U-21 shells Walney Island
- Category:
- Military operations
- Front:
- War at sea
- Date:
- 29 January 1915
- Author:
- Łukasz Skowroń
In the early afternoon of 29 January 1915, off Walney Island, which shelters the port of Barrow-in-Furness in north-west England, the German submarine U-21 surfaced. Her crew opened fire with the deck gun on the airship shed standing on the island. It was the first foray by German submarines into the Irish Sea, which U-boats had not reached until then.
Through the English Channel
U-21 was commanded by Kapitänleutnant Otto Hersing, who in September 1914 had sunk the cruiser Pathfinder, the first warship sunk by a torpedo fired from a submarine. Around 22 January Hersing set out on a new patrol. Instead of going round the British Isles to the north, he took his boat through the Strait of Dover and the English Channel, and then headed north into the Irish Sea.
A few shots
Barrow-in-Furness was an important centre of the armaments industry. At the Vickers shipyard there warships were built, among them British submarines. On Walney Island, separated from the town by a narrow channel, stood an airship shed connected with the Vickers works. This was Hersing’s target. U-21 approached through shallow water to within a few kilometres of the shore and fired a few rounds.
The reply came quickly. On Walney there was a coastal battery manned by gunners of a Lancashire and Cheshire unit of the Royal Garrison Artillery. It opened fire at a range of about 6.5 kilometres. The exchange of fire lasted only a few minutes and, according to the available accounts, neither side scored a hit. Hersing broke off the bombardment and sailed away.
Hunting in the Irish Sea
The bombardment did no damage, but Hersing’s foray was only beginning. The next day, 30 January, U-21 sank three British steamers off the Lancashire coast, in the area of Morecambe Bay: Ben Cruachan, Linda Blanche and Kilcoan. Each time Hersing acted in accordance with the rules of prize law, allowing the crews to leave the ships before they were sunk. The same day another German submarine, U-20, torpedoed two steamers without warning off the French coast near Le Havre. The appearance of U-boats on the routes leading to the western ports of England showed that no waters around the British Isles were safe any longer. Hersing returned safely to Germany by the same route through the English Channel.
Remember the articles you have read? Only in this browser; nothing is sent anywhere.How it works
Read ·
Spotted a mistake?Report an error
Meanwhile
(04)Elsewhere in the same days.
- 28 January 1915 · Middle EastFinal decision to attack the DardanellesOn 28 January 1915 the British War Council finally approved a naval attack on the Dardanelles. Admiral Fisher tried to walk out but gave way.
- 30 January 1915 · Middle EastRussians retake TabrizOn 30 January 1915 General Chernozubov's troops, after fighting at Sufian, entered Tabriz again. The Turkish and Kurdish occupation had lasted three weeks.
- 27 January 1915 · Western FrontMaxwell becomes Quartermaster-General of the BEFOn 27 January 1915 Gen. Ronald Maxwell became Quartermaster-General of the BEF. He had previously run the force's lines of communication in France.
- 31 January 1915 · Eastern FrontGerman gas attack at BolimówOn 31 January 1915 the Germans attacked the Russians at Bolimów, firing 18,000 shells filled with tear gas. In the frost the gas had almost no effect.
Related events
(04)The same battle, people or subject.
- 1 January 1915 · War at seaSinking of the battleship FormidableBefore dawn on 1 January 1915 the German U-24 torpedoed the British battleship Formidable in the English Channel. 547 sailors were killed.
- 4 March 1915 · War at seaSinking of U-8On 4 March 1915 British destroyers destroyed the German submarine U-8 in the Strait of Dover after it had been detected thanks to indicator nets.
- 20 October 1914 · War at seaSinking of the GlitraOn 20 October 1914 the German U-17 stopped and sank the British steamer Glitra off Norway. She was the first merchant ship sunk by a U-boat.
- 11 November 1914 · War at seaSinking of HMS NigerOn 11 November 1914 the German U-12 torpedoed the British torpedo gunboat Niger, serving as a minesweeper, off Deal. Most of the crew were saved.