Over 12 and a half million tons of merchant shipping was lost in the Great War -
THE WAR AT SEA AROUND THE NORTH IRISH COAST The Great War of 1914-18 brought many technological innovations which served to add to the horror and carnage of the conflict. The war at sea was not immune from these developments as battle was engaged not only on the surface but also by underwater craft and in the air above. Ireland went from being a naval backwater to the forefront of a major theatre of the war.
In 1914 nobody thought that the U-boat would prove to be such a key weapon over the next four years or that naval forces based in Irish ports and airfields would be crucial to winning the war.
88% were sunk by U-boats
Ireland first came into the war in a naval sense when the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet moored in Lough Swilly for a month in the autumn of 1914, while the anti U-boat defences at Scapa Flow were being upgraded. Naval bases were established in the north at Buncrana and Larne, patrolling the northern approaches and checking the identity of merchant vessels. Princess Maud at Larne Naval Base. Courtesy Larne Museum
FACING THE U BOAT THREAT “It was in fact a game of Blind Man’s Buff in an unlimited space of three dimensions” Winston Churchill The challenge faced by British Forces in the U-boat war should not be underestimated. U-boats first penetrated the North Channel, the Irish Sea and the Atlantic coast in early 1915. Much of the Royal Naval Reserve was sent to ports all around the coast of Ireland. The RNR was largely made up of trawlers and drifters and their crews who were drafted into service. By the spring of 1915 more than 100 of these small but sturdy vessels were based in Larne. In due course they would be equipped with 3-inch or 6-inch guns, depth charges, hydrophone listening devices and wireless telegraphy sets. Antisubmarine nets were laid from the north coast of Ireland to the Mull of Kintrye and were patrolled ceaselessly by relays of drifters.
WAGING WAR IN THE NORTH CHANNEL
COASTAL DEFENCE
“In the first three months after unrestricted submarine warfare was declared by the Germans on 1st Feb 1917, over 1,000 merchant ships were sunk” In addition to the trawlers and drifters, the Admiralty also employed a secret weapon – Q-ships as they were known, were ordinary private vessels such as sailing ships, that were fitted out with hidden armaments and crewed by the Royal Navy. Posing as an easy target, the U-boat could be lured into coming to the surface to attack. Once the U-boat was vulnerable, the Q-ship's panels would drop to reveal the deck guns, which would immediately open fire.
For supplies to get across the Atlantic from the US to the Western Front, ships had to go around the coast of Ireland. The situation became critical in the spring/early summer of 1917. The U-boats were winning the war.
The airship station at Bentra did not exist in isolation, it was part of a connected network across a greater First World War landscape that still exists along the shores of Belfast Lough. LARNE NAVAL BASE In 1914 Larne was a thriving market town and seaport. Its situation on the northeast coast of County Antrim gave it a strategically important position on the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland. Any vessel passing through the northern end of the Irish Sea was subject to the jurisdiction of the naval forces based in Larne. The sea route from Stranraer to Larne was also the shortest crossing between Great Britain and Ireland. Larne’s Olderfleet Hotel became a naval headquarters under the direction of the Senior Royal Naval Officer.
From the very beginning of the war in August 1914, Larne increased in importance as a port for embarking and disembarking troops and supplies, as well as becoming a naval base in its own right. When victory came in 1918, Larne Naval Base had played a crucial role and there can be no doubt that if the war at sea had been lost, the Allies would not have been able to win on the Western Front. Result - The most well-known ship from Paul Rodger’s Carrickfergus Shipyard, Result was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in January 1917. Although the schooner was involved in several skirmishes, her career as a Q-ship was short-lived, as it was discovered that the ship had been photographed and identified as a decoy by the Germans
SS Chirripo – sunk of coast of Blackhead 1917. The Elder and Fyffee ship was one of many that fell victim to the U boat threat around the Irish coast. While outward bound from Belfast, the ship struck a mine layed by UC-75, half a mile south east of Blackhead lighthouse and sank
Captured U- Boat in Larne Lough. Courtesy Larne Museum
“ Castle Garden Battery 1895
Soldiers at Carrickfergus Castle King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry garrisoned at the castle from March 2014 until war was declared and they were transferred to the Curragh to be shipped out.
Mary B Mitchell - In May 1916, the schooner built at Paul Rodgers Shipyard, Carrickfergus, was fitted out as a Q-ship. Cruising the seas in various disguises, the vessel engaged in a number of naval duels with enemy submarines and was officially recognised by the War Service with a number of honours and awards
The Greenisland - Owned by Charles M Legg & Son Ltd, coal merchants of Carrickfergus, this small ship towed a mine clear of the shipping lines in May 1917. A year later it rammed German U-boat UB119, causing it to sink with all hands on board
More than 4000 fishing vessels and 159 steam yachts were taken up by the Admiralty during the war To find out more and see the results of the survey scan the QR code
Camp at Grey Point MPD collection, Military Archives, AD_119287_008
Castle Garden Battery MPD collection, Military Archives, AD_119288_002
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CARRICKFERGUS CASTLE By the First World War, the 700 year old castle was still in use, and as such was in a stable and secure condition allowing for its use as a garrison and ordnance store. The installation of anti-submarine guns in the early twentieth century meant it could work in parallel with Kilroot Fort (Kilroot) and Grey Point Fort (Helen’s Bay) to protect Belfast Lough form any surprise attacks. GREYPOINT AND KILROOT FORTS The first records of construction work at Grey Point date to 1904, with the Fort becoming operational by 1907. Two six-inch Mark VII breech-loading guns were installed in 1907 and associated outbuildings were constructed over the next three years providing workshops, shelters, and storage facilities prior to the outbreak of the First World War.
A second similar battery was constructed on the opposite side of Belfast Lough at Kilroot, to aid in the defence of Belfast. This second battery was employed as the ‘examination depot’ for vessels making the journey up Belfast Lough and was where all crafts had to signal their intentions, and where they had to register before being permitted to travel further inland. Kilroot was not completed until 1910 with the final fortifications recorded as having been similar to Grey Point. Both forts contained dual gun emplacements with protective armour and associated magazines, shell stores and shelters constructed below the gun positions. .
Camp at Kilroot Battery MPD collection, Military Archives, AD_119287_004
Guns landing for Kilroot