This source says that K7 passed over K4 as she sank without hitting her, but I have taken the version of events from the MoD linked below. With the end of the fighting on Guadalcanal, Allied forces began planning for a march across the Pacific. [6] Liddle, The Sailors War, 1914-18, p. 190. At the Battle of May Island, she was responsible for ramming K4 and slicing her in half. The so-called "Battle" of May Island took place nearby on the night of 31 January 1918. Some of them got into the water but were run down by destroyers that did not know what had happened. The Battle of Ma y Island In the evening of January 1918, the Royal Navy chose to conduct an exercise codenamed EC1 which started from the navy base at Rosyth. The accident was kept secret during the war and a memorial was finally erected 84 years later on 31 January 2001 at Anstruther harbour opposite the Isle of May. Battle of Island Number Ten: February 28, 1862 April 8, 1862 First Confederate defeat on the Mississippi River Battle of Plum Point Bend: May 10, 1862 May 10, 1862 First sinking of Union ironclads by Confederate River Defense Fleet Battle of Drewry's Bluff: May 15, 1862 May 15, 1862 Battle of Memphis: June 6, 1862 June 6, 1862 All Forums >> >> General Discussion >> Brief History of: Battle of May Island (video) Page: [1] Login . The Battle of May Island Memorial, located in Anstruther, Fife, Scotland commemorates the disaster that occurred just off the small Isle of May a few miles from this point on January 31, 1918. The intention was that, like destroyers, they would operate in flotillas rather individually. All ships increased speed as they approached May Island because a U boat was reported to be in the area. The Battle of Attu (codenamed Operation Landcrab), which took place on 11–30 May 1943, was a battle fought between forces of the United States, aided by Canadian reconnaissance and fighter-bomber support, and Japan on Attu Island off the coast of the Territory of Alaska as part of the Aleutian Islands Campaign during the American Theater and the Pacific Theater. ( Log Out /  The “Battle” of May Island is the name given to the series of accidents that occurred during Operation EC1 in 1918. ( Log Out /  As the submarines following Fearless turned to avoid their now stationary flotilla leader, the battlecruiser Australia narrowly missed K12 which turned to get out of the way, putting her on a collision path with K6. Skirmishes persisted after V-E Day three days later. The “Battle of May Island” was no battle at all. Battle of Grape Island 21 May 1775. The Isle of May; Firth of Forth Estuary. Submarines were then powered by diesel engines on the surface and battery powered electric motors submerged. This could be done in 30 seconds, but there was a risk that one would be jammed open by a small obstruction. Named after the Isle of May, an island in the Firth of Forth, close by, it was a disastrous series of accidents amongst Royal Navy ships on their way from Rosyth in Scotland to fleet exercises in the North Sea. If you enjoyed this “Today in History”, please feel free to re-blog, “like” & share on social media, so that others may find and enjoy it as well. Players must take and then defend their own Pacific island, build up supplies and resources, and then engage in multiplayer battles and campaigns. The two significant pieces of land, Sand Island and Eastern Island, … The Battle of May Island 31 January 1918 On 31 January 1918, two British K class submarines were sunk and four others damaged off May Island in the Firth of Forth. May Island, or more correctly the Isle of May, is a speck of granite near the entrance to the Firth of Forth, far from Australia, yet the Royal Australian Navy lost one of its most promising young officers during the so-called battle, and the Royal Navy lost 105 of its officers and sailors on the night of 31 January 1918. In early 1918, she accidentally rammed and sank one submarine from a different flotilla as part of an incident that sardonically came to be known as the Battle of May Island. The “Battle” of May Island is the name given to the series of accidents that occurred during Operation EC1 in 1918. Find event and ticket information. The K class submarines were specially designed to operate with a battle fleet. As the 13th Flotilla reached the Isle of May, they encountered the outbound 12th Submarine Flotilla. The two flotillas were the 12th Submarine Flotilla, consisting of HMS K3, K4, K6 and K7 led by HMS Fearless and the 13th Submarine Flotilla, led by HMS Ithuriel composed of K11, K12, K14, K17 and K22. Each flotilla would be led by a light cruiser until they were close enough to the enemy to fire their torpedoes, after which they would retire. The fleet was … [1] Although it took place during the First World War it was an entirely accidental tragedy and no enemy forces were present. Erroneous intelligence reports that some German U-boats were capable of 22 knots led to the J class, whose diesel engines were supposed to give a surface speed of 19.5 knots. Technically the battle was fought on Insoemoar Island, the larger (by far) of the two Wakde Islands, but the large island … Around 40 naval vessels left Rosyth on the Firth of Forth, Scotland on the afternoon bound for Scapa Flow in Orkney where the exercise, EC1, involving the entire Grand Fleet would take place the following day. [1], In order to achieve the require speed, the K class were powered on the surface by oil fired steam turbines. The battle of Wakde Island (18-21 May 1944) was part of a wider American offensive carried out in order to protect the western flanks of their newly captured position at Hollandia, on the north coast of New Guinea.Technically the battle was fought on Insoemoar Island, the larger (by far) of the two Wakde Islands, but the large island was always known as Wakde Island to the Allies. She was also involved in the battle of May Island exercise. Only the black forlorn humor, of men at war. Named after the Isle of May, an island in the Firth of Forth, close by, it was a disastrous series of accidents amongst Royal Navy ships on their way … K22 radioed in code to the cruiser leading the flotilla to say that she could reach port but that K14 was crippled and sinking. Both submarines stopped whilst the rest of the flotilla, unaware of what had happened continued out to sea. This combination allowed the highly successful E Class to make 15 knots on the surface and 9 knots submerged. The use of steam meant that funnels and hatches had to be closed before they could dive. These losses resulted not from enemy action but from collisions … 104 men died, all of the Royal Navy. Jan 23, 2018. 5 This little fleet anchored before Great Hill. Battle of Attu: May 11-29, 1943 Codename: Operation Landcrab On May 11, 1943, the U.S. North Pacific Force, commanded by Rear Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, USN, landed and supported U.S. Army 7th Infantry Division at two major landings on Attu Island. Eventbrite - [Dripped Out Entertainment]x[Skin Out Productions] presents Battle of the Islands - Friday, November 15, 2019 | Saturday, November 16, 2019 at Club Mystic, Poughkeepsie, NY. The so-called Battle of May Island took place on the night between 31 January and 1 February 1918. Coordinates: 56°11′9″N 2°33′27″W / 56.18583°N 2.5575°W / 56.18583; -2.5575, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2014, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, Military operations of World War I involving the United Kingdom, Military action involving Scottish islands, Sumariners Association, Barrow-in-Furness, http://web.archive.org/web/20020202170246/http://news.mod.uk/news/press/news_headline_story.asp?newsItem_id=1392, "Sea search stumbles upon submarines Navy tried to forget", http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/scotland/article3123529.ece, https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Battle_of_May_Island?oldid=4419749. Problems in heavy seas needed modifications that cut this to 17 knots. They were large boats for their time, at 339 feet (103 m) long and were powered by steam turbines to allow them to travel at 24 knots on the surface, to keep up with the fleet. Only nine of the 56 men originally on board the submarine survived and one of these died of his injuries shortly afterwards. The leader of the 12th Flotilla, Fearless loomed out of the mist and collided with K17 which sank within a few minutes, although most of her crew were able to jump overboard. About fifteen minutes later, the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron passed the island and the two submarines, but the battlecruiser Inflexible hit K22 causing further damage. The Battle of Block Island, by all accounts, was an event marked by confusion and poor performance by marines and sailors on the American side. The Battle of Makin was fought November 20-24, 1943, during World War II (1939-1945). Jan 23, 2018. The battlecruiser bent the first 30 feet (9.1 m) of K22's bows at right angles and wrecked the ballast and fuel tanks. She sank in about 8 minutes with the loss of all hands. The two … On the evening of 31 January they were part of a force of 40 ships, including three battleships and four battlecruisers that sailed to join the rest of the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow, Orkney, in an exercise codenamed EC1.The K boats were showing only a small blue stern light. Battle Islands: Commanders. The Battle of May Island is the name given to the series of accidents that occurred during Operation E.C.1 in 1918. Battle of the Coral Sea (May 4–8, 1942), World War II naval and air engagement in which a U.S. fleet thwarted the Japanese invasion of Port Moresby in New Guinea. The battle made Commodore George Dewey a hero and … Episode 66: The Battle of May Island. Battle of May Island. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! The Battle of Wake Island began simultaneously with the attack on Pearl Harbor naval and air bases in Hawaii on the morning of 8 December 1941 (7 December in Hawaii), and ended on 23 December, with the surrender of the American forces to the Empire of Japan.It was fought on and around the atoll formed by Wake Island and its minor islets of Peale and Wilkes Islands by … K1 collided with K4 off Denmark on 18 November 1917 and was scuttled to avoid capture. Two of the K boats changed course to avoid two minesweeping trawlers that suddenly appeared and moved across their course. Eighteen were built, with another nine cancelled. As you say, it all worked fine when properly handled, but the issue was properly handling it all – it only took one slip-up by a matelot, or a moment’s inattention, for things to go wrong. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. January 31, 1918 Battle of May Island By 6:30pm, the fleet had formed a line some thirty miles long proceeding north at 20 knots, equivalent to 23MPH over the ground. The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) off the coast of mainland Scotland.It is about 1.5 kilometres (0.9 miles) long and 0.5 kilometres (0.3 miles) wide. [4] Quoted in Liddle, The Sailors War, 1914-18, p. 188. I think there’s little doubt that the original idea behind the K’s as ‘fleet submarines’ was good, and I suspect that like many new technologies of the day, analysis of the theory, ahead of actually committing to construction, had to be run as a thought experiment because there was almost no practical experience to draw on (the same was actually true of warship construction generally at the time – it took the First World War to provide practical experience of how all the new industrial-age systems actually worked together). The Battle of May Island is the name given to the series of accidents that occurred during Operation E.C.1 in 1918. Named after the Isle of May, an island in the Firth of Forth, close by, it was a disastrous series of accidents amongst Royal Navy ships on their way from Rosyth in Scotland to fleet exercises in the North Sea. It was full dark at this latitude with the Haar or “sea fog”, closing in. K6 escaped by running full astern but K4 was almost cut in half and sank after being struck by K7. The battle, fought primarily between aircraft and naval vessels, foreshadowed the kind of carrier warfare that marked later fighting in the Pacific War. It was only when Canadian troops landed on the island on May 20 that the rebellion on Texel finally came to an end. Obmascik, an expert on the Battle of Attu, said U.S. troops were unprepared for what they found when they invaded the island in May … Tranquil. In wartime, terrible loss of life is expected - but usually not due to a series of ridiculous screw-ups. Probably they were no more dangerous than some of the peroxide-engined boats tried at the end of the Second World War and in the years afterwards, but the diesel-electric boats always were a more practical option at the time. Two submarines were lost, with four and a light cruiser damaged despite the complete absence of enemy forces. Ithuriel’s helm jammed as she changed course. The seriously damaged K4 sank with all of her crew, during which she was hit by K7. The casualty numbers for the "Battle of May Island" were 104. Both K14 and the boat behind her, K12 turned on their navigation lights and eventually K14s helm was freed and she tried to return to her position in the line. On 31 January 1918, two British K class submarines were sunk and four others damaged off May Island in the Firth of Forth. Within 75 minutes, the submarines K17 and K4 had been sunk, and K6, K7, K14, K22 and Fearless had been damaged. It was full dark at this latitude with the Haar or “sea fog”, closing in. These were followed by the battlecruiser squadron, HMAS Australia, HMS New Zealand, Indomitable and Inflexible with their destroyers. Two submarines were lost and three other submarines and a light cruiser were damaged. Battle of Manila Bay (May 1, 1898), defeat of the Spanish Pacific fleet by the U.S. Navy, resulting in the fall of the Philippines and contributing to the final U.S. victory in the Spanish-American War. As well as the books footnoted and websites linked in the text, the following websites have been used as sources: Steam Submarines: The Navy’s Dive to Disaster by John Watts on the website of the Submariners Association Barrow-in-Furness Branch. 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