At anchor. There was not a piece of wood, they said, big enough to float a man—and over acres the sea was covered with fragments—human and otherwise. (London: Constable, 1931), p. 6. There is an enormous cloud of dense smoke all around the ship, with a high jet of water rising into the air on the left. In 1911–12 they were rearmed with nine 4-inch guns. rities attempted to cover up the sinking and Pathfinder was reported to have been mined. image: An image of the 'Pathfinder' exploding and sinking. I am researching the sinking of HMS Pathfinder, 5th September 1914 which was captained by her son Francis Martin-Leake. The HMS Pathfinder was the first warship to be sunk by a torpedo fired from a submarine. ( Log Out /  The Captain and his secretary remained with the ship until the very end but somehow both survived". Learn how your comment data is processed. Victoria Cross at Sea 1939-45 - WW2 Campaign Summary. HMS Pathfinder. The detonation apparently set off cordite bags in the forward magazine which caused a second, more massive explosion within the fore section of the ship, essentially destroying everything forward of the bridge. The word torpedo was then used to describe weapons that would now be called mines. HMS Pathfinder was the lead ship of the Pathfinder class scout cruisers, and was the first ship ever to be sunk by a locomotive torpedo fired by submarine (the American Civil War ship USS Housatonic had been sunk by a spar torpedo ). HMS Pathfinder went down off St Abbs Head in the Scottish Borders on 5 September 1914. Born in Bishopsgate, London, on July 3, 1891, William was the son of Jacob and Esther. On the Centenary of HMS Pathfinder's sinking on. Since the vessel was traveling at a mere five knots, however (due to a shortage of coal throughout the Royal Navy at the time), the manoeuvre was not in time and the torpedo struck the ship beneath the bridge. Posts about HMS Pathfinder written by Martin Gibson. Jan 29, 2019 - HMS Pathfinder (G10) a P-class destroyer. Contents. September 5, HMS Bangor will arrive in Bangor, Co Down. The U-boat War in World War Two (Kriegsmarine, 1939-1945) and World War One (Kaiserliche Marine, 1914-1918) and the Allied efforts to counter the threat. World War One; image copyright Royal Navy Museum. Notes: (1) Casualty information in order - Surname, First name, Initial(s), Rank and part of the Service other than RN (RNR, RNVR, RFR, RMLI etc), Service Number (ratings only, also if Dominion or Indian Navies), (on the books of another ship/shore establishment, O/P – on passage), Fate It was 385 feet long, was armed with 15 guns as well as two torpedo tubes and could go at speeds of 25 knots. There was not a piece of wood, they said, big enough to float a man—and over acres the sea was covered with fragments—human and otherwise. HMS Pathfinder: on 5 September 1914 this scout cruiser was returning to base at Rosyth while acting as leader of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla. HMS Pathfinder. The bow of the vessel has already sunk beneath the surface, and the first funnel seems about to break off into the water. HMS Pathfinder: on 5 September 1914 this scout cruiser was returning to base at Rosyth while acting as leader of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla. The letter is written by (Naval) Captain Francis Martin-Leake – the letter describes some of the events of the sinking. The sinking of Pathfinder by a submarine made both sides aware of the potential vulnerability of large ships to attack by submarines. [1] R. H. Gibson, M. Prendergast, The German Submarine War, 1914-1918. ( Log Out /  She was a 2940 gross ton Light cruiser. He was adamant that his ship had been struck by a torpedo, although it had at first been thought that she had been struck by a mine. On 6 September The Times declared that 58 men had been rescued but that four had died of injuries. HMS Pathfinder sunk off the Isle of May in September 1914 Tuesday 5th September comments: The Isle of May NNR has a wealth of history but today marks the 103 rd anniversary of the tragedy of the sinking of HMS Pathfinder. The fact that it is impossible to determine how many were on board that day adds to the problem, but modern research indicates that in all probability, there were 268 personnel on board plus two civilian canteen assistants. The sinking of the Pathfinder was announced by the Press Bureau on Saturday, and the casualties among the officers were officially communicated late last night. The Destruction of HMS Pathfinder There is no known surviving official report on the destruction of Pathfinder, one of the most historically significant of European wrecks . The 7 September 1914 edition of The Scotsman newspaper reported an official press release that stated that Pathfinder had struck a mine. [5] Twelve Normand water-tube boilers fed steam to two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines rated at 16,500 indicated horsepower (12,300 kW) and driving two shafts. History Themes. Also among the survivors was staff surgeon Thomas Aubrey Smyth, who lived at Bedeque House in Dromore, Co Down. (However The Scotsman also reported that Pathfinder had been attacked by two U-boats and had accounted for the second one in her death throes. HMS Pathfinder Remembered Today: Sign in to follow this . His name is memorialized on Panel 5 of the Chatham Naval Memorial, in Kent. The HMS Pathfinder is said to be the first ship sunk by a locomotive torpedo in September 1914 Scuba divers are to lay a wreath on the wreck of a ship sunk by … Military History. The Captain said, 'jump you devils jump !'. Not long after completion, two additional 12 pounder guns were added and the 3 pounder guns were replaced with six 6 pounder guns. HMS Truculent had sank in the Thames Estuary after a collision with the Swedish vessel Divina on the evening of 12th January 1950.There was horrendous loss of life, only a few of the casualties died in the immediate sinking but many of those who escaped from the badly stricken vessel were washed away by the ebb tide and died of drowning or exposure. He wrote to his father saying that: I dare say Julian told you that we actually saw the Pathfinder explosion – a great white cloud with its foot in sea. [4] Cammell Laird's ships, the Pathfinder-class, were 379 feet 0 inches (115.52 m) long overall and 370 feet 0 inches (112.78 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 38 feet 9 inches (11.81 m) and a draught of 15 feet 2 inches (4.62 m). There is an enormous cloud of dense smoke all around the ship, with a high jet ofwater rising into the air on the left. The bow of the vessle has already sunk beneath the surface, and the first funnle seems about to break off into the water. The explosion must have been frightful. [2] The next day it printed an eye witness account that talked of ‘the diabolical policy pursued by Germany in strewing the sea with floating mines in tracts where peaceful fishermen are as likely as the crews of warships to be the victims.’[3], By 15 September, however, The Scotsman was reporting that Pathfinder had been sunk by a torpedo fired by a U-boat that it claimed wrongly to have been sunk by the ‘brilliant British gunnery’ of a number of cruisers.[4]. Related Topics . R. H. Gibson and Maurice Prendergast write in The German Submarine War that 259 were lost. HMS Pathfinder. Finally scrapped in November 1948 at Milford Haven. On 5 September 1914 U-21, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Otto Hersing, torpedoed and sank the scout cruiser HMS Pathfinder, leader of the Eighth Destroyer Flotilla, off St Abbs Head on the south east coast of Scotland. ‘Another eye witness to the sinking was the writer Aldous Huxley, who was staying at St Abbs at the time. "Vimy" informed me that he had observed submarine sinking, and from the quantities of men seen swimming, and of German voices crying out, from the water all around, and from the absence of any A/S contact in the vicinity, it seemed fairly certain to me that the submarine had in fact sunk, and "Pathfinder" and "Quentin" stopped to assist in the rescue of survivors. This was the first time that a submarine had sunk a ship using a motor powered torpedo. On the Centenary of HMS Pathfinder’s sinking on 5 th September, HMS Bangor will arrive in Bangor, County Down. She was originally to have been named HMS Fastnet, but was renamed prior to construction. HMS Pathfinder was a steel Pathfinder class scout cruiser built by Cammell Laird in Birkenhead and launched on 16th July 1904. Source: © IWM (ADNO 8722) She was damaged while serving in the Far East, and was scrapped after the end of the war. ''Pathfinder' was the first EVER warship sunk by a torpedo fired from a German U-Boat. Published. There is an enormous cloud of dense smoke all around the ship, with a high jet of water rising into the air on the left. First World War, North Sea & HMS Pathfinder, Sinking of & 5/9/1914 Photographs BRITISH DESTROYER FLIES CAPTURED JAPANESE FLAG. He had previously been awarded the VC in the Boer War. U-21 Sinks HMS Pathfinder 5 September 1914. [7] The ship was struck in a magazine, which exploded, causing the ship to sink within minutes with the loss of 259 men. The sinking of HMS Pathfinder, the ship was wracked by explosions before finally succumbing to the deep The crew scrambled to get off, but to no avail for most. Historum. Thomas Frederick Hallifax, RN) was declared a constructive total loss on 11 February 1945 after being damaged by bombs from Japanese aircraft off Ramree Island, Burma. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! [1] The website Naval History gives 278 on board, of whom 16 survived. They also carried eight 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns and two above-water 18-inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, one on each broadside. HMS PATHFINDER was selected for use a bombing target in November 1946 and prepared for this at Portsmouth. Recounting the experience in a letter to his mother, he said the explosion had blown a "great hole in the side of the ship". HMS Pathfinder was the lead ship of the Pathfinder class scout cruisers, and was the first ship ever to be sunk by a torpedo fired by submarine (the American Civil War ship USS Housatonic had been sunk by a spar torpedo).She was built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, launched on 16 July 1904, and commissioned on 18 July 1905. HMS Pathfinder, (Navy Photos, click to enlarge) return to Contents List : PALADIN-Class Fleet Destroyer ordered from Hawthorn Leslie at Newcastle on 2nd October 1939 with 2nd Emergency Flotilla. HMS Pathfinder tribute at St Abbs Head 100 years after sinking. She is named after Bangor and is the second Royal … At the start of the First World War she was part of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla based at Rosyth in the Firth of Forth and commanded by Capt Francis Martin-Peake.[7]. HMS Pathfinder tribute at St Abbs Head 100 years after sinking. ISC Megalodon divers raise the white ensign on HMS Pathfinder. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The 5th September 2015 was the 101st anniversary of the sinking of HMS Pathfinder. Broken in two, the "Pathfinder" instantly began sinking, dragging most of her crew down with her and leaving a massive pall of smoke to mark her grave. Creator: Royal Navy official photographer. Forums. At 1543 U-21 fired a single 50 cm (20 in) Type G/6 torpedo at a range of 2,000 yards. Additionally, the British destroyers HMS Stag and Express had spotted the smoke and headed for the pall of smoke, only to find that what few survivors there were had already been rescued. In 1911–12 they were rearmed with nine 4-inch guns. HMS Truculent had sank in the Thames Estuary after a collision with the Swedish vessel Divina on the evening of 12th January 1950. Jun 18, 2015 - image: An image of the 'Pathfinder' exploding and sinking. Former name: HMS Onslaught: Commands listed for HMS Pathfinder (G 10) Please note that we're still working on this section. Reply to this topic; Start new topic; Recommended Posts. She will be open to the general public on the afternoons of Sat 6th and Sun 7th. On September 5th 1914 she had torpedoed the British cruiser HMS Pathfinder was sunk in the North Sea, off the Scottish coast, ... On May 25th he sank the 12,000 ton HMS Triumph and two days later was to be equally successful in sinking the 16,000 ton HMS Majestic. The St. Abbs' lifeboat came in with the most appalling accounts of the scene. ( Log Out /  HMS Bangor is a 600 tonne Sandown Class Minehunter, commissioned by the Royal Navy and launched by Lady Lisa Spencer in 1999 at Southampton Docks. This week just concluding marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of HMS Pathfinder '' 12 miles off St. Abb's Head on Sctoland's east coast at Berwickshire. (There was an anecdotal story that one of the destroyers had an engine problem when a water inlet was blocked by a leg in a seaboot.). The communications were as follows :— The Secretary of the Admiralty communicates the following message for publication :— H.M.S. On the morning of 5 September, he observed HMS Pathfinder on a SSE course, followed by elements of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla. 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