U-BOATS OFF WIGTOWNSHIRE, WW1
THIS ARTICLE IS DEDICATED TO ALL THOSE MEN WHO FOUGHT ON AND BELOW THE WATERS OF NORTH CHANNEL BETWEEN 1914 AND 1918. THOSE WHO SURVIVED AND THOSE WHO PERISHED BE THEY KNOWN OR NOT
UC65, May, 1917 Huge losses of shipping and their cargoes came close to starving Britain out of World War One in 1917. During the four worst months, from March to June of that year, over 1600 ships were sunk, totalling some two and three-quarter million tons capacity.
The first ten merchant ships lost in North Channel, between Wigtownshire and Ireland, were sunk by one U-boat, UC65, in the first 72 hours of May 1917. Sailing ships Earnest, Ivrig and WD Potts along with steam powered Amber, Derrymore, Dora, Helen, Morion, Saint Mungo and Taizan Maru were all sunk by gunfire or scuttling charges.
Each was apprehended by the surfaced UC65, occasionally by a warning shot from the deck mounted gun and then destroyed after the crew were allowed to escape by lifeboats. UC65 did carry torpedoes as well as mines to lay, but the commander opted to attack from the surface.
AUTHOR SKECTH MAP, LOCATION OF SINKINGS, MAY 1917
Ships from many nations The WD Potts was built in Pwlleheli, North Wales in 1878 and regularly visited the Solway Firth, often carrying granite from the quarries at Dalbeatie to such places as Thames Embankment, London and Eddystone Lighthouse off Cornwall. When sunk she was carrying china clay from Falmouth to Glasgow.
Built in France in 1891 but owned by a Norwegian company, Ivrig, over 200 feet long, was sailing in ballast from Dublin to Newport, America, possibly to load with grain.
Sketch of ship like but not actually Ivrig
Helen was built in 1904by Ailsa Shipping in Ayr and was steaming coal from Garston, Liverpool to Bangor, Ireland when apprehended by UC65. Taizan Maru, at 3,500 tons by far the biggest of these 10 ships, was built in Japan and operating under the flag of that nation. She was carrying iron-ore for an American company from Cartagena in Spain to Ardrossan when she met with UC65. As can be seen for the author's sketch map, the ships were destroyed in three clusters and lie at depths ranging from just 60 feet for Derrymore to over 500 feet for Dora.
Kapit채nleutnant Otto Steinbrinck
Skipper of UC65 was the 26 year old and very recently promoted Otto Steinbrinck who took over command of UC65 on 10 November 1916. Steinbrinck was already a very successful submarine commander having sunk over 160 vessels before UC65 entered North Channel. Aftermath All the ship crews reached safety on shore and I have no reason to believe that they did not return to sea; such is the way with mariners. Otto Steinbrinck survived the WW1 as the fourth highest scoring U-boat commander. He worked with various industries after the Armistice and again served, on landbased work, during WW2. He died in 1949 whilst a prisoner for having been an honorary member of the Nazi Party.
UC65 sank a total of 117 ships before she was herself sunk, by a torpedo from British submarine C15, on 3 November 1917 with the loss of 22 crew, just 5 survivors. The wreck site off Dorset was identified in 2005.
photograph said to be of UC65
At the time of her sinking, Taizan Maru was being chartered at a cost of ÂŁ10,000 GBP per month (up to half a million pounds in today's money). A claim for War reparation was made in 1926 and Germany agreed to pay $77,000 USD in compensation, the equivalent of about 3 million dollars today. Was the money ever paid over? Repayment was suspended by Germany in 1932 but the final debts were eventually cleared in September 2010, nearly a century later.
Sister ship to Taizan Maru
FOREIGN CASUALTIES Of the 22 cargo vessels sunk by German submarines off Wigtownshire in the 53 weeks after 9 October 1917, two were not British registered. Locating information about these, USS Lakemore from United States of America and SS Longwy from France, has been somewhat easier then for the British victims. USS Lakemore; The Crew from 26 states Built prior to WW1 and operated as SS Maski, Lakemore was requestioned by the US Government in late 1917 and equipped with defensive armament before departing on her maiden and sadly only voyage from Newport News, USA to Glasgow, Scotland. Her 62 crew were drawn from over half (26) of the states and bringing an unknown cargo, presumably military supplies. On 11 April 1918, less than 40 miles from her destination and well within sight of land, Lakemore was torpedoed. The damage caused must have been severe as the ship sank taking down 46 of the crew, leaving only 16 survivors. A brief article naming all those involved was published in the New York Times 10 days later and is available to view free via;
http://preview.tinyurl.com/5wzxcnm Amongst the survivors named my attention was drawn to three individuals. Lt. Commander Kinchen J Powers, USNR The commanding officer of Lakemore had previously been on a torpedoed ship, Schuylkill in the Mediterranean in November 1917; then there were no casualties. Powers went on to survive the war.
Robert Carlton Barnes This enlisted seaman came from Bridgetown in Barbados, then a colony of Britain. How did he become an American sailor? Signalman J M Higgs, RN A Royal Navy rating was presumably on-board the ship to assist in ship-to-shore communications with Britain when Lakemore had crossed the Atlantic ocean?
Image of ship very similar to Lakemore, pillaged Two of the newspaper reported survivors were eventually listed as casualties, the evocatively named Prince Algernon Johnson and Roscoe Conklin Leonard. Two other casualties are not mentioned in the New York Times article, John Ernest Kehr and James McGourty. One of the “missing” is a Chester Carl Claus, for whom no other record is available. SURNAME
FIRST
PLACE
POWERS, LT/COM
KINCHEN, J
WILMINGTON NC
GOODMAN, LT
WILLIAM, D
BROOKLYN, NY
PULASKI, LT
FRANK
CHICAGO, IL
BENNETT, ENS
GEORGE, E
BUSHNELL, IL
BROWN, ENS
ALLAN
MONTCLAIR, NY
BARNES
ROBERT CARLTON
BARBADOS
DALEY
JOHN JOSEPH
PH
HENSLEY
CLARENCE EDWARD
MANSFIELD, MO
JACQUEM
CHAUNCEY, M
RAMCUE, CL
NICOLS
RICHARD VINCENT
CAMDEN, NJ
O'NEIL
JOHN, F, JNR
SOMERVILLE, MA
REICHARD
WILLIAM DENZIL
WILLSHIRE, OH
RUSACK
SIDNEY LEROY
LAKEWOOD, RI
STRIBLING
JAMES EDWARD
HARTFORD. WA
WINSLETTE
FRANK LESLIE
FISK, TX
HIGGS
J.M.
BRITISH
Almost all the 46 missing sailors have their names inscribed on the commemorative wall plaques at The Brookwood American Cemetery in England; the link contains a brief video guide to this cemetery.
http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/bk.php KNOWN DEAD FROM USS LAKEMORE, 11/04/1918 BATTLE, JOSEPH, ship's cook Rocky Mount, NC BURK, FRANK WILLIAM, pharmacist's mate, Sioux Falls, SD BUSH, WILLIAM FREDERICK, electrician, Danville, TN CHASSEY, WALTER, coxswain, Providence, RI COHEN, JACOB EDEL, electrician, Richmond, VA DARNELL, WILLIAM LEE, coxswain, Berkley, VA. FERGUSON, WILLIAM BERTIL, Seaman, Roanoke, VA FLOOD, FRANCIS ROBERTS, Yeoman, South Hannibal, MO FRANKE, RHEINHOLD A, Machinist's Mate, Sheboygan, WI GRIDER, ROY ULRICK, Seaman, Bridgeport, AL HANN, ALVIN FAIRBANK, Boatswain's Mate, Catonsville, MD HILLER, CHARLES BERNARD, Seaman, , Philadelphia, PA HOBBS, MILTON ELSWORTH, Alva, OK HOWERTON, JOHN BENJAMIN, Seaman, Petersburg, VA HUGHES, EMMETT, Mess Attendant, Chicago, IL HUGHES, FRED RAYMOND PORTER, Seaman, Baltimore, MD IVERSON, CHESTER MALVIN, Fireman, Seattle, WA JOHNSON, PRINCE ALGERNON, Mess Attendant, Franklin, VA JOHNSTON, EUGENE ALLEN, Chief Yeoman, Jersey City, NJ KEHR, JOHN ERNEST, Fireman, Taylor, PA KINGREY, OTTO ALBERT ANDREW, Engineman, Olympia, WA KIRK, THOMAS, Lieutenant, Brooklyn, NY KIRKPATRICK, JAMES EDWARD, Seaman, Greenville, SC KRIEBEL, CLAUDE B, Assistant Paymaster, Lansdale, PA
LEONARD, ROSCOE CONKLIN, Coxswain Cambridge, MD LIZIKOS, SOTORIOS, Ensign, Tucson, AZ McCOURTY, JAMES, Machinist, Worcester, MA MclNTYRE, THOMAS ALOYSIUS, Seaman,
(NIL ELSE KNOWN)
MEACHAN, ROBERT WEBSTER, Engineman, Blissfield, MI NELSON, CLEON ALBERT, Engineman,Mason City, IA OFFUTT, LEWIS, Lieutenant (JG), San Francisco, CA OLDHAM, CHARLES FRANCIS, Seaman, Elko, NV RATCLIFFE, CLELAND KINLOCK, Seaman, Richmond, VA RYAN, JOSEPH FRANCIS, Seaman, Philadelphia, PA SLONAKER, CHARLES JOHN, Seaman, York, PA STEIN, PHILIP HENRY, Jr, Seaman, Philadelphia, PA TAGGART, HARRY, Fireman, Hamlin, TX TATE, LAWRENCE MELZAR, Fireman, St Petersburg, FL THIBERT, ADOLPH JAMES, Fireman, St John, ND THORN, GEORGE HENRY, Fireman, Baltimore, MD e TRUDEAU, LOMIS, Fireman, Schenectady, NY WALTON, ROBERT LEE, Ship’s Cook, Atlanta, GA WARD, GEORGE, Fireman, Baldwin, ND WILSON, FREDERICK, Boatswain's Mate, Easton, MD WILSON, THOMAS, Ship’s Cook, Portsmouth, VA WUEST, ROBERT HARRY, Chief Machinist's Mate, Cincinnati, OH (Those not listed at Brookwood are; Claus, Flood, Franke and Johnson.)
THE ATTACKING SUBMARINE, UB64 UB64 had been launched on 5 August 1917, was commanded by then 30 year old Otto Von Schrader and accounted for 34 vessels either sunk or damaged, the majority under Schrader's command. The submarine surrendered at the end of WW1 and was scrapped at Fareham, Hampshire in 1921. Von Schrader remained in the Germany navy and in WW2 was promoted eventually to Commanding Admiral of the Norwegian West-Coast from February 1943. In July of that year, British MTB No. 345 was captured by forces serving under Von Schrader and the crew subsequently murdered. (The link is to a legal deposition with grim details, not for the fainthearted)
When he was captured by The Allies in May 1945, Von Schrader knew that he would be charged with war-crimes so suicided on 19 July of that year rather than face the legal process. He was then 57 years old and had served in the Germany Navy continuously for nearly 40 years. He remains a controversial figure with over 56,000 google hits, one of which leads to a short video-clip said to be of him. SS Longwy; The men from Nantes Five months before the loss of Lakemore, Longwy was sailing through almost the same patch of sea on 4 November 1917, nearing her destination having left Bilbao in Spain with an unknown cargo. Built in Nantes in 1903 and operating from this west coast of France port, she was under the command of Capt. Joseph Huet, then nearly 42 years old. The other 28 crew members ranged from the 47 year old mechanic, Victor Langlais to just 16 year old apprentice, Rene Fauche. A full account of the Longwy last journey can be found here, in French. Briefly, the ship was torpedoed around mid-night and went down with all hands, (see image 2).
The first indication of the event was when the body of Capt. Huet was washed ashore near Girvan. At the time it was not clear how the vessel had been sunk and whether or not a mine impacted. THE ATTACKING SUBMARINE,UC75 Since coming under the command of 28 year old Captain Johannes Lohs in March 1917, this submarine had already accounted for 36 ships. Unlike UB64, neither the captain or submarine survived the war. UB64 was rammed by HMS Fairy and sunk in the North Sea on the 31 May 1918. A very full account is given in this blog.
HMS Fairy; image pillaged Lohs did not go down with UC75, by then he was commander of UB57 and went on to sink another 39 vessels before this submarine was lost with all hands having been mined in the North Sea on 14 August 1918. Lohs is interred in the only remaining German War Cemetery in The Netherlands.
Johannes Lohs, image pillaged
THE FINAL YEAR OF LOSS During WW1 at least 32 merchant ships were sunk off the coast of Wigtownshire by German submarine activity. I have already mentioned the 10 vessels sunk in just 72 hours at the start of May 1918, and details about the loss of USS Lakemore and SS Longwy. The remaining 20 that went down over a 53 week period from 09/11/1917 are listed below; DATE
CAS
CRE W
NAME
SAVE
U BOAT CARGO
09/10/17 12
MAIN
UC75
ballast (coal)
21/02/18 20
RIO VERDE
U 86
coal
22/02/18 2
HAILEYBURY
U 91
coal
22/02/18
ULABRAND
13
???
ballast
03/03/18 29
32
ROMEO
3
U 102
ballast
25/03/18 6
21
DESTRO
15
U 96
general
28/03/18 3
INKOSI
48
U 96
coal/gen
02/04/18 11
SOLWAY QUEEN
U 101
coal
30/04/18 1
KAFUE
U 86
general
30/04/18 0
KEMPOCK
U 86
spuds
02/05/18 0
MEDORA
U 86
general
06/05/18
LEEDS CASTLE
U 86
NK
06/05/18 20
SANDHURST
UB72
iron ore
16/05/18 0
TARTARY
U 86
general
13/09/18 10
BUFFALO
UB64
coal
13/09/18 4
MJ CRAIG
UB64
coal
13/09/18 9
SETTER
UB64
general
14/09/18 0
NEOTSFIELD
UB64
coal/coke
29/09/18 13
NYANZA
UB95
coal
UB92
ballast
17/10/18 0
26
BONVILSTON
26
CASUALTIES AND SURVIVORS At least 150 people were killed and 105 survived, but the many gaps show where I have been unable to find figures, reliable or not! More sadly, the names of only two dozen of the deceased and just four of the survivors are known. Respectively;
MACHELL, Thomas F. Leading Seaman from MJCraig http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3047662
GOVIER, James H. Ordinary Seaman from MJCraig http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3047414
MACARTHUR, Peter. Seaman from Solway Queen http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3039983
O'LEARY, Michael. Leading Seaman from Solway Queen http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3046528
Thomas Buchanan, WM Richardson, JT Shannon, W Arlow, G Wallace all from Rio Verde and buried at Kirkmaiden Church, Galloway.
(Above, author photograph from Xmas 2010, the Main cross and Rio Verde graves)
MARSH, Walter from Rio Verde is also buried at Kirkmaiden and remembered; http://ngb.chebucto.org/NFREG/WWI/ww1-war-dead-cwgc-nrnr.shtml
BLAIR, Alexander. Leading Seaman, from Rio Verde http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=370521
BUCHAN, Stewart. Able Seaman from Rio Verde http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=663113
MARTYN, FJL first mate from Rio Verde http://www.guernsey-society.org.uk/donkipedia/index.php5title=Roll_of_Honour_M
HEARD, Frederick E, Private RMLI from Sandhurst (no further details) DONALD, Hugh. Seaman from Nyanza, (just 10 miles from parental home.) http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=30332
BUSBY, James. Master Buffalo. (BROTHER OF BELOW) http://freespace.virgin.net/edward.connolly/connolly/INDIs/II609.html
BUSBY, Samuel. Mate from Buffalo. (BROTHER OF ABOVE) http://freespace.virgin.net/edward.connolly/connolly/INDIs/II694.html
MACRAE, Alex. Seaman from Buffalo http://facesmemorial.blogspot.com/2007/06/upper-bayble.html
http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx? casualty=3047704 WALKER, John, Able Seaman, RNVR from Destro.
http://www.naval-history.net/xDKCasAlpha1914-18W.htm http://www.grantonhistory.org/war_memorial/war_memorial_walker_j.htm
MACIVER, John. Act/Leading Seaman, RNR from Main http://tributesmemorial.blogspot.com/2010/11/john-maciver-2-borve-15benside.html
MACLEOD, John. Seaman, RNR from Main http://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1917-10Oct.htm
THERE ARE TWO UNNAMED GRAVES FROM MAIN AT GLENLUCE, GALLOWAY http://scottishwargraves.phpbbweb.com/scottishwargraves-post-19229.html
BARGEWELL, George. Ship's Steward from Romeo http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3045745
BIRKINSHAW, Ronald. Signalman from Romeo http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=3047089
ALLEN, Joseph. Fireman from Romeo http://www.mnahull.org.uk/memorial.htm
WHITE, William. Seaman from Romeo http://www.cwgc.org/search/certificate.aspx?casualty=2969983 http://eldonmemww1.webs.com/surnamessy.htm
John Compagnon and William Camomile, gun crew; wireless operator Arthur Seddon and J Neile, master, all survived from Romeo
ATTACKING SUBMARINES As the table shows, eight Uboats each sank one ship. U96 sank two, whilst UB64 and U86 accounted for four and six respectively. Behind these stark facts are some interesting tales.
Picture of surfaced and moored Uboats, pillaged
UB95, under the command of Oscar Maab, sank her only victim, Nyanza, 16 days into her maiden and last operational patrol. The submarine surrendered to Italian forces at the Armistice and was broken up less than a year old. UB72 had an operational life of barely 3 months during which she accounted 6 ships, Sandhurst being sunk just 6 days before UB72 was herself destroyed by a British Submarine, as well detailed here. U101 operated for the last 15 months of the war and at the time she torpedoed Solway Queen was commanded by Carl-Siegfried Ritter von Georg. He had previously been skipper of U57 when that submarine humanely cared for the crews of 12 fishing trawlers sunk off Scarborough. U101 survived the war and was broken up at Cherburg in 1921. Von Georg went on to serve in the German Navy on headquarters tasks during WW2.
Trawler Devonshire, one of the 12 sunk on 24/09/1916 by Von Georg and U57, pillaged
UB92 claimed a total of 8 vessels during the final months of the war, including Bonvilston, whilst commanded by Johannes Muller. Bonvilston had been involved in a collision with an Australian troop ship, HMAT Geelong on New Years Day 1916 in the eastern Mediterranean sea which sank the much larger Australian vessel but with all hands rescued. U102 was commanded by Curt Beitzen when she torpedoed Romeo on 3 March 1918, see map ref 14. Beitzen had previously commanded U75 which spread mines around Scapa Flow, Orkney in late May 1916. One of these impacted with HMS Hampshire which sank killing Lord Kitchener, head of the Army, and 644 other people. Beitzen was himself lost with all the crew of U102 when she was mined on 30 September 1918 not far from the wreck of HMS Hampshire. U75 was also lost, along with 23 of her crew, to a mine in December 1917. UB64 was no longer commanded by Otto von Schrader when she sank 4 further vessels in less than 48 hours in mid-September 1918, but by Ernst Krieger, about whom the internet is as quiet as it is noisy concerning Schrader! U96 was commanded throughout her 19 month service from April 1917 by Heinrich Jess, about whom much can be read in this link to the excellent Uboat.net website, whose archives have been such a help to me in compiling this article, thanks all.
U86 under the command of then 27 year old Helmut Patzig was the highest scoring Uboat in North Channel during the closing year of WW1. However, her illegal action in torpedoing, sinking and then ramming/machine gunning the escape lifeboats a Canadian Hospital Ship, Llandovery Castle on 27 June 1918, killing 234 persons is said to have been the worst naval atrocity of that war. Patzig and the watch officers of U86 were indicted for war crimes but Helmut escaped, going on to serve in shore based appointments during WW2, eventually dying aged 93 years in 1984.
AUTHOR SKETCH MAP OF LOCATIONS OF SINKINGS (LAND MASS TO LEFT; NORTHERN IRELAND) (TO UPPER RIGHT; SCOTLAND) (LOWER RIGHT; ISLE OF MAN)
I have based this account on primary sources or official documents found on-line by searching.
Any errors in interpretation are mine alone and I would be grateful to receive any corrections or further information by email directly to; gallowaygrave.gmail.com
The contents are free to copy or pillage, BUT if republished anywhere PLEASE have the grace to acknowledge your source as my original efforts.
Composed by Dr Dave Hambidge February 2011