German torpedo boats from Flanders sank the destroyer Paragon in the Strait of Dover, then shelled Ramsgate and Broadstairs.
April
20
Clash of Swift and Broke
On the night of 20/21 April 1917 the British leaders Swift and Broke caught German torpedo boats in the Dover Strait and sank two of them, G 42 and G 85.
26
Second raid on Ramsgate
In the night of 26–27 April 1917 German torpedo boats from Flanders shelled Ramsgate. Two people were killed and more than 20 houses were damaged.
May
14
Destruction of airship L 22
At dawn on 14 May 1917 a British flying boat from Great Yarmouth shot down the naval airship L 22 near Terschelling. All 21 airmen were killed.
June
14
Destruction of airship L 43
On the morning of 14 June 1917 a British flying boat from Felixstowe shot down the naval airship L 43 near the island of Vlieland. The whole crew was killed.
August
21
Destruction of airship L 23
On 21 August 1917 off Denmark a Sopwith Pup flown off the cruiser HMS Yarmouth shot down the airship L 23. The whole crew was killed.
October
17
Attack on the Norwegian convoy
On 17 October 1917 the German cruisers Brummer and Bremse smashed a convoy from Norway east of Shetland. Two British destroyers and 9 ships were sunk.
November
17
Second Battle of Heligoland Bight
On 17 November 1917 British cruisers surprised German minesweepers in the Heligoland Bight. The chase was ended by minefields and two German battleships.
December
07
American battleships join the Grand Fleet
On 7 December 1917 Rear Admiral Rodman's four American dreadnoughts entered Scapa Flow. They joined the Grand Fleet as the 6th Battle Squadron.
12
Sinking of HMS Partridge
On 12 December 1917 four German destroyers wrecked a convoy from Lerwick off Norway. The destroyer Partridge, six ships and four trawlers were sunk.
1918
January
14
Bombardment of Yarmouth
On the night of 14 January 1918 German destroyers shelled Great Yarmouth. About 50 shells fell within a few minutes; 4 people were killed and 8 wounded.
February
15
German destroyer raid in the Strait of Dover
On the night of 14/15 February 1918 German torpedo boats fell on the British barrage in the Strait of Dover. They sank 7 drifters and a trawler; 89 men died.
March
21
Destroyer action off Dunkirk
Before dawn on 21 March 1918 Allied destroyers intercepted a German raid off Dunkirk. They sank two torpedo boats, but a French torpedo hit HMS Botha.
August
11
Destruction of L 53
On 11 August 1918 off Terschelling a Camel launched from a lighter towed by a destroyer shot down L 53, the last Zeppelin shot down in the war.