100 Years Ago Today

[Jimbuna]

24th April 1916

Aviation

Aeroplane raid on Dover, no damage.



Naval

German submarine SM UB-13 sinks off the mouth of the Thames. All 17 members of the crew are killed.

Political, etc.

King George and Czar Nicholas exchange Easter messages and affirm confidence in eventual victory.

Rebellion in Ireland; Sinn Feiners seize Dublin Post Office. Serious fighting in Dublin.

Irish rebels attempt to seize Dublin Castle, killing the police sentry (possibly the first death of the rising), but fail to take it.

Fianna Éireann members raid the Magazine Fort, disarming & shooting the guards. They attempt to blow up the fort’s ordinance, but fail.



Ship Losses:

HMT Clover Bank (Royal Navy) The naval trawler was lost on this date.
Hsin-Yu (National Revolutionary Army) The transport ship collided with Hai Yung ( Republic of China Navy) in the East China Sea south of the Chusan Islands and sank. There were only 30 survivors of over 1,000 people on board.
HMT King Stephen (Royal Navy) The naval trawler, operating as a Q-ship, was sunk in the North Sea off Lowestoft, Suffolk by a Kaiserliche Marine destroyer. Her crew were taken as prisoners of war.
SM UB-13 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type UB I submarine was lost in action off the mouth of the River Thames with the loss of all seventeen crew.
Maashaven (Netherlands) The steamer was damaged when it hit a mine about 3 miles N of Galloper Buoy 51°49'30"N 1°57'30"E. Beached 1,5 miles SxW of the Beach End Buoy. Refloated May 5.

[Sailor Steve]

April 24, 1916

Air War:
French ace Jean Navarre, flying a Nieuport 11, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 9.



North Sea:
Dutch freighter SS Maashaven, 2,609 tons, hits a mine laid by an unknown ship, 3 miles north of the Galloper Bouy. The damaged ship will be refloated on May 5. This is the second mine struck by Maashaven, the first being on January 13. Then the ship had drifted ashore near Calais, refloated and towed to Rotterdam.

UB-13 is lost in a mine net off the coast of Belgium with all 17 crew.

German torpedo boat FL 3 is wrecked, apparently due to a control problem.



Baltic Sea:
Norwegian trawler Strømsnæs, 230 tons, carrying a load of fish from Bergen to Lübeck, hits a German protective mine south of Gedser.

[Jimbuna]

25th April 1916

Southern Front

Fighting in Gevgeli sector (Salonika).

Naval and Overseas Operations

German battle cruiser squadron raid Lowestoft; engaged and dispersed by local naval forces. The squadron bombards the towns of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, England, damaging 200 houses:

British submarine HMS E22 is sunk by the UB-18 off Great Yarmouth. 2 of the crew are captured, while the rest are killed in action.

Aviation



Political, etc.

Official report of secret session on Manpower published.

Irish rebels fail to take over Dublin’s train stations and ports, which allows Britain to send thousands of reinforcements.

Lord Wimborne, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, declares martial law in Dublin.

Australians and New Zealanders observe the first ANZAC day in commemoration of the first anniversary of the Gallipoli landings.

Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men, stranded in Antactica, board the small boat James Caird to find rescue.


Ship Losses:

HMT Au Fait (Royal Navy) The naval trawler was lost on this date.
Berkelstroom (Netherlands) The coaster was sunk in the North Sea by SM UB-29 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Carmanian (Norway) The barque was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 50 nautical miles (93 km) south west of the Fastnet Rock (50°16′N 12°02′W) by SM U-19 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of three crew.
HMS E22 (Royal Navy) The E-class submarine was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all 30 crew.
Georgiy Pobedonosets (Russia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Black Sea south west of Cape Khersones by SM UC-15 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS Penelope (Royal Navy) The Arethusa-class cruiser was damaged in the North Sea of Lowestoft, Suffolk by SM UB-29 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was later repaired and returned to service.
Zhivuchi (Imperial Russian Navy) The Boiki-class destroyer struck a mine laid by UC 15 (Albrecht von Dewitz) and sank in the Black Sea off Sevastopol.

[Sailor Steve]

April 25, 1916

Air War:
French ace Charles Nungesser, flying a Nieuport 11, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 6.

Celtic Sea:
Raimund Weisbach, commanding U-19, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Carmanian, 1,841 tons, bound from Buenos Aires for Falmouth with a load of wheat. His score is now 6 ships and 19,280 tons.



North Sea:
Otto Steinbrink, in UB-18, torpedoes British submarine E-22, 725 tons, off Yarmouth, raising his score to 37 ships and 34,953 tons.

German destroyer G-41 sinks British trawler King Stephen and captures her crew. This was the trawler that had left the crew of Zeppelin L-19 to drown on February 2nd, though a completely different crew.

Swedish barque SV Niola, 714 tons, en route from Pensacola to Dundee, is captured and scuttled by a German destroyer, possibly V-44.

Herbert Pustkuchen, in UB-29, sinks Dutch freighter SS Berkelstroom, 736 tons, carrying a general cargo from Amsterdam to London. His score is now 31 ships and 44,606 tons. Pustkuchen also torpedoes HMS Penelope, but the damaged light cruiser escapes.



Black Sea:
Russian destroyer Zhivuchi, 350 tons, and sailing vessel Georgiy Pobedonosets, 112 tons, hit mines laid off Sevastopol by Albrecht von Dewitz in UC-15. His opening score is 2 ships and 462 tons.

[Jimbuna]

26th April 1916

Western Front

Fighting between Ypres and Souchez.

German forces capture two lines of French trenches in the Vosges, and attacks are renewed in Lorraine. Verdun is relatively quiet.

Political, etc.

British reply to U.S. Note on blockade.

Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, Irish writer and pacifist, is executed by a British Captain who mistakenly believed he was a rebel leader.



Two other journalists are also executed. Francis Sheehy-Skeffington’s execution is covered up.

British guns deployed at Trinity College and the patrol vessel HMY Helga shell Irish rebel positions at Liberty Hall.

The Sherwood Foresters, an inexperienced British regiment, is ordered to capture Mount Street Bridge, guarded by 17 Irish rebels. After heavy fighting, Mount Street Bridge is captured by the Sherwood Foresters, who suffer 240 casualties. The Irish suffer 4 dead.

PM Asquith reassures the House of Commons on the Irish situation & states that Ireland will be excluded from compulsory military service. Asquith also states 200,000 new volunteers are required or else full conscription will be required.

Ship Losses:

Alfred (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was scuttled in the North Sea 27 nautical miles (50 km) east by south of Lowestoft, Suffolk by SM UB-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Noordzee (Netherlands) The tug struck a mine and sank in the North Sea (51°49′30″N 1°57′30″E).
Dubhe (Netherlands) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 10 (Alfred Nitzsche) and was damaged in the North Sea (51°49′30″N 1°57′30″E). She was beached but was later refloated.

[Sailor Steve]

April 26, 1916

Air War:
Irish RFC pilot Joseph Cruess Callaghan, flying FE.2b 5232 with 2nd Lt James Mitchell as observer, are attacked by three Fokker Eindeckers, led by German pilot Max Mulzer. Callaghn manages to land his badly damaged "Fee" safely on his own side of the lines, and he and Mitchell are credited with shooting down one of the Fokkers before Mitchell is killed in the action.

French ace Charles Nungesser, in a Nieuport 11, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 7.

Scottish RFC pilot William John Charles Kennedy-Cochrane Patrick, in Nieuport 16 5172, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 1.



Celtic Sea:
Otto Steinbrinck, commanding UB-18, stops and scuttles British fishing smack Alfred, 24 tons, raising his total to 38 ships and 34,977 tons.



North Sea:
Dutch tug Noordzee, 298 tons, hits a mine laid by Alfred Nitzsche in UC-10. His score is now 11 ships and 19,880 tons. Dutch freighter SS Dubhe, 3,233 tons, carrying a load of maize from Baltimore to Amsterdam, also hits a mine laid by Nitzsche but is beached and later refloated.



German East Africa:
Cruiser HMS Challenger escorts HMS Manica, which is using an observation balloon in an attempt to spot enemy troop positions.

[Jimbuna]

27th April 1916

Western Front

Germans launch a gas attack near Hulluch, France, causing hundreds of British casualties. Mines are also detonated beneath British lines.



Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Russian progress in Bitlis district.

British occupy Moghara Oasis (90 miles south-west of Alexandria).

Naval and Overseas Operations

H.M.S. "Russell" mined in Mediterranean, 124 lost.


HMS "Nasturtium" mined in Mediterranean, 8 lost.


German submarine SM UC-5, which had sunk 29 ships, runs aground off the English coast and is captured.




Political, etc.

Martial law throughout Ireland. General Sir J. Maxwell takes command in Ireland. New Military Service Bill abandoned.

Allied commercial conference at Paris.

Ship Losses:

Industry (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 120 nautical miles (220 km) west by north of the Fastnet Rock (51°11′N 12°46′W) by SM U-45 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS Nasturtium (Royal Navy) The Arabis-class sloop struck a mine laid by U 73 (Gustav Sieß) and sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Malta with the loss of eight of her 79 crew.
HMS Russell (Royal Navy) The Duncan-class battleship struck two mines laid by U 73 (Gustav Sieß) and sank in the Mediterranean Sea at Malta with the loss of 124 of her 720 crew.
SM UC-5 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type UC I submarine ran aground in the North Sea (51°59′N 1°38′E) and was scuttled. Her crew were rescued by HMS Firedrake ( Royal Navy). She was subsequently salvaged by the British and used for propaganda purposes.

[Sailor Steve]

April 27, 1916

Air War:
French pilot Pierre Dufaur de Gavardie, flying a Nieuport 12 with a "Soldat Carré" as gunner, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 2 (number 1 for Carré).



Celtic Sea:
Erich Sittenfeld starts his career in U-45 with the sinking of British freighter SS Industry, 4,044 tons, travelling in ballast from Barry to Newport News.



North Sea:
German trawler Prangenhof, 215 tons, is stranded off Ostend.

German minelaying submarine UC-5 runs aground on Shipwash Shoal. The submarine is scuttled but the charges fail to explode and boat and crew are captured. Oberleutnant Ulrich Mohrbutter remains a prisoner for the rest of the war, his final score being 8 ships sunk for 10,272 tons. Post-war he will become a movie producer, his most famous being the 1941 U-Boote Westwärts.



Mediterranean Sea:
British sloop HMS Nasturtium, 1,250 tons, and old Duncan-class battleship HMS Russell, 14,000 tons, both hit mines laid just off Malta by Gustav Seiß in U-73, bringing his score to 4 ships and 20,656 tons.



Black Sea:
Turkish freighter Uskudar is sunk by gunfire. No other detail seem to be available.

[Jimbuna]

28th April 1916

Eastern Front

Germans regain all ground lost at Lake Naroch.

Political etc.

U.S. sends 4000 more troops to Mexico to reinforce General Pershing’s forces.

Ferruccio Lamborghini (future founder of Lamborghini) is born in Cento, Italy to two grape farmers.

Ship Losses:

Anzhelika (Russia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Black Sea off Adler by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Blessing (United Kingdom) The fishing vessel was sunk in the Tyne Estuary by SM UB-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Christian (Denmark) The schooner was damaged in the North Sea 16 nautical miles (30 km) east north east of the Souter Point Lighthouse, Northumberland, United Kingdom by SM UB-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was beached but was later refloated.
Lyusya (Russia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Black Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) south of Pitsunda by SM U-33 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Unidentified Sailing Vessel (Russia) The sailing vessel of 300 tons was sunk near Sochi (Sutcha) in the Black Sea by U 33 (Konrad Gansser).
HMY Aegusa (Royal Navy) The naval yacht struck a mine laid by U 73 (Gustav Sieß) and sank in the Mediterranean Sea off Malta with the loss of six of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

April 28, 1916

Air War:
German ace Oswald Boelcke, just returned from visiting the Oberusel engine factory at Frankfurt, takes of in his Fokker E.IV. He comes across another Fokker tangling with three French Caudrons. The other Fokker dives away and Boelcke attacks, shooting down one of them for victory number 14. French reports have a Sous-Lieutenant Paul Fabre being wounded in the action, but it is unknown whether it was from Boelcke or the other Fokker.

French pilot Marcel Pierre Viallet, in a Caudron G.4 with observer Paul Dumas, is credited with downing a Fokker Eindecker for victory number 1. This may have been the same one Boelcke reported, and it may have been shot down or it may have escaped.

French Brigadier Marie Gaston Fulerand Leon Vitalis, riding as observer in a Nieuport 12 with a "Sgt de Marolles" as pilot, shoots down an Eindecker for victory number 1, the Fokker crashing within 200 meters of the French lines. No name is mentioned in the report or whether he survived or died, but the German pilot had just shot down and killed French Nieuport pilot Jean Peretti.



North Sea:
Victor Dieckmann starts his career in UB-27, sinking British fishing boat Blessing, 19 tons, and damaging Danish schooner Christian, 227 tons.



Black Sea:
Konrad Gansser, commanding U-33, stops and sinks three small vessels near Pitsunda - Lyusya, 50 tons; Anzhekika, 170 tons; and an unidentified sailing vessel estimated at 300 tons, but probably smaller. His score is now 47 ships and 122,260 tons.




Mediterranean Sea:
His Majesty's Yacht Aegusa, 1,242 tons, hits a mine laid by Gustav Seiß in U-73 off Malta. Seiß's score is now 5 ships and 21,898 tons.



German East Africa:
Squadron flagship HMS Vengeance fires on a suspected German camp near Ssasani and a gun position at Ras Upanga, with whaler HMS Pickle and two seaplanes spotting the fall of shot.

[Jimbuna]

29th April 1916

Western Front

German gas attacks at Hulluch and Wulverghem fail.

Eastern Front

German troops regain positions at Lake Naroch (now in Belarus), capturing 5600 Russian prisoners.

Southern Front

Italians take Adamello crest (Trentino).

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

Kut surrenders to Turks: General Townshend, 3,000 British and 6,000 Indian troops taken prisoner; 143 days' siege. Many British troops will die in captivity, while Townshend lives in luxury.
An Indian solider at Kut.


Political, etc.

Dublin Post Office, etc., burnt by rebels.

Ship Losses:

Esmerelda (United Kingdom) The schooner collided with another vessel and sank in the Atlantic Ocean off Trevose Head, Cornwall. Her crew were rescued.
Saint Corentin (French Navy) The naval trawler struck a mine laid by UC 6 (Matthias Graf von Schmettow) and sank in the North Sea 0.5 nautical miles (0 km) north of Dunquerque, Nord (51°04′N 2°11′E) with the loss of eleven of her crew.
Teal (United Kingdom) The coaster was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) off Seaham, County Durham by SM UB-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Wandle (United Kingdom) The steamer was damaged by gunfire from UB 27 (Victor Dieckmann) whilst 15 miles SE of Souter Point enroute from South Shields - London carrying a cargo of coal. There were no casualties.

[Sailor Steve]

April 29, 1916

Air War:
0750 Austrian pilot Ernst Kerschischnig and Hungarian observr Johann Frint, in Lloyd C.III 43.60, shoot down an Italian Farman for victory number 1.
(One source places this on April 16th)

Austrian pilot Ludwig Hautzmayer and observer Benno Fiala von Fernbrugg, flying Hansa C.I 26.08 with an unnamed observer, shoots down an Italian bomber. Victory number 2 for Hautzmayer and number 1 for Fiala.



Celtic Sea:
British schooner SV Esmeralda, 99 tons, carrying a load of china clay from Par to Penarth, collides with trawler Jane Ross and sinks. All three crew rescued by Jane Ross.



North Sea:
Victor Dieckmann, commanding UB-27, sinks British coaster SS Teal, 766 tons, bound from Leith to London with an unspecified cargo. His score is now 2 ships and 785 tons. Dieckmann then uses his deck gun to attack British coaster SS Wandle, 889 tons, carrying a load of coal from South Shields to London, but the ship manages to escape.



French naval trawler Saint Corentin, 216 tons, hits a mine laid by Matthias von Schmettow in UC-6 just outside Dunkerque Harbor. Von Schmettow's score is now 36 ships and 47,549 tons.

[Jimbuna]

30th April 1916

Western Front

At Verdun, French troops capture two German trenches at Mort Homme and Cumieres, along with 83 prisoners.

German attack from Messines Ridge defeated by artillery.

Naval and Overseas Operations

British troops in German East Africa capture a German supply convoy, which includes 200 oxen, 80 rifles, 600 cattle, & 200 donkeys.

Belgian column arrives in Victoria Nyanza region.

Aviation

Verdun: Count Holck killed over Verdun: his Fokker Eindecker shot down by 10 Caudrons. Richthofen comments ‘with a bullet through his head, he fell from an altitude of 9000 ft – a beautiful death’.

Political, etc.

707 Dublin rebels surrender. Sporadic fighting will continue until tomorrow, but the Easter Rising is over.

Irish Volunteers founder Michael Joseph O’Rahilly, nicknamed “The O’Rahilly,” dies of wounds sustained from last night.

Ship Losses:

City of Lucknow (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea 60 nautical miles (110 km) east of Malta (36°03′N 15°45′E) by SM U-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her 42 crew survived and were rescued by HMS Rifleman ( Royal Navy).
Mod (Norway) The coaster was sunk in the North Sea 40 nautical miles (74 km) east by north of the mouth of the River Tyne (55°45′N 0°25′W) by SM UB-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Vinifreda (Spain) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay (47°48′N 7°48′W) by SM U-45 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of a crew member. Survivors were rescued by Elpis ( Greece).
Bakio (Spain) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine).


MERCHANT SHIPPING
British, Allied and Neutral ships lost to enemy submarines, mines and cruisers etc in the month - 92 ships of 193,000 tons gross. (Lloyd's War Losses).

[Sailor Steve]

April 30, 1916

Air War:

Idflieg bi-monthly report on German fighters at the Front:
Fokker:
E.I - 22
E.II - 13
E.III - 110
E.IV - 28

Pfalz:
E.I - 27
E.II - 20
E.III - 4
E.IV - 5

1045 Irish RFC pilot David Tidmarsh, flying DH.2 5965, claims a Fokker E.III for victory number 2. German pilot Otto Schmedes is killed in the crash. The official German report says that the eindecker's flying wires were severed by machine gun bullets, but Tidmarsh reports that he never got closer than 500 yards and never fired a shot.

1415 French pilot Noel de Rochefort, in Nieuport 11 916, claims an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 2.

German pilot Ernst von Althaus, in a Fokker E.III, shoots down a Farman two-seater for victory number 5. There is some confusion in the report, and this action may have taken place on May 1.

French pilot Albert Deullin, in a Nieuport 10, brings down an eindecker for kill number 4. Rittmeister Erich Graf von Holk is killed. Witnessing the fight from a distance is a former observer and friend of von Holck's now turned two-seater pilot, Manfred von Richtofen.

French pilot Georges Charles Marie François Flachaire, flying a Nieuport 11, shoots down an unidentified two-seater for victory number 1.

German pilot Friedrich Mallinckrodt, in a Fokker E.III, claims a French aircraft, but it is unconfirmed.



Celtic Sea:
Walther Schwieger, in U-20, torpedoes Spanish freighter SS Bakio, 1,906 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Sagunto, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, to Newport, Wales. Schwieger's score is now 26 ships and 113,238 tons. Bakio is posted as missing until the end of the war.



North Sea:
Victor Dieckmann, commanding UB-27, uses his deck gun to sink Norwegian coaster SS Mod, 664 tons, bound from Göteborg for Blyth with a load of mine props. His score is now 3 ships and 1,449 tons.



Bay of Biscay:
Erich Sittenfeld, in U-45, sinks Spanish freighter SS Vinifreda, 1,441 tons, en route from Valencia to Liverpool with an unspecified cargo. Sittenfeld now has 2 ships and 5,485 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
1030 Otto Hersing, in U-21, sinks British freighter SS City of Lucknow, 3,669 tons, travelling from Alexandria to Liverpool with a load of onions. The crew are all rescued by HMS Rifleman at 1500 hours.



Canada:
Norwegian freighter SS Cissy, 1,943 tons, travelling from Le Havre to Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, runs aground at Saint Esprit, Cape Breton Island.

[Jimbuna]

1st May 1916

Western Front

Battle of Verdun: French success at Fort Douaumont.

German attacks repulsed east of Ypres and north of Albert.

Naval and Overseas Operations

"Aegusa" and "Nasturtium" announced as sunk in Mediterranean.

Political, etc.

The British surrender at Kut and the Irish rebellion increases fears that full conscription will be instituted in Britain.

German clocks are moved ahead one hour to conserve daylight.

The Hague, Holland: A German consul recruits Mata Hari (real name Margaretha MacLeod), a Dutch dancer and courtesan who has lived in Paris since 1905, to obtain information for the Germans. Among her lovers are numerous military officers.

German Socialist Karl Liebknecht is arrested in Berlin for demonstrating against the war.


Ship Losses:

Bernadette (France) The three-masted schooner was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean (50°10′N 11°00′W) by SM U-20 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Hendonhall (United Kingdom) The cargo ship stuck a mine laid by UC 10 (Alfred Nitzsche) and sank in the North Sea (51°51′00″N 1°54′45″E). Her crew survived.
Rio Branco (Brazil) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea 50 nautical miles (93 km) east by north of the Longstone Lighthouse, Northumberland, United Kingdom by SM UB-27 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
SMS S123 (Kaiserliche Marine) The S90-class torpedo boat struck a mine and sank in the North Sea.