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
The cruise of E. 7 lasted for over three weeks, from June 30 to July
24. On July 21, Commander Courtney Boyle brought up E. 14 once more.
He, too, saw the new net near Nagara, ‘a line of what looked like
lighters half-way across, and one small steamship in the vicinity.’
But he passed through the gate in it without touching anything. This
was lucky, as he had already scraped against an obstruction off Kilid
Bahr and cut his guard wire nearly through. Once up, he got to work at
once, and in a busy and adventurous three weeks he sank one steamer,
one supply ship, seven dhows and thirteen sailing-vessels. In short, he
made himself master of the Marmora. The complete interruption of the
Turkish sea communications was proved by the statements of prisoners.
The captain of one ship stated that Constantinople was full of wounded
and short of food, and that the troops now all went to Rodosto by rail
and then marched to Gallipoli--six hours in the train and three days
and nights marching, instead of a short and simple voyage. All the
Turkish war-ships were above the second bridge in the Golden Horn,
and they never ventured out. There were no steamers going to sea--all
supplies to Gallipoli went in sailing craft, towed by destroyers under
cover of darkness. It is clear that, to the Turkish imagination, E. 14
was like E. 11--very much in the plural number. On August 5, E. 11
herself came on duty again, and the two boats met at rendezvous at 2
P.M. next day. Half an hour afterwards, Commanders Boyle and Nasmith
started on their first hunt in couples. Their quarry was a gunboat of
the Berki-Satvet class. The chase was a lively one, and it was E. 11,
in the end, who made the kill with a torpedo amidships. Then the two
boats came alongside again and their commanders concerted a plan for
shelling troops next day.
They took up their positions in the early morning hours, and waited
for the game to come past. Commander Nasmith had been given the better
stand of the two; at 11.30 A.M. he observed troops going towards
Gallipoli, rose to the surface and fired. Several of his shots dropped
well among them and they scattered. In less than an hour another column
approached along the same road. E. 11 had retired, so to speak, into
her butt; she now stepped up again, raised her gun, and made good
shooting as before. ‘The column took cover in open order.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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