It seems probable that the captain of the submarine, after firing at the 1st Battle Squadron, was confused by the movements of the 4th Battle Squadron crossing astern of the remainder of the zigzagging Fleet, at high speed, and in trying to get clear failed to observe the Dreadnought until too late. The Dreadnought was admirably handled.
On arrival of the Fleet in harbour I wired to the Admiralty urging that the fate of U 29 should be kept secret. The secrecy regarding the loss of this submarine, commanded by Commander Weddingen, was much resented in Germany, and many accusations of treacherous conduct levelled at the British, probably in the hope that we might give information as to her fate. The policy of secrecy was certainly correct, as it left the enemy entirely ignorant of our methods, and possibly had some effect of the moral of the submarine crews.
The Fleet steered to the eastward until well clear of the area in case other submarines were present, and then shaped course for the bases, arriving on the 19th.
On March 29th the Grand Fleet left its bases with the intention of carrying out a sweep of the North Sea, but the plan was abandoned and the Fleet returned to its bases on the following day.
The principal movements of destroyers during March, additional to the regular patrols and fleet movements, were as follows:
From March 2nd to March 5th search was made by a half flotilla for a number of oil drums reported as moored in certain areas in the North Sea. The report indicated that the enemy might be refuelling submarines in this manner; the search disposed of the supposition.
From March 8th to March 10th the Commander-in-Chief Coast of Scotland, Sir Robert Lowry, in conjunction with Vice-Admiral Bradford, who was the Senior Flag Officer of Grand Fleet ships at Rosyth, and was, therefore, responsible for all movements of these ships from the Rosyth base, organised a search on a large scale for a submarine reported to be operating off the Aberdeenshire coast. The vessels employed in this operation comprised trawler patrols and destroyers of the 1st Flotilla, and they were rewarded on March 10th by forcing the submarine—U 12—to the surface, when H.M.S. Ariel, very skilfully handled, succeeded in ramming and sinking her. Ten of her crew of twenty-eight were rescued. The Ariel was considerably damaged, and was docked at Leith for repairs.
On March 20th and 21st a division of destroyers hunted a submarine in the Moray Firth without success.
On March 12th the Faulknor and six destroyers were detached from the Grand Fleet flotillas to operate against submarines in the Irish Sea.
In the course of the month the small steamers, specially fitted as mine-sweepers for the Grand Fleet, were withdrawn for service abroad. The increasing number of mines in the North Sea and the paucity of mine-sweepers led me to decide on March 22nd to fit eight destroyers each from the 2nd and 4th Flotillas with light mine-sweeps, and the work was taken in hand. These vessels were intended to augment the regular force of mine-sweepers in an emergency, as it was felt that a movement of the High Sea Fleet for an important naval operation would in all probability be preceded by extensive mine-laying outside the Fleet bases, and a much stronger sweeping force than we possessed was required to enable a passage for the Fleet to be rapidly cleared.