The Blocking of Ostend Port.
On April 21, the British Admiralty undertook to block up the ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge.
British Cruisers "Sirius" and "Brilliant" sunk to the east of the wooden pier at Ostend, April 22, 1918.
Under the command of Commodore Hubert Lynes, the flotilla left Dover at the same time as the one which was to block up Zeebrugge.
The Ostend flotilla was composed of the cruisers Sirius and Brilliant (Commodore Godsal), loaded with concrete, which were to be sunk at the entrance to the port. Destroyers, scouts and motor-boats were to reconnoitre the way and pick up the crews of the blockading ships. Lastly, smoke-boats provided a protecting screen of smoke, which hid the flotilla's movements from the enemy.
When twelve miles from Ostend this flotilla parted company with that bound for Zeebrugge.
The smoke screen hiding the Sirius and Brilliant was swept away by a sudden veering of the wind. The enemy's gunfire had extinguished the lights which were to guide the two cruisers, and the latter thus ran past the Stroom Bank buoy which should have marked the entrance to Ostend but which the Germans had displaced. They were therefore sunk to the east of the stockade.
