During the night of November 6th–7th the battleship Hibernia, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral S. Fremantle, with the Zealandia and Albemarle, passed through the Pentland Firth to the westward en route for southern ports and the Mediterranean. A strong wind was blowing against the spring tides, and a very heavy sea was running in the Firth, as was not unusual. Whilst passing through the Firth the Albemarle, Captain R. A. Nugent, shipped two heavy seas which washed away her fore bridge, with everyone on it, and even displaced the roof of the conning tower; hundreds of tons of water flooded the decks and poured down below. An officer and one man were washed overboard and drowned, and several men injured; Captain Nugent found himself on the upper deck amidst the wreckage of the bridge. The Hibernia, which was ahead, turned to assist the Albemarle, and an urgent signal for assistance was received on board the Iron Duke. One of the emergency cruisers at Scapa was directed to raise steam with all despatch; the Hibernia arrived in with the Albemarle at daylight. The ship presented an extraordinary sight, the sea having made a clean sweep of her bridge and everything on it. In all our experience of the Pentland Firth, we had never witnessed such havoc before. The Zealandia was also obliged to turn back to repair her gunports, damaged by the sea in the Firth.
The next few days were marked only by comparatively trifling incidents. On November 6th the Birkenhead, which had recently been commissioned, completed her practices at Scapa and joined the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron at Rosyth. Two days later the Princess Margaret laid mines successfully in the Heligoland Bight; on the 9th the Crescent, harbour-defence vessel at Hoy Sound, was withdrawn and left to pay off; and the Matchless, of the 10th Destroyer Flotilla, struck a drifting mine in southern waters, her stern being blown off.
On the 12th Submarine E 17 was sent into the Kattegat to reconnoitre and ascertain whether any German trawlers or other vessels were working there. She returned on the 19th and reported in the negative. On the night of the 15th–16th the s.s. Kristianiafiord, of the Norwegian-American line, a ship which had been endeavouring on other occasions to evade the blockading squadron, was intercepted by the Teutonic in high latitudes; she was steaming fast without lights, and was sent to Kirkwall for examination. In this and in other similar cases the ships ran great risk of being mistaken for enemy vessels and sunk, since the methods employed by the Germans made it very difficult to abstain from opening fire on vessels without running the serious danger of our own ships being sunk by surprise attack. In the case of a ship carrying a large number of passengers, like the Kristianiafiord, the risk taken was very great and could not be justified.
On November 16th the 7th Cruiser Squadron, without the Donegal, but accompanied by the Liverpool and one armed boarding-steamer, left Scapa to patrol an area north of the Shetlands and Faroe Islands, with a view to intercepting possible raiders or other vessels.
At noon on the 18th a report reached me that an enemy three-funnelled cruiser had been seen on the 17th to pass through the Danish Sound going north. The possible objectives of this vessel, if the report were true, appeared to be either mine-laying off our bases or an attempt to interfere with the White Sea traffic, the Admiralty having informed me on the 16th that large consignments of arms and ammunition would be passing from France to the White Sea during November and December. In view of the fact that the news had reached me too late to intercept this vessel in southern waters, the dispositions made were as follows:
The Donegal, which had left Scapa on the 17th to cruise along the trade route to the White Sea, was directed to rendezvous with the Orcoma (a ship of the 10th Cruiser Squadron on patrol off the Norwegian coast), and to patrol the parallel of Lat. 66 N. between the meridians of 5.30 E. and 7.30 E.
The 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron sailed from Scapa for a position Lat. 63 N., Long. 4 E., there to meet the 7th Cruiser Squadron, already at sea. Both squadrons, widely spread, were to sweep to the northward along the Norwegian coast, as far as the Rost Islands, and to cruise to the westward of the Lofoten Islands during daylight of the 20th, then returning to their base. The 2nd Cruiser Squadron also left Scapa and proceeded north, the ships spread to cover a wide area to the westward of the 7th Cruiser Squadron, in order to protect the Archangel trade. The 4th Light Cruiser Squadron also left Scapa on the 18th to sweep to the eastward, with orders to return to Cromarty on the 19th.
Strong destroyer patrols were despatched from Scapa and Rosyth to prevent mine-laying off the bases, and one Battle Cruiser Squadron was put at short notice for steam. No enemy vessels were sighted, and the Donegal eventually proceeded to the White Sea, being accompanied by the Minotaur as far as the North Cape.
On November 19th three submarines proceeded from Harwich to the Kattegat to obtain information relative to the presence of any enemy vessels.
On November 23rd the Warspite rejoined the 5th Battle Squadron, after having been for some weeks under repair in the Tyne, owing to injuries sustained through grounding in the Firth of Forth.