Talk:Q-ship/Archive 1
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A Q-ship is a decoy vessel disguised as a merchant or non-military ship, but actually bearing concealed weapons. Q-ships were used by the British in World War I and World War II to lure and occasionally destroy German U-boats.
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A Q-ship would typically ply the merchant shipping lanes, clearly marked as a civilian vessel, and occasionally flying neutral colors. When a U-boat surfaced to fire upon the ship, the Q-ship crew would run up the white ensign and open fire on the enemy submarine. Unfortunately, this tactic met with only partial success. Often, submarines would torpedo the ships from a distance, or approach them so cautiously as to negate the Q-ships advantage.
One of the earliest Q-ships to successfully destroy an enemy submarine was a converted fishing vessel extravagantly titled "His Majesty's Armed Smack Inverlyon". Despite the grand title, the ship in question was simply an unpowered sailing craft fitted with a tiny 47mm cannon. In 1915, the Inverlyon encountered a small UB I type U-boat while masquerading as an active fishing vessel near Great Yarmouth. The submarine, christened "UB-4", was commanded by Leutenant zur See Karl Gross. When it approached the Inverlyon, presumably with the intention of boarding the smack and sinking it, the British crew opened fire. The submarine upended and sank, killing the entire German crew.
Sources:
http://www.ku.edu/~kansite/ww_one/naval/ub4.htm
I've corrected the U-boats link to U-boats, to link to the U-boat entry, in the above, as I assume that must be where it should link to. Silverfish 20:31, 11 Feb 2004 (UTC)
I've capitalised and linked "Royal Navy" Epeeist smudge 11:24, 9 March 2006 (UTC)