Q-Ships and Their Story

by E. Keble Chatterton

To face p. 200

Fig. 14.—Diagram to Illustrate Approximate Movements of ‘Pargust’ and UC 29 on June 7, 1917.

Captain Campbell then gave the order to abandon ship, and the panic party went away in three boats, and just as the last boat was pushing off a periscope was sighted 400 yards on the port side forward of the beam. It then turned and made for the ship, and submerged when close to the lifeboat’s stern, then came on the starboard quarter, turned towards the ship and, when 50 yards away, partially broke surface, heading on a course parallel, but opposite, to that of Pargust, the lifeboat meanwhile pulling away round the steamer’s stern. The submarine followed, and a man was seen on the conning-tower shouting directions. The lifeboat then rowed towards the ship, and this apparently annoyed the Hun, who now began semaphoring the boats; but at 8.36 a.m. the submarine was only 50 yards off, and was bearing one point before the beam, so all Pargust’s guns were able to bear nicely. Fire was therefore opened, the first shot from the 4-inch gun hitting the base of the conning-tower and removing the two periscopes. Nearly forty more shells followed, most of them being hits in the conning-tower, so that the submarine quickly listed to port, and several men came out of the hatch abaft the conning-tower. She was already obviously in a bad way, with her heavy list and her stern almost submerged, and oil squirting from her sides.

The Germans now came on deck, held up their hands, and waved; so Captain Campbell ordered ‘Cease Fire.’ Then a typically unsportsmanlike trick was played, for as soon as Pargust stopped firing the enemy began to make off at a fair speed. So there was nothing for it but to resume shelling her, and this was kept up until 8.40 a.m., when an explosion occurred in the forward part of the submarine. She sank for the last time, falling over on her side, and 3 feet of her sharp bow end up in the air, 300 yards off, was the last that was ever seen of her. So perished UC 29, and thus one more submarine was added to the score of this gallant captain and crew. One officer (a sub-lieutenant of Reserve) and an engine-room petty officer were picked up. The former had come on to the submarine’s deck with a couple of men to fire the 22-pounder, but owing to the heavy sea knocked up by the fresh southerly wind they had been all washed overboard before reaching the gun.

Bridge of Q-ship “Dunraven”
Captain Gordon Campbell, V.C., D.S.O., R.N., inspecting the damage by the submarine’s shells to his ship.

To face p. 202

The captain of UC 29 had been killed by Pargust’s fire. This class of submarine carried besides her 22-pounder and machine-gun eighteen mines and three torpedoes. She had left Brunsbüttel on May 25, calling at Heligoland, and the routine was usually first to lay the mines and then operate, sinking ships with gun or torpedo. As to her mines, it is quite possible that she laid the three mines I recollect sinking on June 12 in the approach to Valentia Harbour, Dingle Bay, and she may have laid three others off Brow Head, one of which I remember on June 4, for it was customary for these craft to lay their ‘eggs’ in threes. With regard to her three torpedoes we know that one had penetrated Pargust, another had sunk a sailing ship—probably the Italian barque already mentioned—and the third had been fired at a destroyer, but passed underneath.

As to Pargust, she fortunately did not sink, thanks to her cargo of timber. At 12.30 p.m. another of Admiral Bayly’s alert sloops, who always seemed to be at hand when wanted, arrived. This was H.M.S. Crocus, who took Pargust in tow. The sloop Zinnia and the United States destroyer Cushing arrived also, and escorted her to Queenstown, which she reached next afternoon. The prisoners had been already transferred to Zinnia, and in Pargust the only casualties had been one stoker petty officer killed and the engineer sub-lieutenant wounded. For Pargust’s splendid victory further honours were awarded. Captain Campbell, already the possessor of the V.C. and D.S.O., now received a bar to his D.S.O. To Lieutenant R. N. Stuart, D.S.O., R.N.R., was given the V.C., and Seaman W. Williams, R.N.R., also received this highest of all decorations. These two, one officer and one man, were selected by ballot to receive this distinction, but every officer and every man had earned it.