Smoke and Mirrors : Q-Ships Against the U-Boats in the First World War

by Lake, Deborah

• ISBN13: 9780750946056
• ISBN10: 0750946059
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-05-01
• Publisher: Sutton Pub Ltd

Summary

The Q-ship, an ordinary merchant vessel with concealed guns, came into its own during World War I, when the Royal Navy used it to trap and destroy German U-boats. Deborah Lake uses a wide range of primary and secondary source material drawn from archives in the UK, Germany and the USA to tell the compelling story of the Q-ships and their U-boat adversaries. The Q-ship operations themselves are covered by following the careers of the eight men who won the Victoria Cross on Special Service Operations; and by accounts from German U-boat crews on the receiving end. No book on Q-ships would be complete without reference to the two Baralong incidents of 1915, when a Q-ship's crew allegedly executed the survivors of the German submarine U-27. In a subsequent encounter with U-41, more British atrocities were alleged by the two German survivors. The author includes revealing extracts from the diary of a Royal Marine who served on board the Baralong, together with other first-hand accounts.

Author Biography

Deborah Lake served in the Royal Air Force before leaving to concentrate on her writing and acting careers. She is the author of numerous titles including; The Zeebrugge & Ostend Raids, 1918 (as David Lomas, Leo Cooper/Pen & Sword 2002), Mons 1914 (as David Lomas, Osprey Publishing 1997), First Ypres, 1914 (Osprey Publishing, 1998), The British Tommy In The Great War (as David Boughton, Almark Publications, 1971). Deborah has written extensively for military magazines and journals.



 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. vii
Preface	p. ix
Map showing U-boat and Q-ship waters in the First World War	p. xiv
Prologue	p. 1
The Djinn Escapes the Bottle	p. 3
Friends in Peace. Friends for Ever	p. 21
Quit Ye like Men. Be Strong	p. 36
A Weapon to Turn the Tide	p. 52
Boil Prisoners in Oil - if You Take Any	p. 65
And the Sea Turned Red	p. 80
A Black and Bloody Ocean	p. 90
The Ace in the Hole	p. 100
Targets for the Plucking	p. 114
Very Good Piece of Work. Well Done	p. 131
Like Rats in a Trap	p. 147
Fortitude. Valour. Duty. Determination	p. 162
Glory in Dark Waters	p. 177
Throw the Confidential Books Overboard and Throw Me after Them	p. 187
The Oceans Became Bare and Empty	p. 198
Blue Smoke Came Out of Her	p. 212
A Nice Cup of English Tea	p. 223
Epilogue	p. 230
Bibliography and Sources	p. 233
General Index	p. 236
Index of Vessels	p. 239
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