K Boat Catastrophe: Eight Ships & Five Collisions: The Full Story of the 'Battle' of the Isle of May

by N. S. Nash

Overview

On 31 January 1918 nine K Class steam-powered submarines sailed with the Grand Fleet to Exercise in the North Sea. The ships left the Firth of Forth at a speed of 21 knots on a cold winter night with the flagship HMS Courageous leading the way. Following in her wake was HMS Ithuriel and the K Class submarines of the 13th Submarine Flotilla and then 5 nautical miles astern of them, four more capital warships. As they approached The Isle of May navigational confusion broke out, caused by the misinterpretation of ship's steaming lights and mayhem followed. During the next couple of hours five collisions occurred involving eight ships and resulting in the death of 105 officers and ratings. This fiasco and the resulting naval investigation and court marshal were shielded from the general public and kept in secret files until the full details were released in 1994. From this official report, the author now tells the full story of that dreadful night and the proceedings that followed. Background information on the evolution of the ill-fated and much hated K Class submarines is also included together with the investigation and court marshal proceedings of the events surrounding that tragic night.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781844689651
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	07/19/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	28 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

N. S. ‘Tank’ Nash CBE was educated at Latymer Upper School before entering the catering industry with J Lyons and Co Ltd. He enlisted in the Honourable Artillery Company in 1957 and served until conscripted for National Service in 1960; he was a member of the Army Catering Corps for thirty years, rising to the rank of Brigadier. He resigned his commission in 1991. For thirty-three years, from 1973, he wrote humour under the pen name ‘Sustainer’ and his work was published internationally in a variety of military journals. His books for Pen and Sword include K Boat Catastrophe, ‘Strafer’ Gott: Desert General, Chitral Charlie: The Rise & Fall of Major General Charles Townshend, and Valour in the Trenches.