| History | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMAV Lady Patricia |
| Builder | Ardrossan Dockyard & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Ardrossan [1] |
| Yard number | 268 [1] |
| Launched | 1916 [1] |
| Refit | March-30 April 1917 (Conversion to Q-ship) [2] |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Paxton |
| Commissioned | 1 May 1917 [2] |
| Fate | Sunk 20 May 1917 [1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 1,372 GRT [1] |
| Length | 75.9 m (249 ft 0 in) [1] |
| Beam | 11.6 m (38 ft 1 in) [1] |
| Propulsion | Triple expansion steam engine built by John G. Kincaid & Company driving single screw, 162 nhp [1] |
| Armament |
|
HMS Paxton was a First World War Royal Navy Q-ship torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-46 on 20 May 1917 in the Atlantic Ocean 90 miles (140 km) west of Great Skellig, Eire. [1] The ship was originally ordered as Lady Patricia for the British and Irish Steam Packet Company [1] but taken over on completion by the British Government as HMAV Lady Patricia. [2]
The ship was damaged by gunfire from the German submarine U-57 on 30 March 1917 in St George's Channel and six crew killed. [3] [4] Shortly afterwards work started on converting her to an anti-submarine Q-ship, Q25, which was completed on 30 April 1917. [2] The ship was commissioned as HMS Paxton the following day and sunk less than three weeks later.
At about 9:00 on 20 May 1917 the ship was heading west at about 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) when an unknown German submarine surfaced and shelled her with its deck gun, hitting the ship once. Paxton responded by firing back at the submarine with her stern 4-inch (100 mm) gun, thus revealing herself as a Q-ship. The submarine dived to escape. [5]
Paxton continued on her westerly course, and the crew changed her disguise by painting the name of a Swedish ship on her sides. [5] At 19:15 on the same day U-46 torpedoed her, [1] disabling the engines. [5] Two men were killed, including the chief engineer, [5] but the ship remained afloat because she was loaded with lumber. [5] The submarine fired a second torpedo fifteen minutes later which broke the ship's back and it sank within about five minutes. [5] The surviving crew abandoned the ship on two boats and two rafts, but had not been able to send a distress radio message. [5] The submarine surfaced and took the captain, Commander George Hewett [6] and the second engineer, [5] Engineer Sub-Lieutenant James Wilfred Johnson [7] prisoner.
The boats and rafts stayed together overnight, but at 5 am one boat separated to make for Berehaven (now Castletownbere) for help. [5] The boat had no food or water onboard. [5] However, it was spotted just after 9 pm, by an American destroyer, USS Wadsworth, which rescued the three officers and eight ratings on it but despite spending the following day searching the destroyer could not locate the other survivors. [5] On 26 May a further four crew were rescued from a raft by another ship, [2] and on 26 [5] or 27 May [2] the second boat, containing the remaining survivors reached Killybegs. [5] Provisions and water had run out four days before the boat arrived, and two people had died en route. [5] In all 31 people were killed. [1] [2]
Surgeon Sub-Lieutenant Annesley George Lennon Brown, RNVR was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in June 1919 for his gallantry and devotion to duty following the torpedoing. [8] [9]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "HMAV Lady Patricia (Anchusa Q25 Paxton) (+1917)". wrecksite. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Richard Tallack". A Tale of one City. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Lady Patricia". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
- ^ Kindell, Don (2009). Royal Navy Roll of Honour - World War 1, Part 2 - by Date and Ship/Unit. Lulu.com. p. 337. ISBN 978-1445205359.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n William N. Still, Jr. (1996). The Queenstown Patrol, 1917: The Diary of Commander Joseph Knefler Taussig, U.S. Navy (PDF). Naval War College Press. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ "British Special Service or Q-Ships". World War I at Sea. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ "Germany: Prisoners, including: Appeal for war loan sent to prisoners in Germany..." UK National Archives. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ "Royal Navy Medals - Awards of the Distinguished Service Cross". Naval History .net. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ "Supplement to the London Gazette, 11 June, 1919" (PDF). London Gazette. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
51°42′N 13°13′W / 51.700°N 13.217°W
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in May 1917 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|
| History | |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMAV Lady Patricia |
| Builder | Ardrossan Dockyard & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Ardrossan [1] |
| Yard number | 268 [1] |
| Launched | 1916 [1] |
| Refit | March-30 April 1917 (Conversion to Q-ship) [2] |
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Paxton |
| Commissioned | 1 May 1917 [2] |
| Fate | Sunk 20 May 1917 [1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 1,372 GRT [1] |
| Length | 75.9 m (249 ft 0 in) [1] |
| Beam | 11.6 m (38 ft 1 in) [1] |
| Propulsion | Triple expansion steam engine built by John G. Kincaid & Company driving single screw, 162 nhp [1] |
| Armament |
|
HMS Paxton was a First World War Royal Navy Q-ship torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-46 on 20 May 1917 in the Atlantic Ocean 90 miles (140 km) west of Great Skellig, Eire. [1] The ship was originally ordered as Lady Patricia for the British and Irish Steam Packet Company [1] but taken over on completion by the British Government as HMAV Lady Patricia. [2]
The ship was damaged by gunfire from the German submarine U-57 on 30 March 1917 in St George's Channel and six crew killed. [3] [4] Shortly afterwards work started on converting her to an anti-submarine Q-ship, Q25, which was completed on 30 April 1917. [2] The ship was commissioned as HMS Paxton the following day and sunk less than three weeks later.
At about 9:00 on 20 May 1917 the ship was heading west at about 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) when an unknown German submarine surfaced and shelled her with its deck gun, hitting the ship once. Paxton responded by firing back at the submarine with her stern 4-inch (100 mm) gun, thus revealing herself as a Q-ship. The submarine dived to escape. [5]
Paxton continued on her westerly course, and the crew changed her disguise by painting the name of a Swedish ship on her sides. [5] At 19:15 on the same day U-46 torpedoed her, [1] disabling the engines. [5] Two men were killed, including the chief engineer, [5] but the ship remained afloat because she was loaded with lumber. [5] The submarine fired a second torpedo fifteen minutes later which broke the ship's back and it sank within about five minutes. [5] The surviving crew abandoned the ship on two boats and two rafts, but had not been able to send a distress radio message. [5] The submarine surfaced and took the captain, Commander George Hewett [6] and the second engineer, [5] Engineer Sub-Lieutenant James Wilfred Johnson [7] prisoner.
The boats and rafts stayed together overnight, but at 5 am one boat separated to make for Berehaven (now Castletownbere) for help. [5] The boat had no food or water onboard. [5] However, it was spotted just after 9 pm, by an American destroyer, USS Wadsworth, which rescued the three officers and eight ratings on it but despite spending the following day searching the destroyer could not locate the other survivors. [5] On 26 May a further four crew were rescued from a raft by another ship, [2] and on 26 [5] or 27 May [2] the second boat, containing the remaining survivors reached Killybegs. [5] Provisions and water had run out four days before the boat arrived, and two people had died en route. [5] In all 31 people were killed. [1] [2]
Surgeon Sub-Lieutenant Annesley George Lennon Brown, RNVR was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in June 1919 for his gallantry and devotion to duty following the torpedoing. [8] [9]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "HMAV Lady Patricia (Anchusa Q25 Paxton) (+1917)". wrecksite. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Richard Tallack". A Tale of one City. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Lady Patricia". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
- ^ Kindell, Don (2009). Royal Navy Roll of Honour - World War 1, Part 2 - by Date and Ship/Unit. Lulu.com. p. 337. ISBN 978-1445205359.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n William N. Still, Jr. (1996). The Queenstown Patrol, 1917: The Diary of Commander Joseph Knefler Taussig, U.S. Navy (PDF). Naval War College Press. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
- ^ "British Special Service or Q-Ships". World War I at Sea. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ "Germany: Prisoners, including: Appeal for war loan sent to prisoners in Germany..." UK National Archives. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ "Royal Navy Medals - Awards of the Distinguished Service Cross". Naval History .net. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ "Supplement to the London Gazette, 11 June, 1919" (PDF). London Gazette. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
51°42′N 13°13′W / 51.700°N 13.217°W
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in May 1917 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|