100 Years Ago Today

[Sailor Steve]

January 20, 1917

Ireland:
Walter Roehr, commanding U-84, sinks two British freighters:
SS Bulgarian, 2,515 tons, bound from Cartagena for Garston with a load of iron ore; 50 miles west of Fastnet.
SS Neuquen, 3,583 tons, carrying a load of maize from Rosario to Belfast; 20 miles northwest of the Skelligs.
Roehr's score is now 8 ships and 20,700 tons.



Irish Sea:
British side-wheel paddle passenger steamer PSS Pansy, 333 tons, en route from Liverpool to London, is wrecked off Bull Bay.



English Channel:
Ralph Wenninger, in UC-17, stops and scuttles Danish three-masted schooner Standard, 217 tons, travelling from Fowey to Leith with a load of china clay. His score is now 37 ships and 15,349 tons.



North Sea:
His Majesty's Trawler New Comet, 177 tons, hits a mine laid by Georg Reimarus in UC-4, off Orfordness. His score is now 3 ships and 1,117 tons.

British coaster SS Planudes, 542 tons, travelling from Tyne to Trouville with a load of coal, is reported as missing with all hands. Credit is given to a mine laid by Erwin Sebelin in UC-43, bringing his score to 5 ships and 4,493 tons.

British trawler Lord Strathmore, 172 tons, is wrecked off Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland.



Bay of Biscay:
French freighter SS Phoebe, 3,956 tons, travelling in ballast from Saint Nazaire to Cardiff, hits a mine laid off Brest by Wilhelm Kiel in UC-18. the damaged ship makes safe port.

Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks Japanese freighter Kisagata Maru No. 3, 2,588 tons, en route from Bordeaux to a nunnamed port in the U.K. with a load of pit props.
Later Saltzwedel torpedoes Norwegian freighter SS Jotunfjell, 2,492 tons, bound from Cardiff for Saint Nazaire with a load of coal, but the damaged ship makes it to port safely.
Saltzwedel's score is now 28 ships and 34,248 tons.



Simonstown, South Africa:
Light cruiser HMS Hyacinth carries out harbour trials.



Durban, South Africa:
HFMF Trent reports ten men Absent Without Leave and four men Off Watch Without Leave.
1700 Trent reports two men returned to the ship by police.

[Jimbuna]

21st January 1917

Western Front

Repulse of German attacks north of the Bois des Caurieres (Verdun).

Political, etc.

Herbert Hoover, head of the Belgian Relief Commission (and future US President), asks $200 million to aid civilians in occupied Belgium.

Russian General Brusilov predicts that “during the coming year the enemy will be completely routed.”

Ottoman Empire accuses France of coveting Syria and Britain of wanting to take over Mesopotamia (Iraq).

Tsar Nicholas II issues an imperial rescript calling on all Russians to back the army to the fullest extent.

Some Swiss citizens living overseas are ordered to return home to serve in the Swiss Army, due to fears of a German invasion.

Ship Losses:

Couronne (France) The schooner was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean off the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom by SM UC-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew took to the lifeboats but did not survive.
Ellen Roberts (United Kingdom) The schooner sprang a leak and foundered in the Irish Sea 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) south of Baltimore, County Cork.
Gladys (United Kingdom) The trawler was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 40 nautical miles (74 km) north west by west of Inishtrahull Island, County Donegal (55°46′N 8°20′W) by SM U-45 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Leontine (France) The schooner was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Lucy (United Kingdom) The trawler was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 40 nautical miles (74 km) north west by west of Inistrahull Island by SM U-45 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Saint Pierre (France) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Bay of Biscay 14 nautical miles (26 km) west of the La Coubre Lighthouse, Charente-Maritime by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Star of the Sea (United Kingdom) The trawler was shelled and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 43 nautical miles (80 km) north west by west of Inishtrahull Island by SM U-45 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

January 21, 1917

Ireland:
Erich Sittenfeld, commanding U-45, stops and sinks three British trawlers northwest of Irishtrahull, the northernmost Irish island.
Gladys, 275 tons; sunk with deck gun.
Lucy, 280 tons.
Star of the Sea, 197 tons.
Sittenfeld's score is now 9 ships and 9,069 tons.

Egon von Werner, in UC-16, scuttles French schooner Couronne, 169 tons, off the Scilly Isles. The crew are not rescued, and the vessel is posted as missing until records are compared after the war. His score is now 44 ships and 49,890 tons.



North Sea:
British trawler Deeside, 197 tons, runs aground near Peterhead.



Bay of Biscay:
Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, attacks a trio of French sailing vessels:
Schooner Leontine, 124 tons, scuttled.
Schooner Saint Pierre, 127 tons, carrying a load of pit props from Verdon to Port Talbot.
Schooner Victoire, 290 tons, damaged and towed to port.
Saltzwedel's score is now 30 ships and 34,449 tons.



Durban, South Africa:
The crew of HMS Severn are housed ashore in preparation for moving the moniter into drydock.

HMFM Trent reports ten men Absent With Out Leave and four men not showing up for watch duty.
At 1615 eight men are returned to the ship by the police.



South Africa:
Italian freighter SS Clio, 2,801 tons, travelling from Norfolk, Virginia to Piombino with a load of coal, is wrecked near Cape Agulhas, on the west coast of South Africa.



Japan:
Japanese freighter Matsu Maru, 2,103 tons, carrying a load of timber from Otaru to Kobe, is wrecked at Fukuyama, Oshima.



Atlantic Ocean:
German Raider SMS Seeadler captures and sinks French barque Charles Gounod, 2,199 tons, north of the Arquipélago de São Pedro e São Paulo, almost exactly halfway between Brazil and Sierra Leone. Seeadler has now sunk 3 ships for 8,562 tons.

[Jimbuna]

22nd January 1917

Eastern Front

Bulgarians cross southern arm of Danube near Tulcea (Dobruja).

Naval and Overseas Operations

Two destroyer actions by night in North Sea. One German destroyer sunk and one (V69) towed damaged into Ymuiden. One British destroyer lost.

German submarine SM U-76 founders in bad weather and then collides with a Russian trawler, resulting in the submarine sinking.

Political, etc.

Britain announces that all men aged 18 years will be called up for home defense, lowering the age from the former 18 years & 7 months.

President Wilson addresses U.S. Senate on America's attitude towards peace.

Ammunition exports from the U.S. to Europe has passed more than $1 billion in value since the start of the war.

The Bank of Italy and other Italian banks lend Russia $50 million, which will be used to purchase Italian war supplies.

Ship Losses:

Anna (France) The schooner was shelled and sunk in the English Channel off the coast of Finistère 49°12′N 4°26′W( by SM U-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Aurelie (France) The sailing vessel was sunk in the English Channel (49°31′N 3°28′W) by SM UC-18 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Bearnais (France) The schooner was sunk in the Bay of Biscay off the La Coubre Lighthouse, Charente-Maritime (45°31′N 1°36′W) by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Duc d'Aumale (France) The barque was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean (45°21′N 8°50′W) by SM U-43 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived; they were taken on board U-43 and transferred to Storli ( Norway) the next day.
Ethel (United Kingdom) The fishing smack was shelled and sunk in the English Channel 30 nautical miles (56 km) south south east of Start Point, Devon (49°50′N 3°54′W) by SM U-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Euphrates (Belgium) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 200 nautical miles (370 km) south west of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-57 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Gaulois (France) The sailing vessel was sunk in the English Channel (49°05′N 5°14′W) by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Kamma (Sweden) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 40 (Gustav Deuerlich) and sank in the North Sea 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) east of Blyth, Northumberland, United Kingdom. [167] Four of the crew was killed.
Minho (Portugal) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south west of the Fastnet Rock by SM U-57 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
O. A. Brodin (Sweden) The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel 16 nautical miles (30 km) north of Ouessant, Finistère by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine).[170] Her crew survived.
Precurseur (France) The schooner was sunk in the Bay of Biscay south west of the La Coubre Lighthouse by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Steinmachos (Greece) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay off the La Coubre Lighthouse (45°40′N 1°30′W) by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Trevean (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean 240 nautical miles (440 km) south west by west of the Fastnet Rock (approximately 48°N 13°W) by SM U-57 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived, but three of them were taken as prisoners of war.
SM U-76 (Kaiserliche Marine) The Type UE I submarine collided with a Russian trawler and sank in the Arctic Ocean (approximately 71°N 23°E) with the loss of a crew member.
Zeta (Netherlands) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel 18 nautical miles (33 km) south south west of The Lizard, Cornwall, United Kingdom(49°43′N 5°37′W) by SM U-53 ( Kaiserliche Marine).

[Sailor Steve]

January 22, 1917

Air War:
German pilot Eduard von Dostler, Flying an Albatros D.II, shoots down a Caudron two-seater for victory number 2.

French pilot Gustave Douchy, in a Nieuport, shoots down an Albatros two-seater for victory number 3.

German pilot Karl Emil Schäfer, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down a Caudron two-seater for victory number 1.



Celtic Sea:
Carl-Siefried von Georg, commanding U-57, sinks three Allied ships southwest of Fastnet:
Belgian freighter SS Euphrates, 2,809 tons, travelling in ballast from Barry to New York.
Portuguese schooner Minho, 179 tons, bound from Oporto for Cardiff with a load of pit props; burned.
British freighter SS Trevean, 3,081 tons, carrying a load of iron ore from Benisaf to Tyne. Master and two crew taken prisoner.
Von Georg's score is now 28 ships and 26,755 tons.



English Channel:
Hans Rose, in U-53, sinks two Allied vessles near the west end of the Channel:
French schooner Anna, 154 tons, carrying 204 tons of macadam for Sables d'Olonne to Le Treport; sunk with deck gun. The owner/master and crew are recovered by patrol boat HMS Myna and landed at Guernsey.
Dutch freighter SS Zeta, 3.053 tons, travelling from New York to Amsterdam with a load of wheat; torpedoed.
Rose's score is now 8 ships and 26,774 tons.

Wilhelm Werneer, in U-55, stops and sinks British fishing smack Ethel, 23 tons, with his deck gun. His score is now 8 vessels and 17,558 tons.

Dutch Tanker SS Juno, 2,345 tons, route and cargo unlisted, hits a mine laid by Egon von Werner in UC-16 off Hastings. The damaged ship makes port safely.

Ralph Wenninger, in UC-17, sinks two Allied ships norht of Ushant:
French dandy Gaulois, 76 tons, carrying a load of pit props; stopped and sunk with the deck gun.
Swedish freighter SS O.A. Brodin, 1,798 tons, carrying a load of coal from South Shields to St. Vincent.
Wenninger's score is now 39 ships and 17,223 tons.

Wilhelm Kiel, in UC-18, stops and scuttles French sailing vessel Aurelie, 89 tons, bound from Palmpol for Cardiff with a load of pit props. His score is now 39 ships and 38,124 tons.



North Sea:
Swedish freighter SS Kamma, 1,516 tons, en route from Gävle to Rouen with a load of timber, hits a mine laid by Gustav Deuerlich in UC-40 off Blyth, Northumberland. This is Deuerlich's first sinking.



Barents Sea:
U-76, commanded by Waldemar Bender, collides with a Russian trawler off Akkarfjord, Norway. The damaged u-boat sinks with the loss of one crew member. The rest of the crew, along with her captain, are rescued. Bender will return to service in U-43 in May.



Bay of Biscay:
Hellmuth Jürst, in U-43, stops and scuttles French barque Duc D'Aumale, 2,189 tons, carrying a load of corn from Bahia Blanca to Pauillac. The entire crew are taken aboard U-43 for a day, then transferred to Norwegian freighter SS Storli.

Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks three Allied ships:
French schooner Bearnais, 301 tons, travelling from Bordeaux to Barry with a load of pit props; scuttled.
French schooner Precurseur, 364 tons, en route from Bordeaux to Martinique with a general cargo.
Greek freighter SS Stenimachos, 1,175 tons, Algiers to Bordeaux with an unlisted cargo.
Saltzwedel's score is now 22 ships and 36,389 tons.



Mediterranean Sea:
Italian freighter SS Alba M., 1,399 tons, travelling from Augusta to Tripoli with a load of coal, is wrecked off Juliana Point, Tripoli.

British freighter SS Linwood, 1,670 tons, departs Gibraltar with a load of iron ore for Maryport, on the west coast of England, and is not heard from again. The crew off 22 are all lost.



Durban, South Africa:
HMFM Trent reports five men still absent without leave. In the afternoon one man returns to the ship "drunk and knsolent".
1630 Two more men "broke out of the ship".
23:00 Two of the AWOL men retturn to the ship.

[Jimbuna]

23rd January 1917

Eastern Front

German counter-offensive between Lake Babit and Tirul Marsh; Russians lose much of recently captured ground.

Bulgarians driven back across Danube near Tulcea.

Naval

English Channel: Learning that a flotilla of German destroyers is en route to Zeebrugge, Vice Adm. Sir Reginald Bacon, commander of the Dover Patrol, sends a fleet of two dozen destroyers and cruisers commanded by Rear Adm. Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt out of Harwich to intercept the Germans. Harwich Force (3 cruisers and 14 destroyers) engages German 6th Torpedo Boat Flotilla (8 ships) and damages destroyers SMS G41 and SMS S50 in icy small hours bound for Zeebrugge. British destroyer Simoom sunk by SMS S50 torpedo. German flotilla leader SMS V69 driven damaged into Ymuiden (Holland) but not interned.

Political, etc.

Britain rejects President Wilson’s attempts at mediating peace, stating there will be no “peace without victory.”

Labour Party approves acceptance of office by Labour Members in Ministry.

U.S. government states it will allow armed merchantmen to cross the Panama Canal, as long as the weapons are only for defence.

Japanese Foreign Minister promises that Japan will stop meddling in the affairs of China.

Ship Losses:

Clan Shaw (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 29 (Ernst Rosenow) and sank in the North Sea off St Andrews, Fife (56°27′N 2°38′W) with the loss of two of her crew.
Donstad (Norway) The coaster was captured in the Atlantic Ocean 60 nautical miles (110 km) north north east of Cape Villiano, Spain by SM U-43 ( Kaiserliche Marine). She was scuttled on 27 January 12 nautical miles (22 km) north by west of Cape Villiano. Her crew survived.
Eden (Russia) The sailing vessel was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean off the Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom by SM U-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of all hands.
Egypte (Belgium) The cargo ship was sunk in the English Channel (48°18′N 6°10′W) by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Jevington (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 52 nautical miles (96 km) north west of Cape Ortegal, Spain (44°08′N 9°00′W) by SM U-43 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Ophelia (France) The schooner was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 80 nautical miles (150 km) west of Ouessant, Finistère by SM UC-17 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Salland (Netherlands) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south of the Wolf Rock, Cornwall, United Kingdom (48°50′N 6°40′W) by SM U-55 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Sardinia (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 100 nautical miles (190 km) off Ouessant (46°56′N 6°42′W) by SM U-59 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
HMS Simoom (Royal Navy) The R-class destroyer was torpedoed and damaged in the North Sea by SMS S50 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her 81 crew were rescued by HMS Morris and she was scuttled by HMS Nimrod (both Royal Navy).
Ymer (Norway) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay off the Île d'Yeu, Vendée, France by SM UC-16 ( Kaiserliche Marine) with the loss of eighteen of her crew.

[Sailor Steve]

January 23, 1917

Air War:
1045 French ace Georges Guynemer, flying a SPAD VII, shoots down an Albatros two-seater for victory number 26.

1130 English observer Alfred Victor Blenkiron, in FE.2b 4925 with pilot Lt. L.B. Mews, shoots down a Halberstadt D.II for victory number 1.

1134 Georges Guynemer shoots down a Rumpler two-seater for number 27.

1330 English ace Eric Pashley, in DH.2 7930, shoots down an Albatros D.II for victory number 6.

1515 Six DH.2s share a victory over a German two-seater. Leslie Aizlewood, number 4; Frank Billinge, number 2; Arthur Conningham, number 1; Arthur Clunie Randall, number 1; T.A. Gooch and G.J. King, unknown.

1600 French pilot Paul Gastin, flying a Nieuport, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 4.

1610 German ace Manfred von Richthofen, now in Albatros D.III 789/17, shoots down FE.8 6388 for victory number 17. 2nd Lt John Hay is killed. According to Under the Guns of the Red Baron (Franks, Giblin, McCrery), this is von Richthofen's first kill in the D.III.

About 1610 I attacked, together with seven of my planes, enemy squadron, west of Lens. The plane I had singled out caught fire after 150 shots, fired from a distance of 50 metres. The plane fell, burning. Occupant fell out of plane at 500 metres height.
-Manfred von Richthofen, combat report

1635 German ace Hartmuth Baldamus shoots down a Caudron two-seater for victory number 10. Jasta 9 had been flying Fokker E.IVs, but started transitioning to Albatros D.IIs in "Early 1917", so it is unclear which plane Baldamus was flying at this time.

English RNAS pilot Charles Dawson Booker, in Sopwith Pup N5197, shoots down an Albatros D.III for victory number 1.

German pilot Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down two British aircraft for victories 5 and 6: Sopwith 1½ Strutter A1078, 2nd Lt J.V. Lyle and Brigadier A Harrison both killed; FE.8 7613, 2nd Lt S.F. Cody killed.

French pilots René Bazinet and René Doumer, both in Nieuports, share a victory over an "Enemy Aircraft". Number 5 for Doumer, number 1 for Bazinet.

French pilot Marcel Hauss, flying a Nieuport, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 2.

German ace Hans Imelmann is attacking a BE.2c when a burst from the two-seater's observer hits Imelmann's fuel tank sends the 6-kill ace down in flames.

Hungarian pilot Karl Kaszala, flying Hansa-Brandenburg C.I 63.23 with Oblt J. Baumgartner as observer, shoots down an "Enemuy Aircaft" for victory number 3.

French pilot Henri Languedoc, in a Nieuport, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 2.

German pilot Friedrich Mannschott, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down a Farman for victory number 3.

French pilot Armand Pinsard shoots down a German two-seater for victory number 2. Though flying with N78, a Nieuport Squadron, Pinsard was the first pilot to fly a SPAD VII in combat, and his first kill, with N26, was in the SPAD it is not unreasonable to assume he was probably still flying that aircraft.



Celtic Sea:
Welhelm Werner, commanding U-55, sinks two ships off the west end of the English Channel:
Russian sailing vessel Eden, 142 tons bound from Gijon for Briton Ferry. Posted as missing with all hands, fate not know until post-war.
Dutch freighter SS Salland, 3,657 tons, en route from Amsterdam via Cardiff for Daka and Buenos Aires.
Werner's score is now 10 ships and 21,357 tons.

Ralph Wenninger, in UC-17, sinks two Allied ships west of Ushant:
Belgian freighter SS Egypte, 2,416 tons, en route from Bordeaux to Barry.
French schooner Ophelia, 159 tons, carrying a load of salt from Lisbon to Sain Malo.
Wenninger's score is now 41 ships and 19,798 tons.



Bristol Channel:
French schooner Alice, 240 tons, traveling from Granville to Swansea, sinks following a collision off Lundy Island.



North Sea:
Paul Wagenfür, in U-44, captures three British trawlers and sends them home as prizes:
Agnes, 125 tons.
George E. Benson, 155 tons.
Vera, 150 tons.
Wagenfür's score is now 12 vessels and 31,719 tons.

British freighter SS Clan Shaw, 3,943 tons, carrying a load of jute from Calcutta to Dundee, hits a mine laid off St. Andrews by Ernst Rosenow in UC-29. Rosenow's score is now 2 ships and 5,086 tons.



Bau of Biscay:
Hellmuth Jürst, in U-43, sinks British freighter SS Jevington, 2,747 tons, carrying a load of wheat from Rosario to Rochefort. His score is now 15 ships and 33,469 tons.
Jürst also captures Norwegian freighter SS Donstad, 699 tons, travelling from Viana do Castello to Caën with a load of copper pyrites, and keeps the ship to hold the crews of both ships.

Wilhelm von Fircks, in U-59, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Sardinia, 1,500 tons, travelling from Teneriffe to London with a load of frueit. 100 miles off Ushant. His score is now 6 ships and 8,083 tons.

Egon von Werner, in UC-16, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Ymer, 1,123 tons, Bound from Santander for Middlesbrough with a load of iron ore. His score is now 45 ships and 51,013 tons.



Durban, South Africa:
HMFM Trent reports continuing troubles. Four men still listed as AWOL. One man leaves the ship without permission, and returns later "drunk and insolent". At 1730 two men break out of ship. That night two of the missing men return on board.



Atlantic Ocean:
Norwegian sailing ship Hero, 1,709 tons, travelling in ballast from Rotterdam to New York, is abandoned mid-Atlantic.

[Jimbuna]

24th January 1917

Eastern Front

Further German advance in hard fighting near Lake Babit. Russians fall back.

Near Riga, German forces counterattack Russian lines, forcing them to retreat 1.5 miles. 1500 Russians are captured.

In Romania, Russian troops counterattack and destroy the Bulgarian beachhead established across the Danube. 337 Bulgarians are captured.

Naval and Overseas Operations

German force of 289 officers and men surrenders at Likuju (German East Africa).

Political, etc.

Due to coal shortages, Swiss government orders a census of all stocks of fuel, & concealment of fuel will be punished by prison & $4000 fine.

Greek Government formally apologises to Allies for events of 1 December 1916.

Ernest Borgnine (the future actor) is born in Hamden, Connecticut to two Italian immigrants.

Ship Losses:

Dan (Denmark) The cargo ship was sunk in the Bay of Biscay 17 nautical miles (31 km) south of Belle Île, Morbihan, France (47°08′N 2°57′W) by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Gladiateur (France) The fishing vessel was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Loire III (France) The fishing vessel was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Marie 3 (France) The pilot boat was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine).
Quebec (France) The cargo ship struck a mine laid by UC 21 (Reinhold Saltzwedel) and sank in the Gironde Estuary. Her crew survived.
Vega (Denmark) The brig was scuttled in the Bay of Biscay off Belle Île (46°40′N 2°38′W) by SM UC-21 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Aktungbby]

Ernest Borgnine (the future actor) is born in Hamden, Connecticut to two Italian immigrants.

One of the formative experiences of my life! TV's McHALES NAVY His rôle as LT CMDR McHale came honestly aboard USS LAMBERTON DD 119 & converted yacht USS Sylph PY-12 anti submarine warfare. Possibly the only Oscar winner ever to fire a Y gun depth-charge in anger at a U boat.

Did you ever encounter any U-boats? Borgnine: Yes, we did. We met up with one, and according to the skipper, we had him dead to rights. We were guarding an oiler, and he was going like crazy. We just couldn’t keep up. Our propulsion was sufficient just for going in and out of harbors slowly. But there we were, out to sea, trying to keep up; but we just couldn’t. That day, we did manage to snag onto a German submarine; there were a lot of them out there. We were like sitting ducks, though. Only three ships were guarding the entire Atlantic coastline when the war started. The others were the Zircon (PY-16) and the Sapphire (PYC-2).
When we made contact with the U-boat, the old man said, “Gunner, when I blow the whistle, you let that Y-gun go.” I said, “Yes, sir!” So we got all set, and he blew the whistle. I pulled the lanyard, and boom! Off she went. Everybody said, “ooh and ahh” as they watched the things go. It was the first time they had ever heard an explosion. I started kicking them in the behind, saying, “Come on, come on! Get it reloaded!” And we’d load it up again, pull the lanyard, and off she’d go. The whole time, I was listening for detonations—there were no detonations. We shot off 20 depth charges—no detonations. Finally one did go off.
I was standing there with the lanyards in my hand and said to myself, “I know I set them right—75 feet, just what the skipper ordered.” Because they didn’t go off, I could envision my carcass hanging from the yardarm. Believe me, I was scared stiff. Well, we came back into port, and sailors came aboard and started taking off the depth charges, when one fellow said, “You got a chippin’ hammer, gunner?” I said, “Yeah, I got a chippin’ hammer.” We took off about 147 coats of paint from one of the depth charges, and it said, right there on a nice little brass plaque: “Manufactured in 1917.” That’s how we went to war.

https://blog.usni.org/2012/07/09/archive-ernest-borgnine-interview

[Sailor Steve]

January 24, 1917

Air War:
1130 French ace Alfred Heurtaux, flying a SPAD VII, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 17.

1140 French ace Georges Guynemer, in a SPAD VII, shoots down a Rumpler C.I for victory number 28.

1150 Georges Guynemer shoots down a second Rumpler for victory number 29.

1215 Canadian RFC pilot Alfred McKay, in DH.2 7884, and ace Harry Wood, in DH.2 7918, share in the downing of an Albatros two-seater. Vicrtory number 3 for McKay, number 6 for Wood. This is Wood's last victory. He will return to England and serve the rest of the war as a flying instructor. After the war Wood will never fly again. He will spend the rest of his life working for the Canadian National Railway, ending up as Chief of Development until March 1959. Wood died on August of that same year.

1215 German ace Manfred von Richthofen, in Albatros D.III 789/17, shoots down FE.2b 6997 for victory number 18. Lt John Eric McLennan and Capt Oscar Greig are both wounded and captured. Vov Richthofen suffered a lower wing spar failure during the fight, one of the first showing the new V-strut Albatros to have the same deficiencies as the Nieuports they were based on.

Accompanied by Feldwebel Howe, I attacked, at about 1215, the commanding plane of an enemy formation. After a long fight I forced my adversary to land near Vimy.The occupants burnt their plane after landing. I myself had to land, as one wing had cracked at 300 metres. I was flying an Albatros D.III.
According to the English crew, my red painted plane is not unknown to them, as when being asked who had brought them down, they answered: "Le petit rouge".
-Manfred von Richthofen, combat report

After this all Albatros D.IIIs will be withdrawn from service and von Richthofen will fly a Halberstadt D.II for several weeks.

1310 German ace Hans von Keudell, flying an Albatros D.III, shoots down Sopwith Pup N5198 for victory number 11. Flight Commander Colin Roy MacKenzie is killed in action.

1425 Alfred Heurtaux brings down a second "Ememy Aircraft" for victory number 18.

1650 German pilot Alfred Ulmer, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down BE.2e 6308 for victory number 4 and FE.8 6417 for number 5. BE.2 crew Lt Thomas F. Preston and Lt C.M. Buck and FE.8 pilot Cecil Tooms are all killed.

French pilot Marcel Hauss and an MdL Bertrand, in Nieuports, share the downing of a "Scout". victory number 3 for Hauss.

Canadian RFC pilot William Matheson, in an FE.2b with an unnamed observer, shoots down a German "Scout" for victory number 4.

Russian pilot Ivan Orlov, briefly flying a SPAD VII for the French Air Service, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 4.



North Sea:
Heinrich Jeß, commanding U-79, takes Norwegian freighter SS Nanna, 1,125 tons, as a prize. It is later released by the Prize Court.

Ernst Rosenow, in UC-29, stops and scuttles Norwegian coaster SS Sunniva, 589 tons, bound from Göteborg for Hull with a load of wood pulp and iron. Rosenow's score is now 3 ships and 5,675 tons.



Bay of Biscay:
Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, sinks 6 Allied vessels of varying size:
Danish freighter SS Dan, 1,869 tons, carrying a load of phosphates from Sfax to Nantes.
French fishing vessels Gladiateur, 23 tons.
French pilot cutter Loire III, 27 tons.
French pilot boat Marie 3, 25 tons.
French freighter SS Quebec, 3,346 tons; hit a mine laid by UC-21.
Danish brig Vega, 195 tons, en route from Liverpool to Saint Nazaire with a load of pitch; scuttled.
Saltzwedel's score is now 28 ships and 41,874 tons.

Chilean freighter SS Chile, 600 tons runs aground at Belle-Ilejen Mer.



Durban, South Africa:
Aboard HMFM Trent the engine room hands refuse as a group to go on duty. When the captain musters the crew the deck hands also refuse duty until crew vacancies are filled. the engine room crew refuse to go back on duty until three more firemen can be signed on and the two imprisoned crew mambers are released.
That afternoon the prisoners are all released.


Atlantic Ocean:
German raider SMS Seeadler captures and scuttles French schooner Perce, 364 tons. Seeadler's score is now 4 ships and 8,926 tons.

[Sailor Steve]

January 25, 1917

Western Front:
Southwold and Wangford, on the Suffolk coast, are shelled this night by German destroyers; no casualties.

Germans attack at four points northwest of Verdun, and carry a mile of French trenches at Hill 304.



Eastern Front:
Fierce fighting near Lake Babki; Russian counter-attacks fail.



Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres:
Enemy trenches captured on Hai salient southwest of Kut; Turkish counter-attacks recover a little ground.



Air War:
1005 English ace Selden Long, flying DH.2 A305, shoots down an LVG two-seater for victory number 7. His victims are likely Lt E. Erdmann and Lt G. Kallenbach, reported killed this day.

1030 French ace Alfred Heurtaux, in a SPAD VII, shoots down an "Enemy Aircraft" for victory number 19.

1035 Canadian RFC pilot Alfred McKay, in DH.2 7884, shoots down an Albatros D.II for victory number 4. Flgr Gustav Kinkel of Jasta Boelcke is captured.

1230 English pilot Douglas Hugh Moffatt Carbery, in RE.8 A81 with 2nd Lt H.A.D. MacKay as gunner, shoots down a German two-seater for victory number 1.

1425 English ace John Quested, in FE.2b A5442 with 2nd Lt H.J. Dicksee as gunner, shoots down a German fighter for victory number 8. This is Quested's last victory. He will be wounded twice, but serve through the war in various capacities. After the war he will continue in the RAF for a year, then retire to a life as a farmer, and die in 1948.

1510 English observer William Gilson, riding in FE.2d A32 with Lt T.C. Lucas as pilot, shoots down a Halberstadt D.II for victory number 3.

French pilot Andre René Celestin Herbelin, flying a Nieuport 17, shoots down an Aviatik two-seater for victory number 1.

German pilot Wilhelm Seitz, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down a BE.2d for victory number 2.



Northern Ireland:
British armed merchant cruiser HMS Laurentic, 14,892 tons, bound from Liverpool for Halifax, Nova Scotia with a load of gold bullion, hits a mine laid off Malin Head by Alfred von Glasenapp in U-80. There are 345 casualties, with 121 passengers and crew surviving. All of those aboard got into the lifeboats safely. The ones who were lost all froze to death in the boats, the low temperature being about -13° C (9° F).

The gold was to pay for war supplies, and consisted of 3,211 ingots weighing 43 tons, amounting to £5 million (£390 million today). Efforts to recover the gold ran from 1917 to 1924, with an additional search in 1934, recovered 3,189 of the gold ingots, with only 22 still missing today.

Glasenapp's score is now 4 ships and 20,455 tons.



North Sea:
Otto von Schrader, in UC-31, stops and scuttles Danish freighter SS O.B. Suhr, 1,482 tons, travelling from Shields to Copenhagen with a general cargo. His score is now 11 ships and 8,802 tons.



Bay of Biscay:
Reinhold Saltzwedel, in UC-21, stops and scuttles Norwegian freighter SS Myrdal, 2,631 tons, en route from Cardiff to Genoa with a load of coal. His score is now 29 ships and 44,505 tons.

French freighter SS Vidar, 1,543 tons, carrying a load of coal from Cardiff to Chantenay, is wrecked off Île de Croix.



Mediterranean Sea:
Max Valentiner, in U-38, torpedoes French freighter SS Sylvie, 2,591 tons, carrying 3,800 tons of coal from Bizerte to Salamis. His score is now 124 ships and 175,139 tons.



Simonstown, South Africa:
Light cruiser HMS Hyacinth conducts engine trials.



Durban, South Africa:
0800 Aboard HMFM Trent the firemen are mustered and ordered to go on duty. All of them refuse, giving personel shortage as the reason.
0900 Able and ordinary seamen are mustered, also refuse to go on duty.
1230 Four men are arrested and taken to shore prison. Entire crew is mustered and six ringleaders of the mutiny are also arrested and taken ashore. The rest of the crew agree to return to duty, but then try to rush the gangway. They are stopped by an armed naval guard.
1430 Two more men are arrested.
1500 An army guard join the navy guard on the dock.
1530 Five more men are arrested. Later in the day two new firemen are signed on.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Northern Ireland:
British armed merchant cruiser HMS Laurentic, 14,892 tons, bound from Liverpool for Halifax, Nova Scotia with a load of gold bullion, hits a mine laid off Malin Head by Alfred von Glasenapp in U-80. There are 345 casualties, with 121 passengers and crew surviving. All of those aboard got into the lifeboats safely. The ones who were lost all froze to death in the boats, the low temperature being about -13° C (9° F).

The gold was to pay for war supplies, and consisted of 3,211 ingots weighing 43 tons, amounting to £5 million (£390 million today). Efforts to recover the gold ran from 1917 to 1924, with an additional search in 1934, recovered 3,189 of the gold ingots, with only 22 still missing today.

Glasenapp's score is now 4 ships and 20,455 tons.

Less than an hour after leaving Buncrana, the ship struck two mines laid by the German mine-laying submarine U-80 off Lough Swilly. One of the mines exploded near the engine-room, which left the ship without power and caused it to list 20 degrees; the combination of the darkness and list made it difficult to lower the lifeboats, and made it impossible for the ship to issue a distress call

As the Laurentic passed Fanad Head, approximately two miles off-shore, she struck her first mine, one of six, laid in a mine field earlier in the month by U-Boat U80, which had already returned to Germany. Then the Laurentic struck a second mine and began to settle quite quickly.



As the ship began to sink Captain Norton R.N. got the life boats out and got as many of the survivors into these as possible. However the second mine destroyed the engine-room and generators, killing most of the Engineering Officers and Engine Room Ratings. Because of this the ships pumps could not be deployed, and the crew had no power to get any radio warnings off.

The current (in 1917) news accounts differed as to casualties 'going down with the ship' and said 'one mine'; however the test of time and other later sources are definitive: two mines: the second of which destroyed the power preventing a distress signal in a 'half gale'/blizzard. Those missing gold bars from the original 3211 (43 tons) are under an additional 38.8 feet of seabed in 131 feet of water...At £121,457 per bar or as of WED 2017's exchange rate: $151,821 x 22 (bars)=$3,349,067.50 DAMN! Considering "money is the sinews of war'' a a big hit for U-80!

[Sailor Steve]

Yes, I read all of that and thought long and hard about what I would put in. I didn't mention the second mine because my original source, U-Boat.net didn't mention it. I spend a minimum of ten minutes on each entry, and sometimes twice that looking at the books I have as well as the web sites. Today's list took almost four hours, and even with that I don't always get everything I'd like.

As to how the passengers died, I used Captain Norton's own words: "To the best of my knowledge, all the men got safely into the boats. The best of order prevailed after the explosion. The officers and men lived up to the best traditions of the navy...The deaths were all due to exposure, owing to the coldness of the night. My own boat was almost full of water when we were picked up by a trawler the next morning, but all the men in the boat survived. Another boat, picked up at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, contained five survivors and fifteen frozen bodies. They had been exposed to the bitter cold for over twenty hours."[

[Jimbuna]

26th January 1917

Western Front

German troops attack several miles of trenches near Verdun, but most gains, except at Hill 304, are reversed by a French counterattack.

Asiatic and Egyptian Theatres

British recapture lost trenches near Kut.

Political, etc.

French government restricts the number of courses restaurants can serve to 4 (hors d’oeuvres or soup, 2 mains, and cheese or dessert).

Dutch government bans armed merchantmen in the Dutch colonies, unless they are carrying food.

British labour unions unanimously adopt a resolution urging a creation of an “international league” to maintain peace after the war.

Compulsory loan or sale to Treasury of certain foreign securities.

Ship Losses:

Bisagno (Italy) The cargo ship was sunk in the Atlantic Ocean south of Ireland (48°42′N 11°26′W) by SM U-57 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Dicax (Norway) The coaster was sunk in the North Sea 60 nautical miles (110 km) west of the Ryvingen Lighthouse, Vest-Agder by SM U-85 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.
Matheran (United Kingdom) The cargo ship struck a mine and sank in the Atlantic Ocean 9 nautical miles (17 km) west of Dassen Island, South Africa with the loss of a crew member.
Tabasco (United Kingdom) The cargo ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean 55 nautical miles (102 km) west north west of the Skelligs (51°50′N 12°00′W) by SM U-45 ( Kaiserliche Marine). Her crew survived.

[Sailor Steve]

January 26, 1917

Air War:
1005 English pilot James McCudden, flying DH.2 7858, shoots down a German two-seater for victory number 2.

1215 French ace Georges Guynemer, in a SPAD VII, shoots down an Albatros two-seater for victory number 30.

1520 French air crew of Jules Covin, Adj Gimmmig and Sldt Massier, in a Caudron three-seater, shoot down an "Enemy Aircraft". Victory number 2 for Covin, number 1 for Gimmig and Massier.

1550 English observer William Gilson, riding in FE.2d A32 with Lt J.K. Stead as pilot, shoots down a Halberstadt D.II for victory number 4.

German ace Walter von Bülow, in an Albatros D.II, shoots down Sopwith 1½ Strutter A1074 for victory number 7. Flt Sgt W.G. Webb and Cpl R.D. Fleming are both killed.

French pilot Marcel Hauss, in a Nieuport, shoots down a German two-seater for victory number 4.

French air crew of Jean Loste, Lt. P. Barbou and Louis Martin, in a Caudron R.4, shood down an Aviatik two-seater. Victory number 7 for Loste, 4 for Barbeau and 6 for Martin. This is the last victory for all three of these men. Records are unclear, but it is confirmed that Loste lived until 1960, Martin until 1920. No infromation on Barbou.



Ireland:
British freighter SS Ava, 5,076 tons, departs Liverpool for Dakar with a load of coal and general cargo, and is not heard from again. Presumed torpedoed but there are no matching German claims. 92 crew lost.

Erich Sittenfeld, commanding U-45, captures British freighter SS Tabasco, 2,987 tons, bound from Halifax for Liverpool with a general cargo. After the crew abandon ship Tabasco is sunk with a torpedo. Sittenfeld's score is now 10 ships and 12,056 tons.


Celtic Sea:
Carl-Siegried von Georg, in U-57, sinks Italian freighter SS Bisagno, 2,252 tons, travelling from Garrucha to Barrow with a load of iron ore. His score is now 29 ships and 29,027 tons.



North Sea:
German freighter SS Westfalia, en route from Rotterdam to Copenhagen with a load of coal, sinks following an explosion off Terschelling. Cause unknown. The only life lost is the Dutch pilot.



Skagerrak:
Willy Petz, in U-85, sinks Norwegian freighter SS Dicax, 923 tons. carrying a load of milled boards from Fredrikstad to Garston; west of Ryvingen. This is Petz's first sinking.



Russia:
British freighter SS Bayropea, 4,671 tons, travelling from Cardiff to Arkhangelsk with a load of munitions, catches fire and explodes at Arkhangelsk.



South Africa:
British freighter SS Matheran, 7,654 tons, hits a mine laid by German raider SMS Wolf off Dassen Island.



Simonstown, South Africa:
HMS Hyacinth conducts gunnery practice with a target towed by tug Scotsman.



Durban, South Africa:
Aboard HMFM Trent the naval guard is releaved by the ship's guard force. Ten men are released from prison and returned to the ship. On his return one man starts a quarrel with two men who did not refuse duty.
At 1620 Trent leaves the quay and moves to a mooring buoy in the bay.



Atlantic Ocean:
Canadian Schooner Bessie A. Crooks departs Pernambuco, Brazil for Barbados and is not heard from again. Captain F.L. Wally and six men are lost.