100 Years Ago Today

[Jimbuna]

18th July 1915

Western Front

German attack at Souchez repulsed.

Frank Tarr, English rugby player for the Leicester Tigers who won four caps for England, is killed in action at Ypres.


Eastern Front

Mackensen captures Krasnostav.

Windau (Courland coast) captured.

Russians retreat from north and west of Warsaw and on entire front of Vistula and Bug.

Southern Front

2nd Battle of the Isonzo begins, as Italian Field Marshal Luigi Cadorna orders another offensive with heavier artillery support.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks reported to have ordered Greeks to evacuate Aivali (north of Smyrna).

Naval and Overseas Operations

Italian cruiser "Giuseppe Garibaldi" torpedoed. She departed Brindisi to bombard the Ragusa Vecchia area the following morning. Shortly after beginning the bombardment at 04:00, Giuseppe Garibaldi was struck by one torpedo, on the starboard side near the aft boiler rooms, fired by the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-4. She sank within minutes on an even keel, although only 53 crewmen were killed. The remaining 525 were rescued by three destroyers left behind to rescue survivors as the division immediately retreated to avoid further attacks.


A German U-boat targets the liner SS Orduna, which is carrying several Americans, but misses.


Political, etc.

Prince Hohenlohe-Langenburg, German ambassador at Constantinople, received by King Ferdinand at Sofia.

Ship Losses:

Batoum ( United Kingdom): The tanker was damaged in the North Sea 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) south by east of the Southwold Lighthouse, Suffolk by SM UB-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of six of her crew. She was beached but was later refloated, repaired and returned to service.
Giuseppe Garibaldi ( Regia Marina): The Giuseppe Garibaldi-class cruiser was torpedoed and sunk in the Adriatic Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) south east of Dubrovnik, Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (42°28′N 18°15′E) by SM U-4 ( Austro-Hungarian Navy) with the loss of 53 of her 559 crew.

[Sailor Steve]

July 18:

Ralph Wenninger, commanding UB-17, begins his career by torpedoing British tanker SS Batoum, 4054 tons, bound from Killingholme to Harwich with an unspecified cargo. The ships is beached and survives the attack.



Adriatic Sea: Rudolph Singule, in U-4 (Kaiserlich und Königlich Marine), sinks the Italian Armored Cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi, 7234 tons. This is Singule's first sinking, though on June 9th he had damaged the British light cruiser HMS Dublin.



German East Africa: HMS Mersey receives a visit from Admiral King-Hall. The crews of both monitors spend the day cleaning their ships and spreading awnings to protect from the tropical sun.

In the morning all ships send parties ashore for off-duty personel wishing to attend the admiral's Sunday church service.

[Jimbuna]

19th July 1915

Western Front

German attack near Les Eparges (Verdun), repulsed with heavy losses, also west and south-west of Souchez.

Eastern Front

Russians concentrating on Narev.

Germans attacking north and south of Warsaw.

Fiercest fighting on Lyublin-Kholm line.

Southern Front

Italian success on Carso plateau after two days' fighting: capture of M. San Michele.

Total casualties in Dardanelles to 30 June, 42,434, announced in House of Commons.

Political, etc.

Lloyd George, Minister of Munitions, goes to Wales and urges coal miners to end their strike, as it endangers the war effort.

Workers of the Krupp arms factories threaten to strike. German military warns drastic measures would be employed if agreement is not reached.

President Wilson ends his vacation and returns to Washington to confer about the German submarine campaign.

Venizelist movement gains ground as opposed to Germanophil policy of Gournaris.

Bulgaria again declares neutrality.

Value of the Russian ruble drops drastically, as it remains unable to ship exports through the Baltic and the Dardanelles.

Ship Losses:

Capella ( Sweden): The brigantine was intercepted and scuttled in the North Sea by SM U-6 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Nordlyset ( Norway): The sailing vessel was sunk in the North Sea 60 nautical miles (110 km) west of Lindesnes, Vest-Agder (57°30′N 6°30′E) by SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Oklahoma ( United States): The uncommissioned Nevada-class battleship was severely damaged by fire at Camden, New Jersey. She was subsequently repaired and entered service in May 1916.

Katherine Stinson becomes the first woman to perform the loop in an airplane:


Albert Jacka becomes the first Australian to win the Victoria Cross during the First World War.

[Sailor Steve]

July 19:

United States: There is an incendiary explosion at the Du Pont Chemicals plant at Wilmington, North Carolina.



Air War: At 1425 hours French pilot Georges Guynemer, flying a single-seat Morane 'L' parasol, shoots down an Aviatik two seater for his 1st aerial victory.



North Sea: Reinhold Lepsius and U-6 begin their second war patrol by stopping and sinking Swedish sailing brigantine SV Capella, 422 tons, bound from Halmstad to West Hartlepool with a cargo of pit props. His score is now 4 ships and 5,354 tons.

Ernst Graeff, commanding U-36, begins his second war patrol by sinking Swedish sailer SV Nordlyset, 82 tons, carrying pit props from Arendal to Granton. This brings his score to 3 ships and 3,319 tons.



German East Africa: The crew of HMS Mersey spend the day removing armour plate and bringing ammunition aboard from the tug Blackcock.

HMS Severn has several native shipwrights and handlers installing fixtures and removing plating, while the ship's crew are painting the ship and stowing ammunition. Some are aboard HMS Laconia handling the same.

[Jimbuna]

20th July 1915

Western Front

French advance up valley of the Fecht towards Munster (Alsace).

Eastern Front

Stubborn Russian defence of Lyublin-Kholm railway.

Heavy fighting south of Ivangorod.

Russians evacuate positions west of Groitsi and retreat north of Novogorod (Warsaw region).

Germans break through Russian line on the Bubissa (north).

Southern Front

Italians attack round Gorizia and capture of 500 prisoners on Carso.

Naval

Russian torpedo boat destroyers catch an unguarded Ottoman supply convoy on its way to Trebizond, sinking several ships.

The German submarine U-23 is sunk by the HMS C27. The U-27 had sunk 5 British ships and 2 neutral ships during its service.


North Sea
RHIANNON, Admiralty yacht, 126/1914, hired 15/9/14 as auxiliary patrol vessel, 2-3pdr, Pennant No.055, Lt-Cdr George Wellburn RNR. On patrol in Thames Estuary between Longsand and Kentish Knock sands with Admiralty trawler Strathspey, approaching wreck of Norwegian steamer Peik mined and sunk on 5 July. Detonated mine which destroyed the forepart of the vessel, leaving after part afloat before it too sank, off Longsands, off Clacton (wi - in 51.40N, 01.29E). The mine had not been left over from the field that sank Peik and which had been swept; it had been laid by UC.3 (Erwin Weisbach); Cdr Wellburn, 1 officer, 1 rating and 2 MMR killed by explosion.

Political, etc.

Welsh miners strike settled.

Ship Losses:

HMY Rhiannon ( Royal Navy): The naval yacht struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off the Longsand Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of five of her crew.
SM U-23 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The Type U 23 submarine was torpedoeed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean (58°55′N 0°14′E) by HMS C27 ( Royal Navy) with the loss of 24 of her 34 crew.

[Sailor Steve]

July 20:

United States: Paul Koenig, head of the Hamburg-American Steamship Line's bureau of investigation, makes a report to Franz von Papen, German Military Attache to the United States, with regard to a payment of $150 to a man demonstrating a small bomb made to resemble a lump of coal.



North Sea: Hans Hans Schultheß, commanding U-23, makes the first attack of his third war patrol. The victim is a decoy, HMT Princess Louise, towing a British submarine, HMS C-67. C-67's captain, Lieutenant-Commander Claude Congreve Dobson, slips his tow line and torpedoes U-23. The U-boat loses 24 of her crew, with Oberleutnant zur Zee Schultheß and 9 others being taken prisoner.His final score is 5 ships and 8,495 tons.



German East Africa: Both monitors now have local laborers aboard transfering the armour plating to dhows for use elsewhere.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

July 20:

United States: Paul Koenig, head of the Hamburg-American Steamship Line's bureau of investigation, makes a report to Franz von Papen, German Military Attache to the United States, with regard to a payment of $150 to a man demonstrating a small bomb made to resemble a lump of coal.

I wonder f he paid an additional royalty (as Vicker's did Krupp for shell-fuze patents after the war!!!) http://armingallsides.on-the-record.org.uk/case_studies/vickers-and-krupp/ to the estate of Thomas Edgeworth Courtenay who invented the device he called a coal torpedo. The purpose of the coal torpedo was to burst the pressurized steam boiler, which had the potential to cause a tremendous secondary explosion. Boiler explosions were not uncommon in the early years of steam transportation, and often resulted in the complete destruction of the vessel by fire. In action, the coal torpedo would leave little evidence that a boiler explosion was due to sabotage.

The official count by the United States Customs Service was 1,800 out of 2,427 passengers. Many were recently released Andersonville prisoners. Final estimates of survivors are about 550. Robert Louden, made a death bed confession of having sabotaged Sultana by a coal torpedo. Louden, a former Confederate agent and saboteur who operated in and around St. Louis, had the opportunity and motive to attack it and may have had access to the means. (Thomas Edgeworth Courtenay, the inventor of the coal torpedo, was a former resident of St. Louis and was involved in similar acts of sabotage against Union shipping interests.) Supporting Louden's claim are eyewitness reports that a piece of artillery shell was observed in the wreckage. Still the biggest war-time ship disaster in American history; lost to history in the wake of Lincoln's assassination the day before. [wiki] Vickers shells: Every one stamped with 'Krupp Patent Zünder'!

[Jimbuna]

21st July 1915

Eastern Front

Russian troops launch a counterattack at Narew and South of Ivangorod in the north. However, Germans reach the Vistula south of Warsaw.

Russian offensive round Sokal expels enemy from right bank of Upper Bug.

Southern Front

Italians advance at Plava (Julian).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British force reach Euphrates from Kurna and captures Turkish troops.

British re-occupy Sheikh Othman (Aden).

Naval

North Sea
BRITON, Admiralty trawler, 196/1906, John Lewis, Aberdeen-reg A101, hired 2/15, armed, Admiralty No.1170, patrol vessel, 13 crew, Skipper Peter Christie RNR, probably Harwich-based, guardship for outer group of unarmed minesweepers ordered to sweep area around Longsand LV where HMS Rhiannon was lost the day before, most of the crew below having their evening meal. Mined at 1715, mine laid by UC.3 (Erwin Weisbach) on 5 July, “stern broke off, the bow went up into the air and was then hidden by a column of water and smoke. When this cleared away there remained of the ship nothing”, sank 13 cables SW of Longsand LV, off Clacton (wi - in 51.40N, 01.29E); Skipper and 10 ratings lost (wi - all 13 crew lost; He/ap - three crew saved).

Eastern Mediterranean
DOROTHEA, naval motor boat, ex-high speed pleasure motor boat, 33grt, 60ft, 11kts, hired 1914, serving with Motor Boat Reserve as HM Motor Boat No 203, 2-3pdrs, also rifles/small arms, manned by RNVR crew, reached Mudros around now as deck cargo, due to serve with flotilla of six motor boats carrying out local patrol duties off Turkish coast including Smyrna (Izmir) area, Lt Henry Holloway RNVR in command. Probably destroyed before she went into action, taking on fuel, spillage and explosion, burnt out; no lives lost.

Political etc.

United States warns Germany that taking another American life “will be considered an unfriendly act.”

France court-martials four anarchists accused of circulating flyers that urges peace and for soldiers to desert.

Belgium observes the 85th anniversary of its independence. The day is a solemn occasion, in contrast with the festivities of past years.

Ship Losses:

Dorothea ( Royal Navy): The motor boat was lost in the Mediterranean Sea on this date.
HMT Briton ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea off the Longsand Lightship ( United Kingdom) with the loss of eleven of her crew.
Madonna ( Sweden): The barque was intercepted and scuttled in the North Sea by SM U-6 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Fortuna ( Sweden): The sailing ship was intercepted and scuttled in the North Sea by SM U-6 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Anvers (Norway): The steamer was taken as a prize between Skagerrak and Firth of Forthwhilst location 56° 30'N, 1° 30'E whilst enroute from Fredrikstad - London with a cargo of timber by U 6 (Reinhold Lepsius).

Serbian artillery defending Belgrade.

[Sailor Steve]

July 21:

United States: President Wilson issues his third protest over the sinking of RMS Lusitania and other ships which cost American lives. This one is more harsh, and insists that submarine operations can be conducted according to rules of war, and further similar attacks will be considered "unfriendly".
http://www.rmslusitania.info/primary.../us-protest-3/



Doctor Heinz Albert writes a letter to his wife refering to his association with German Military Attache Franz von Papen "...in the field known to you." Albert has come to the United States with a letter of credit from the German government for $4,000,000, and has been involved with German Ambassador Johann Heinrich Graf (Count) von Bernstorff in several plots intended to sway American influence away from the British.

"I flew my old B.E. back here yesterday, as it has been hot stuffed. I admit it is rather a dud, but I had no wish to exchange it for a Voisin. After some little trouble I persuaded the Commander to let me have a Morane instead, and tried quite a nice one this morning, the first time I have flown one since I smashed. They are beastly unstable things, and I fully expect to turn this one over before the week is out. The Commander is keeping me here for a few days' rest before returning to the R.F.C. Dunkirk is quite a lively place nowadays. The Huns have dropped bombs on the aerodrome twice in the last week, but fortunately none of the lads were killed."
-Harold Rosher, letter to his father, July 21, 1915

This is an extension to Rosher's letter of June 24. Apparently he was unable to finish and mail it for almost a month.



North Sea: Reinhold Lepsius, commanding U-6, stops Swedish sailing barque SV Madonna, 455 tons, bound from Halsingborg to West Hartlepool with a cargo of pit props. Lepsius allows the crew to abandon ship and then sinks her. Later he stops Norwegian freighter SS Anvers, 862 tons, carrying a load of timber from Fredrikstad to London, and takes her as a prize. his score is now 6 ships and 6,671 tons.



German East Africa: Aboard both monitors work continues with the crews cleaning and painting ships while native workers removing armour plates.

[Jimbuna]

22nd July 1915

Western Front

French positions east of Metzeral (Alsace) attacked, captured, and finally evacuated by enemy.

French gain near Bagatelle (Argonne).

Eastern Front

Russians cleared from left bank of Vistula above Ivangorod.

Enemy storms Miluny (Warsaw) and attacks Narev bridgehead at Rojan.

Southern Front

Austrians hold bridgehead of Gorizia against fierce attacks.

Italian capture 1,500 prisoners on Carso.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Announced that 30 Turkish officers with arms cargo sailed for Tripoli; Italians demand war on Turkey.

Naval

In the past 7 days, there has been no British shipping losses due to German activity. This is the first time since the start of the war.

Atlantic off NW Scotland
One armed merchant cruiser attacked (and two trawlers captured and sunk) off Hoy Head, SW Orkneys by U.36 (Ernst Graeff).

Columbella, Admiralty armed merchant cruiser, 10th CS. Attacked by U.36, W of Orkneys.

Political, etc.

Mr. Roosevelt denounces his countrymen as accessories after the fact to Germany's crimes in Belgium.

Belgian and Serbian consulates evacuate Warsaw. The US will take over those country’s functions if the city falls to Germany.

Turkish portion of Dedeagach railway ceded to Bulgaria with territory (600 square miles) between river Maritza and frontier.

Ship Losses:

King Athelstan ( United Kingdom): The trawler was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 100 nautical miles (190 km) west by north of Hoy Head, Orkney Islands (60°20′N 5°00′W) by SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Rubonia ( Russia): The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Shetland Islands, United Kingdom (60°20′N 5°19′W) by SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Star of Peace ( United Kingdom): The trawler was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 100 nautical miles (190 km) west of Hoy, Orkney Islands by SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

Sir Sandford Fleming, Canadian inventor and engineer who proposed the worldwide standard time zones, has passed away.

[Sailor Steve]

July 22:

Atlantic Ocean, north of Scotland: Ernst Graeff, in U-36, stops and sinks two British trawlers - King Athelstan, 159 tons, and Star of Peace, 180 tons. He also sinks Russian freighter SS Rubonia, 3,664 tons, carrying a load of coal from Cardif to Archangelsk. His score now stands at 6 ships and 7,272 tons.



North Sea: Reinhold Lepsius, commanding U-6, stops and sinks Swedish sailing ship Fortuna, 203 tons, bound from Halmstad to West Hartlepool with a cargo of pit props. His score is now 7 ships and 6,874 tons.

[Jimbuna]

23rd July 1915

Eastern Front

Fortresses of Rojan and Pultusk stormed and river Narev crossed by Germans.

Russians overtaken and defeated near Shavli (Courland).

Southern Front

Italians advance along Luznica Ridge (Julian).

Innsbruck bombed.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Italian garrisons massacred in revolt of Senussites in Tripoli, German and Turkish officers in command.

Naval and Overseas Operations

English Channel
WATERLILY, Admiralty drifter, 82/1907, Banff-reg BF595, hired 5/15 as net drifter, Admiralty No.2171, Skipper George Slater RNR. Fitted out at Devonport and now sailing for Granton to take up duties, in collision with trawler Ouse at 0500 off St. Alban's Head, Dorset (wi - in 50.30N 02.00W) and foundered; no lives lost.

Austrian warships bombard Ortona and the Tremiti Islands (Adriatic).

Political etc.

Oswald Flamm, German shipbuilder and Geheimrat, claims that the British orchestrated the Lusitania sinking in order to draw the US into war.

U.S. government makes public its 3rd note to Germany over the U-boat campaign; calls German replies “unsatisfactory.”


Ship Losses:

Agios Georgios ( Greece): The cargo ship collided with Regina d'Italia ( Italy) in the Mediterranean Sea off Tarifa, Andalusia, Spain. She was towed to Tangier Bay by Gibel Derba ( United Kingdom and beached.
Danae ( France): The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 80 nautical miles (150 km) north west of Cape Wrath, Sutherland, United Kingdom by SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Fimreite ( Norway): The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Shetland Islands, United Kingdom (60°17′N 8°43′W) by SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her twenty crew survived.
Hermione ( United Kingdom): The trawler was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) north by west of Hoy, Orkney Islands by SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were rescued by Cairnsmore ( Norway).
Honoria ( United Kingdom): The trawler was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) north by west of Hoy by SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine).[64] Her crew were rescued by Cairnsmore ( Norway).
Parkwood ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship ran aground in Merzen Bay. She broke in two the next day and was a total loss. Her crew survived.
Sjomanden ( Norway): The cargo ship was driven ashore 20 nautical miles (37 km) west Vardø, Finnmark. She later sank and was declared a total loss.
Sutton ( United Kingdom): The trawler was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) north by west of Hoy by SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were rescued by Cairnsmore ( Norway).
HMT Waterlily ( Royal Navy): The naval trawler collided with another vessel and sank in the English Channel off the Isle of Wight.

[Sailor Steve]

July 23:

Lt. Harold Rosher is sent back to Britain to attend a conference.



Atlantic Ocean, north of Scotland: Ernst Graeff, commanding U-36, sinks French freighter SS Danae, 1,505 tons, bound from Liverpool to Arkhangelsk with an unspecified cargo, and Norwegian freighter SS Fimreite, 3,819 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Wabana to Immingham. He then encounters a small British fishing group and sinks trawlers Hermione, 210 tons, Honoria, 207 tons, and Sutton, 332 tons. Graeff's score now stands at 11 ships and 13,345 tons.

[Jimbuna]

24th July 1915

Western Front

German attack near Hooge repulsed.

Dunkirk bombarded.

French capture positions in Ban de Sapt (Vosges).

Southern Front

Austrian attacks on Luznica Ridge (Julian) repulsed.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Turks defeated outside Nasriya (Euphrates).

Naval

Mesopotamian Campaign - British-Indian forces forces advancing from Kurnah/Al Qurnah along the increasingly shallow River Euphrates drove the Turks out of Nasiriya, which was occupied next day. Old stern-wheelers Shushan, Muzaffri and Messudieh (all manned and armed respectively by deeper-draught sloops Espiegle, Odin and launch tug Miner) and armed launch Sumana took part.

U.36 sunk by Q-ship Prince Charles in Atlantic off N Scotland, first success by submarine decoy ship working alone; Prince Charles was not believed damaged in the action.

Political, etc.

Oswald Flamm, German shipbuilder and Geheimrat, claims that the British orchestrated the Lusitania sinking in order to draw the US into war.

Strikes and German outrages in munition factories irritate public opinion in U.S.A.

Ship Losses:

Activity ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) east north east of Lowestoft, Suffolk by SM UB-12 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Anglia ( United Kingdom): The trawler was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 25 nautical miles (46 km) north west of Sulisker by SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Cassio ( United Kingdom): The trawler was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) north by west of Hoy, Orkney Islands by SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew were rescued by Cairnsmore ( Norway).
Eastland ( United States): The passenger ship capsized at Cicero, Illinois, with the loss of 844 lives. She was later salvaged, repaired and returned to serivice as USS Wilmette.
Grangewood ( United Kingdom): The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 20 nautical miles (37 km) east north east of the Flugga Lighthouse, Shetland Islands by SM U-41 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Henry Charles ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) east north east of Lowestoft by SM UB-12 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Kathleen ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) east north east of Lowestoft by SM UB-12 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Perseus ( United Kingdom): The trawler struck a mine and sank in the North Sea with the loss of ten of her crew.
Prosper ( United Kingdom): The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 30 nautical miles (56 km) east north east of Lowestoft by SM UB-12 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Roslin ( United Kingdom): The trawler was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) north by west of the Butt of Lewis, Outer Hebrides by SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Strathmore ( United Kingdom): The trawler was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) north by west of the Butt of Lewis by SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
SM U-36 ( Kaiserliche Marine): The Type U 31 submarine was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off North Rona, Outer Hebrides, United Kingdom by HMS Prince Charles ( Royal Navy) with the loss of eighteen of her 34 crew. Survivors were rescued by HMS Prince Charles.
Pass Of Balmaha (United States): The sailing vessel (1,571 tons) was in the Shetland Isles area enroute from New York - Arkhangelsk with a cargo of cotton whrn she was taken as a prize by U-36 (Ernst Graeff) and was sent to Cuxhaven. Retained and commissioned as disguised raider Seeadler.

SS Eastland

[Sailor Steve]

July 24:

Atlantic Ocean, north of Scotland: Ernst Graeff, commanding U-36, stops American windjammer (steel-hulled sailing ship) SV Pass Of Bahama, 1,571 tons, bound from New York to Arkhangelsk with a load of cotton, and takes her as a prize. The vessel will be commissioned into the German Navy as the raider Seeadler.

Graeff then stops and boards Danish freighter SS Luise. While the boarding party are jettisoning her cargo another ship is sighted. Graeff orders the ship to stop. When U-36 is 600 meters away the crew of HMS Prince Charles drop their disguise, raise the Union Jack and open fire. U-36, the very first victim of a Q-Ship, is sunk. Luise moves to pick up the survivors, and Prince Charles opens fire on the Danish vessel, thinking it to be a German supply ship. Once this is resolved the British ship helps pick up the survivors. Kplt. Graeff and 15 of his men are rescued, but 18 more are lost. Lt. Mark Wardlaw will recieve the DSO for this action, and the civilian crew of Prince Charles will be awarded a prize of £1,000. Ernst Graeff's final score is 16 ships and 15,486 tons.
(U-boat.net has Graeff's total as 17,140 tons, but this includes SS Niobe, taken as a prize but later released)



North Sea, near the Shetland Islands: Claus Hansen, in U-41, sinks British freighter SS Grangewood, 3,422 tons, heading from Arkhangelsk to La Havre with a cargo of wheat, bringing his score to 19 ships and 30,044 tons.

Much further south, near Lowestoft, Hans Nieland begins his career in UB-12 by stopping and scuttling four British fishing smacks: Activity, 56 tons, Henry Charles, 41 tons, Kathleen, 59 tons, and Prosper, 45 tons. His starting score is 4 vessels for 201 tons.