The Great War at Sea (Revised)
Book 1
1914 -The Mediterranean
5a. The Battle off Kimovica
French Fleet
MN France (BB) flag
MN Paris (BB)
MN Danton (SBB)
MN Diderot (SBB)
MN Condercet (SBB)
MN Mirabeau (SBB)
MN Jules Ferry (CA)
8 DD
Austro-Hungarian Fleet
KuK Viribus Unitis (BB)
KuK Tegetthoff (BB)
Kuk Prinz Eugen (BB)
Kuk Radetzky (SBB)
Kuk Ezeherzog Franz Ferdinand (SBB)
KuK Zrinyi (SBB)
Kuk Ezherzog Karl (B)
Kuk Ezherzog Ferdinand Max (B)
KuK Ezherzog Freidrich (B)
KuK Hapsburg (B)
Kuk Arpad (B)
KuK Babenberg (B)
KuK Kaiser Karl VI (CA)
KuK Sankt Georg (CA)
KuK Saida (CL)
KuK Helgoland (CL)
14 TB
British Squadron
HMS Lord Nelson (SBB) (Flag)
HMS Agamemnon (SBB)
HMS Colossus (BB)
HMS Dreadnought (BB)
HMS Yarmouth (CL)
HMS Falmouth (CL)
10 DD
3rdC.S.
HMS Antrim (flag)
HMS Devonshire
HMS Argyll
HMS Roxborough
At Budya
2 RN DD
As well there are three French SS and one Austrian SS still in the area. The French submarines are further north, while the Austrian U-Boat is on the no north edge of the Straits.
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After picking up the survivors from the stricken Cruiser and the few dozen from the destroyer, the balance of the 23rd of November settled into a drab routine for the French squadron as they began their patrol on an east/west course just to the NW of Budya. In the direct vicinity of Budya, two British destroyers were patrolling, while the grounded armoured cruiser Victor Hugo had every gun that would bare.
Lapeyrere had his battleships arranged in line ahead, with the cruiser Jules Ferry and four of the destroyers arranged to his north to hopefully give advanced warning of the Austrian’s approach should they decide to appear. The other four destroyers were busying themselves darting around his command in a now nearly paranoid search for mines and submarines.
With his dire shortage of both destroyers and cruisers, he had sent a signal with Craddock to discuss his estimated time of arrival and to ask if further reinforcements might be brought up.
Craddock appraised the situation, then ordered his two light cruisers and four of his destroyers ahead at their best speed to join with Lapeyrere. As well he sent an order to Packenham’s 3rd CS to join with him as soon as possible. While that would leave his flank somewhat adrift, he decided that given the circumstances it was a safe risk.
For while the Italians might well act, he didn’t think they would realistically perpetrate something as unacceptable as undeclared hostile action against the Entente at this point in time.
Craddock had then sent a reply to Lapeyrere disclosing that he would be closing with him in the early hours of the 24th, but also informed the French admiral to expect the light cruisers and destroyers soon after midnight. Packenham’s cruiser squadron would be less than six hours behind the British battleships.
Lapeyrere had replied with his appreciation of Craddock’s quick decision, but expressed his concern with the British ships approaching in the dark. He asked Craddock to inform the cruisers at that point advancing on the French to have them stand off until morning so no identities would be mistaken by the skitterish French gunners.
Seeing it as a wise choice, Craddock ordered the light cruiser force to stand off from the French until daybreak unless they were needed. With that he returned to the business at hand and set about his days labours. But even as Craddock took his leave from the bridge, his command was under attack.
Admiral Craddock was stopped in his tracks by a report from his signals officer. A U-boat had been sighted and was even now under attack. As he turned and raced back to the bridge rolling out commands for an emergency turn to starboard, there came the dull reverberation of an underwater explosion from the south.
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U-5, the last Austrian submarine still on patrol in the straits had seen the approach of a unknown cruiser with at least two destroyers in company. The boat’s skipper quietly cursed his luck as once more U-5 had been out of place to effect action against the Entente. They had heard the sounds of battle through the hull plates on the night of the22nd, but as their wireless was only receiving intermittently at best and unable to broadcast they were in the dark as to recent events. Other than the distant sighting of funnel smoke they had been luckless in their effort to join the fight. And here now U-5 had finally made contact, but at a distance whereby the blighted U-boat could take no action. He watched in increasing anger as the mysterious ships slid out of view, before moving away from the periscope and letting the watch officer assume the post. He walked quietly across the crowded, damp control room thinking it might be best to surface and clear the fetid air in their dank boat.
He was still rolling over his displeasure not only with being denied the attack, but his inability to even report it. As he pondered his command he scanned the men in the room, noting their own disappointment. His eyes settled on the man on the periscope. His hat turned back as he slowly swivelled the instrument casually around its axis. With a quick movement the watch officer snapped the periscope back a few degrees.
“Smoke! Bearing ….”
U-5’s jinx had been lifted, for while they had missed an opportunity earlier, it soon became apparent that something much better was coming their way. As U-5 continued east at a frustrating 6 knots in hopes of heading off the advancing ships, the light patch of smoke had become a darker smudge before the unmistakeable tripod masts of battleships came into view.
But even as they approached, it was apparent that these vessels too might slip by if the u-boat was unable to reach her attack position in time. On the surface the sea was rising and while that was good for delaying anyone sighting the periscope, it was a real concern to keep U-5 at depth. But her commander held on, sensing that with a solid effort an attack would be made. It was up to him to see his boat and crew through, and if he had his way U-5 would not be denied her chance.
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A tense near hour later after a dogged attempt, the frustrated U-boat skipper whistled an Austrian folk tune softly as the boat rose once more for a look at the approaching vessels. Try as he might it was looking as though the column of British battleships would pass before his boat would be in range. And as the periscope cleared the surface he felt his heart sink as he seen that the first two were indeed moving away, while the third was parallel and would soon be by as well. But then he settled on the forth one as it neared. The captain didn’t need an identity book to identify his target as it filled the viewfinder, it was the most famous battleship in the world.
“Prepare to launch…” He said calmly before returning to his softly whispered tune.
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On the bridge of the destroyer HMS Scorpion Commander Andrew Cunningham gratefully accepted the hot cocoa proffered by the rating. He had just taken a sip of the hot sweet contents of the porcelien mug when a lookout bellowed.
“Periscope! There!” pointing off the port bow of the destroyer as it drove through the choppy seas. The Cocoa forgotten, Cunningham began barking orders and as the gun crews swung their mounts around HMS Scorpion began to swing to port and the ships vibrations increased as her black gangs below threw their backs into their labours.
But even as the destroyer bore down on her target, the bows of the U-boat broke the surface as in the rough seas the weight of the launched torpedoes was not properly compensated for. The destroyer’s Guns were quickly on their target, pummelling the U-5 at a range where misses were unlikely. In quick succession she was struck by a trio of 4” shells and numerous hits from the smaller 6 pdrs. And then with a jarring crunch and the scream of tortured metal the prow of Scorpion drove into and over the bow of U-5.
Inside the U-boat it was pandemonium as the crew were savagely thrown from their positions by the force of the impact. The captain could hear the cries of the injured and dying as the few lights flickered and went out as the crippled sub was pushed over and down by the destroyer. The eerie scream of metal on metal mingled with the sound of water flooding into the boat. It seemed like an eternity, but in a few seconds came the thumps and bangs of the destroyers stern passing off U-5’s hull, and in so doing allowing the crippled ship to attempt to right herself.
The Captain was quickly on his feet as the odd light came on, barking orders to blow the ballast tanks and prepare to abandon the sub. The U-boat rose stern first, her bow submerged and as hatches sprang open eleven survivors scrambled out and took to the dubious safety of the Adriatic as the last shells from Scorpion tore into the fast sinking sub.
As U-5 slid beneath the waves it’s Kapitan, Georg Johannes von Trapp felt a wave of sadness and loss as the survivors of his crew clustered about him. But in a moment those feelings were momentarily pushed asside as hissmall patch of Adriatic crested and he caught a glimpse of his target as she fell out of formation.
The approach of a boat from HMS Scorpion marked the fast approaching end of von Trapp’s war. But the end of his part in the conflict was a small price to pay for the fame that would surround him as the man who sank HMS Dreadnought.
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As the heavy units wheeled clear of the action, the destroyers swarmed about. Some shepherded the battleships while a pair stood by the stricken Dreadnought. Cunningham’s command had sustained damage to her bows, lower hull and rudder in the ramming and would be in no shape to continue, and once the few survivors from U-5 were gathered in, she would be ordered back for Malta once her damage was appraised and there was no need to fear her sinking.
On HMS Dreadnought the situation was grim. She had been hit by two torpedoes aft. The first had detonated against the submerged belt and there was only heavy seepage from damaged plate seams. The second one had struck below Y turret and had torn a large hole in the ship’s stern. Sea water was pouring into the vessel and no attempt to stem the flow seemed to have an effect. If one path was secured another would appear, and the pumps available, such as they were, did little to help.
Within an hour of her first hit her aft deck was awash as far as the rear most turret and her boiler and turbine rooms were being abandoned in the face of the incoming seas. With the loss of her engines the pumps fell silent which only hurried her end. As she sank lower three of the escorting destroyers came alongside and took off over 756 surviving crewmen. As the last one pulled away, HMS Dreadnought’s stern dropped into the sea and her bows began a slow climb skyward as she gracefully rolled onto her port beam. As the sea took her a series of explosions wracked her, and moments later she was gone, her passing marked only by a blackish Brown cloud of dissipating smoke and her scattered flotsam on the waves.
With three destroyers loaded down with survivors and another badly damaged, and Dreadnought sunk, Craddock quickly sorted through the aftermath. Their was no choice but to send the destroyers in question back to Malta along with the damaged Scorpion. The rest of his force would regroup and carry on to meet the French.
After signalling Malta to request larger shipping to meet the destroyers and relieve them of their burden, He sent another to Lapeyrere to illuminate his position and inform him that his arrival would be delayed. After a short signal to the Admiralty, he retired to his cabin to begin the process of the longer, more formal report.
