Action off Noordhinder Bank
Part of theFirst World War
North Sea map
Date 1 May 1915 Location offNoordhinder Bank,the Netherlands,North Sea 51°39′N02°41′E / 51.650°N 2.683°E /51.650; 2.683 (North Sea) Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	German Empire
Commanders and leaders
SirJames Domville	Hermann Schoemann †
Strength
4naval trawlers 6destroyers	2torpedo boats 1submarine
Casualties and losses
1 destroyer sunk 1 naval trawler sunk 1 naval trawler damaged 50 dead	2 torpedo boats sunk 13 dead 46 captured
Noordhinder Bank class=notpageimage| Location within North Sea

TheAction off Noordhinder Bank on 1 May 1915 was anaval engagement between four Britishnaval trawlers, supported by aflotilla of fourdestroyers and a pair of Germantorpedo boats from theFlanders Flotilla. The two torpedo boats were sent to rescue the crew of areconnaissanceseaplane that had been forced down with engine trouble, then to attack the trawlers. Four British destroyers from theHarwich Force were sent to patrol in the southern North Sea after a destroyer was torpedoed and sunk by a U-boat.

The Germans engaged the trawlers, sankColumbia with a torpedo and return-fire from the three surviving trawlers damaged one torpedo boat that temporarily lost steam. The four British destroyers from the Harwich Force appeared and the torpedo boats turned for home. The destroyers engaged the torpedo boats and sank them. The loss of the two newA-class torpedo boats greatly demoralised the GermanFlanders naval flotilla.

The commanders of theImperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) realised that the Flanders Flotilla was inadequately armed to protect the coast, let alone harass British shipping in theEnglish Channel. After similar defeats, the A-class torpedo boats were relegated to coastal patrol and heavierV25-class torpedo boats were transferred to the flotilla.

After the 7th Torpedo Boat Half Flotilla was lost during theBattle off Texel (17 October 1914) German naval authorities were reluctant to commit forces for offensive operations off the coast of Flanders.^[1] AdmiralLudwig von Schröder, the commander ofMarine Corps Flanders (MarineKorps Flandern), kept pressure on the German naval command for the transfer of a force of submarines andtorpedo boats to his command. After several months, theKaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) relented and decided to send him a force of newcoastal submarines of theUB andUC (minelayer) types and newA-class torpedo boats.^[2]

The torpedo boats had been designed in late 1914, built atHamburg and transported, in sections, overland toAntwerp, like the UB and UC coastal submarines. The new A-class boats displaced a little over 100 long tons (100 t), had a speed of about 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), carried two torpedoes, a5 cm SK L/40 gun and could stow fournaval mines.^[3] The Flanders Torpedo Boat Flotilla, based inZeebrugge, was formed on 28 April 1915. Comprising 15 of the A-class boats, rather than the anticipated 50, the flotilla was put under the command ofKorvettenkapitän Hermann Schoemann.^[4]

Operations of theU-boats based at Zeebrugge began with a sortie byUB-4 which sank four ships and returned during a storm, allaying concerns that the small coastalType UB I submarines lacked seaworthiness;UB-6 sailed on 1 May 1915.^[1] That day, two Britishdestroyers,HMS Recruit andHMS Brazen of theNore local defence flotilla, were patrolling about 30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi) south-west of theGalloper lightship, which marked the Gallopershoal, the most distant maritime hazards of theThames estuary. The shoal was about 30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi) to the south-west of theNoordhinder Bank light vessel. At11:20 a.m.Recruit was hit by a torpedo fromUB-6. The destroyer broke in two and sank at once; 34 members of the crew were killed and 26 survived, to be rescued by a Dutch ship.^[5]

Brazen and one of theHarwich trawlers began an abortive search for the submarine until3:00 a.m. by when they had returned to the Noordhinder light. Four trawlers fromGreat Yarmouth were searching for a U-boat reported in the area the day before.Miura (Sub-Lieutenant L. W. Kersley, RNR) was north-east of the Noordhinder lightship,Chirsit (Sub-Lieutenant A. Stablefold, RNR) was to the south-east of the lightship andColumbia (Lieutenant-Commander W. H. Hawthorne, RNR) about 4 nmi (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) to the west-north-west of the light. The trawlerBarbados which carried the flotilla commander, Lieutenant Sir James Domville RN, the senior ship of the four, was to the west-north-west, beyondColumbia.^[6] At about the same time thatRecruit was torpedoed,Columbia was attacked by another U-boat at Thornton Ridge, off the Scheldt estuary at 51°34’N, 03°00’E but the torpedo missed.^[7]

Early on 1 May 1915, two Germanseaplanes departed Zeebrugge to reconnoitre the Thames Estuary but one of the aircraft had engine trouble and made aforced landing. The other seaplane crew reported four British trawlers north ofOstend, off the Noordhinder Bank, a shoal between Antwerp and the mouth of theThames. Schoemann sailed with the torpedo boatsSMS A2 andA6 to rescue the crew and destroy the trawlers. The crew of the seaplane was rescued by a Dutch freighter and taken to the Noordhinder lightship, whence they were returned to land by a U-boat.^[8]

At about3:00 p.m.A2 andA6 were seen heading towards the British trawlers from the west-south-west, with no flags visible. At about 500 yd (460 m) range they ran up German flags and the foremost ship launched a torpedo atColumbia but missed.Barbados opened fire and soon afterwards another torpedo hitColumbia on the port side below the wheelhouse, sinking the trawler. Two torpedoes passed close toBarbados and the trawlers were engaged by machine-gun and gun fire.Chirsit andMiura returned fire at long range and one of the torpedo boats veered towardsChirsit. Despite being slower and outgunned, the trawler crews fought on; the captain ofBarbados was wounded early in the action and Domville took over in the wheelhouse. The Germans aimed at the wheelhouse, wounding Domville with splinters and knocking him down several times. After exchanging fire for about twenty minutes, the nearest of the two torpedo boats moved off to about 1,200 yd (1,100 m), began to lose steam and came to a stop.Barbados steamed closer but the crew got the engine going and both torpedo-boats withdrew to the south-south-east.^[9]

When the loss ofRecruit had been reported,Harwich Force had sent theLaforey-class destroyers,HMS Laforey,Lawford,Leonidas andLark to hunt for the U-boat.^[10] Thirty minutes after the German ships moved off,Barbados, with its gun and siren, attracted the attention ofLeonidas, which arrived from the south-west and with the other three destroyers gave chase.Barbados began a search for survivors fromColumbia to find thatMiura had rescued the only man, a deckhand, who reported thatColumbia had broken in two when torpedoed and sank almost immediately. He reported that the Germans had continued to fire at men in the water.^[11] The four British destroyers began to fire at long range and sank the torpedo-boats about an hour later.^[10] The British rescued 46 survivors from the German ships of the 59 crew, who related how they had taken three men fromColumbia's crew and locked them away, failing to release them as the ship sank.^[11] A German sailor had been swept overboard and was thrown a lifebuoy (marked A6) and was rescued by the Norwegian SSVarild, transferred toMiura and questioned.^[12]

The loss of the torpedo boats showed Schroeder the limitations of the A-class torpedo boats; they were too poorly armed for raiding and the boats were relegated to coastal patrols. The defeat at Noordhinder allowed Schroeder's pleas for reinforcements finally to be heard by the German Admiralty and on 22 May another six A-class torpedo boats were ordered from the manufacturers for Flanders.Kapitänleutnant Kurt Assman was transferred to command of the Flanders Flotilla torpedo boats which was split into two half-flotillas. The next engagement involving an A-class torpedo boat took place on 22 August against two French destroyers, in whichA15 damaged one destroyer but was sunk with the loss of fifteen of the 27 crew, reinforced the perception that the class was too slow and under-gunned.^[2]

Several new boats were put in reserve to provide crews for theV25-class torpedo boatsSMS V47,SMS V67 andSMS V68 transferred from the III Torpedo Boat Flotilla that November.^[13] The British took the incident to be a hit-and-run attack, assuming that the seaplane patrol that morning had alerted Zeebrugge and had led to the German sortie against the trawlers. The 3-pounder gun onBarbados had been well handled by Petty Officer A. H. Hallett and that the deck and engine-room crews had shown great courage.Miura andChirsit were commended for the effectiveness of their long-range fire, which had been of great support toBarbados and forced the Germans to retire. The Admiralty passed on its appreciation to the trawlers for fighting a superior force so vigorously.^[14]

British losses includedColumbia sunk andBarbados damaged;Columbia suffered 16 crew killed with only a deckhand being rescued after the action. The Germans lostA2 andA6 along with 13 men killed (including Schoemann) and 46 rescued and taken prisoner.^[15] A scandal ensued after it was discovered from the captured Germans that the three men taken from the sinkingColumbia had been locked away below decks on one of the torpedo boats and were abandoned when the German vessel started to sink. The Germans reported that they did not have enough time to get to the British prisoners and were barely able to escape themselves.^[12]

Yarmouth trawlers^[16]

Name	Flag	Class	Notes
HMT Columbia	Royal Navy	Auxiliary Patrol	Anti-submarine patrol, Sunk by torpedo
HMT Barbados	Royal Navy	Auxiliary Patrol	Anti-submarine patrol, flag, Lieutenant Sir James Domville[6]
HMT Chirsit	Royal Navy	Auxiliary Patrol	Anti-submarine patrol
HMT Miura	Royal Navy	Auxiliary Patrol	Anti-submarine patrol

Nore defence flotilla destroyers^[10]

Name	Flag	Class	Notes
HMS Brazen	Royal Navy	C-classdestroyer
HMS Recruit	Royal Navy	C-classdestroyer	Sunk bySM UB-6

Harwich Force destroyers^[10]

Name	Flag	Class	Notes
HMS Laforey	Royal Navy	Laforey-class destroyer
HMS Lawford	Royal Navy	Laforey-class destroyer
HMS Leonidas	Royal Navy	Laforey-class destroyer
HMS Lark	Royal Navy	Laforey-class destroyer

Flanders Flotilla^[8]

Name	Flag	Class	Notes
SMS A2	Imperial German Navy	A1-class torpedo boat
SMS A6	Imperial German Navy	A1-class torpedo boat	Sank trawlerColumbia

Miscellaneous vessels^[12]

Name	Flag	Class	Notes
SS Varild	Norway	Merchant ship	Neutral, rescued German man overboard, transferred him toMiura
—	Netherlands	Merchant ship	Neutral, rescued 26 survivors ofRecruit[7]

• Bacon, Reginald (1919).The Dover Patrol 1915−1917. Vol. I (online scan ed.). London: Hutchinson.OCLC 609286588 – via Archive Foundation.
• Bacon, Reginald (1919).The Dover Patrol 1915−1917. Vol. II (online scan ed.). London: Hutchinson.OCLC 609286588 – via Archive Foundation.
• Massie, R. K. (2004) [2005].Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea (pbk. repr. Pimlico ed.). London: Jonathan Cape.ISBN 1-8441-3411-3.

• North Sea operations of World War I
• Naval battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom
• Naval battles of World War I involving Germany
• Conflicts in 1915
• May 1915 in Europe

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