Submarine and Anti-submarineNewbolt, Henry John, Sir
History
Submarine and Anti-submarine
Newbolt, Henry John, Sir
Submarines (Ships); World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations -- Submarine
Commander Goodhart rises to the surface at 9.0 A.M., but dives again at
noon. We are now not far west of Rönne; and as he wishes to make sure
of passing Bornholm unobserved, he decides to remain on the bottom till
dark, then slip by and recharge his batteries, for a long run north by
daylight. By 7.0 P.M. we are on our way, and eight hours later we are
passing the east coast of the great island of Gotland. At 9.2 P.M. we
dive for a light cruiser, which passes overhead forward; at 10.0 we
return to the surface and proceed north-east, running past the entrance
to the Gulf of Riga and the island of Oesel. By 1.0 A.M. on August 22,
we have to dive for daylight; but by 3.0 we are up again, and going on
our course full speed. At 8.30 A.M. we sight Dagerört ahead and join
E. 9 (Commander Max Horton). In company with her and with a Russian
destroyer, we pass into the entrance of the Gulf of Finland; and by
9.0 P.M., E. 8 is secured in Reval harbour. Within twenty-four hours,
Commander Goodhart has docked and overhauled her, replaced her broken
propeller, and reported her ready for sea.
The career of E. 8 in the Baltic was long and successful. It began, so
far as sinkings are concerned, with the destruction of the steamer
_Margarette_ of Königsberg by gunfire, on October 5, 1915, and the most
exciting day in the record was October 23, when the _Prinz Adalbert_, a
cruiser of nearly 9,000 tons, fell to her first shot. E. 8 was cruising
off Libau when, at 8.50 A.M., Commander Goodhart observed smoke on the
horizon, and altered course to intercept the ship which was soon seen
to be an enemy. She had three funnels and two very high masts, and was
going west with two destroyers, zigzagging--one on each bow.
Commander Goodhart ran on, at seven and a half knots, till he got
within 3,000 yards, when he eased to five knots in order to lessen his
wake. The wind was slight, from S.S.E., and there was bright sunlight.
The conditions were ideal for an attack from the southward. All tubes
were made ready; the enemy came on at an estimated speed of fifteen
knots. At 9.28 the port destroyer passed ahead; four minutes later,
Commander Goodhart fired his bow tube at the war-ship’s fore-bridge and
began to look out for results.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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