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70-600: The program was distinct from armed merchant cruiser program, which were warships converted from civilian vessels, operated by the Royal Navy itself. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, European countries such as Spain , France , the Netherlands and Britain armed their merchant ships to prevent capture by pirates , enemy commerce raiders and privateers when they conducted overseas trade. The most heavily armed were ships carrying valuable cargo back from

140-492: A 3-inch gun on the bow, 20 mm machine gun tubs port and starboard between the first and second holds; a second pair of 20 mm guns on the bridge wings , a third pair on the after edge of the superstructure , and a fourth pair between the after (Number 5) hatch and the 5"/38 calibre gun on the stern . Armed merchantman#Armed merchant cruisers An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after

210-610: A Russian Volunteer Fleet . Germany and the United Kingdom responded to the precedent by asking their shipping companies to design fast steamers with provision for mounting guns in time of war. In 1890 German and British shipyards built new civilian ships designed for wartime conversion, and France , Italy , Japan , Austria-Hungary , and the United States made similar agreements with their shipyards. In 1892 Russia likewise built two more auxiliary cruisers. In 1895

280-714: A Committee on the Arming of British Merchant Vessels under Captain Alexander Duff , that reported in May 1912. In October 1912 Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman became Churchill's First Sea Lord , and that October Bridgeman warned the Committee of Imperial Defence that "the Germans were arming their merchant ships, nominally for the protection of their own trade, but more probably in order to attack ours." The ships being armed by

350-841: A false flag with guns concealed, and sometimes with her appearance altered with fake funnels and masts and often a fake paint scheme. The victim was thus engaged at point-blank range and had no chance to escape. In World War I, the Imperial German Navy initially used fast passenger ships, such as past holders of the Blue Riband for fastest North Atlantic crossings, but they made obvious and easy targets because of their very familiar silhouettes. The Germans, therefore, soon moved on to using captured and refitted Allied vessels, but principally modified transport ships. These were slower, but less recognizable. In both world wars, these ships were vulnerable to attack, and were withdrawn before

420-457: A minimal number of submarines were sunk by gunfire from these vessels. Of the over 12,000 steam ships Britain had at the start of the war, only around 40 were armed. While the February 1915 German declaration created an impetus to arm ships, there was a shortage of suitable weapons and ammunition, resulting in a diverse array of guns being used, with often only single small obsolete weapons like

490-550: A minimum of 12 shots per minute. This rate of fire became increasingly important with the development of the first practical torpedoes and torpedo boats , which posed an extreme threat to the Royal Navy's maritime predominance. The first quick-firing light gun was the 1-inch Nordenfelt gun , built in Britain from 1880. The gun was expressly designed to defend larger warships against the new small fast-moving torpedo boats in

560-403: A number of small arms and the use of the ship's fire hoses to repel boarders. One notable exception to this were the ships of Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited , which are used to transport spent nuclear fuel and reprocessed uranium on behalf of British Nuclear Fuels Limited . Transporting enough fissile material between them to produce 50–60 nuclear weapons, these ships, beginning with

630-412: A quick-firing artillery piece are: These innovations, taken together, meant that the quick-firer could fire aimed shells much more rapidly than an older weapon. For instance, an Elswick Ordnance Company 4.7-inch gun fired 10 rounds in 47.5 seconds in 1887, almost eight times faster than the equivalent 5-inch breech-loading gun. In 1881, the Royal Navy advertised for a quick-firing gun that could fire

700-589: A second campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare. The United States responded to unrestricted submarine warfare by severing diplomatic relations with Germany on 3 February 1917. A filibuster in the United States Senate temporarily delayed President Woodrow Wilson 's proposal on 26 February 1917 to arm United States merchant ships, but arming started in March under an executive order . Later in 1917, guns for merchant ships became more available, and

770-585: A second maritime arms race alongside the naval one. Gerard Noel , a former Admiral of the Fleet , told Churchill that were a merchant ship ever to fire its guns it could be accused of piracy. Churchill replied by drawing a distinction between merchant ships armed as auxiliary cruisers and those armed only for self-defence. Privately Churchill was more concerned, and in June 1913 he directed Admiralty staff to "do everything in our power to reconcile this new departure with

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840-431: A shipping container, in theory enabling any cargo ship to be armed with an anti-ship missile. This type of missile was allegedly capable of disabling or even sinking an aircraft carrier, but "it's not known how many of them would have to hit a carrier to knock it out of action, much less sink it." During the 2011 Libyan civil war , forces loyal to Gaddafi armed several merchant vessels and attempted to use them to blockade

910-442: A single fighter aircraft. The merchant aircraft carrier or "MAC" was a British or Dutch cargo ship with a flight deck that could carry a small number of aircraft. CAM and MAC ships remained as civilian ships operated by civilian crews, with Fleet Air Arm or Royal Netherlands Navy "air parties". Despite a rise in modern piracy , it was up until the early 2010s very unusual for modern merchant ships to be armed, save for maybe

980-462: A single pilot report that a merchant vessel had opened fire on him Twenty two seaborne observers survived their ships being sunk, two lost their lives and several more were injured during the landings. The "seaborne" operation was an unqualified success and in recognition, His Majesty King George Vl approved the wearing of the "seaborne" flash as a permanent feature of the uniform. In addition, ten "seaborne" members were mentioned in despatches . After

1050-564: A strong point in front of the gun were necessary to control the recoil. They were manned by Royal Navy crews and required up to 32 oxen to move. The first war in which quick-firing artillery was widespread was the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05. The quick-firing howitzer offered the potential for practical indirect fire . Traditional howitzers had been employed to engage targets outside their line of fire, but were very slow to aim and reload. Quick-firing weapons were capable of

1120-895: A total of 15 ships in 1914 and 1915, before finally running out of supplies and having to put into port in Virginia , where the Americans interned her and eventually converted her into the United States Navy troop transport USS Von Steuben . The most famous German commerce raider of World War I probably was Seeadler , a sailing ship under the command of the legendary Count Felix von Luckner . However, both Wolf and Möwe were each much more successful than Seeadler . In World War II, Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine operated ten very successful auxiliary cruisers, ranging in tonnage from 3,860 to 9,400; typically these vessels were equipped with: To preserve their cover, these ships flew

1190-661: The Kaiserliche Marine were passenger liners that were fast enough to serve as auxiliary cruisers , and they would indeed be used as raiders in WWI, though there were not as many as the British expected. The British Admiralty intended to have armed merchant cruisers of its own through the potential wartime conversion of vessels such as the RMS ; Lusitania and RMS  Mauretania to outright warships. A second plan

1260-511: The Action of 4 April 1941 . During World War II, German auxiliary cruisers are believed to have either sunk or captured some 800,000 long tons (812,838 t) of Allied shipping. Compare to the Q-ship , which was a disguised merchantman for anti-submarine operations. The CAM ship (from catapult armed merchantman) was a British merchantman fitted with a catapult that could launch, but not recover,

1330-602: The British Isles . DEMS gunners were often retired military personnel and young Hostilities Only ratings, commanded by a petty officer or Royal Marine sergeant . Large ships sometimes embarked a junior naval officer to command the DEMS gunners. Canada placed guns on 713 ships, while the Royal Australian Navy provided gun crews for 375 Australian and other Allied ships. In 1944, during preparations for

1400-684: The Far East . Notably the East Indiamen class of ships were constructed from the keel up with defence in mind, with their heavy armament making some of the most powerful examples equivalent to naval Fourth-rate ships of the line . After the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, these were replaced for some of the balance of the 19th century with faster and lighter unarmed ships such as clippers that, in theory, could outrun any threat when blockade running or carrying smaller quantities of

1470-736: The French Army , starting in 1897 with the Canon de 75 modèle 1897 , which proved to be extremely successful. Other nations were quick to copy the quick-firing technology. The QF 4.7-inch Gun Mk I–IV was initially manufactured for naval use and as coast artillery . British forces in the Second Boer War were initially outgunned by the long-range Boer artillery. Captain Percy Scott of HMS Terrible first improvised timber static siege mountings for two 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns from

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1540-402: The Imperial German Navy mobilized the provisional auxiliary cruiser Normannia for a 15-day trial armed with eight 6-inch guns, two 3.5-inch (89 mm) guns, six 37-millimetre (1.46 in) guns, and two torpedo boats. In both World Wars, both Germany and the United Kingdom used auxiliary cruisers. While the British used armed passenger liners defensively for protecting their shipping,

1610-605: The Pacific Pintail and Pacific Teal , became armed in 1999 to avoid the cost of a Royal Navy escort. Travelling together in convoy during these ships' intermittent voyages, they have an onboard escort of armed police from the UKAEAC and its successors and are equipped with two or three 30 mm (1.18 in) autocannons . Another exception were various ships of the Soviet Union's Merchant Marine (MORFLOT) during

1680-676: The QF 3 pounder as a light 47 mm naval gun from 1886. The gun was ideal for defending against small fast vessels such as torpedo boats and was immediately adopted by the RN as the "Ordnance QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss". It was built under licence by Elswick Ordnance Company . The Royal Navy introduced the QF 4.7-inch in HMS ; Sharpshooter in 1889, and the QF 6-inch MK 1 in HMS Royal Sovereign , launched 1891. Other navies followed suit;

1750-570: The Rawalpindi was quickly sunk. The Spanish and United States Navies used auxiliary cruisers during the Spanish–American War of 1898. In World War I , too, American auxiliary cruisers fought several engagements with German U-boats. The German practice was to arm merchantmen with hidden weapons and use them as commerce raiders . An auxiliary cruiser, Hilfskreuzer or Handels-Stör-Kreuzer (HSK), usually approached her target under

1820-517: The 47mm QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss being used. Such guns were much inferior, in particular in range, to the 88 and 105mm deck guns mounted on submarines. Nevertheless, the guns were mounted on the stern of vessels, transferred from one ship to another to ensure maximum use, and civilian captains were encouraged to flee while shooting back. 149 civilian ships had been so armed on May 14 1915, 219 by September 24, 766 by December 25, rising to 1,749 by September 1916 and 2,899 by February 1917. The effect of this

1890-506: The Admiralty should send a merchant ship to sea with naval guns, but without ammunition, to test foreign governments' reaction. A meeting chaired by Sir Francis Hopwood , Civil Lord of the Admiralty agreed to put guns without ammunition on a number of merchant ships "and see what happens." Sir Eyre Crowe was at the meeting and recorded "If nothing happens, it may be possible and easy, after a time, to place ammunition on board." To emphasize

1960-458: The Australian light cruiser HMAS  Sydney , which approached too close, though Kormoran was also sunk in the engagement. This was the only occasion in history when an armed merchantman managed to sink a modern warship ; in most cases, auxiliary cruiser raiders tried to avoid confrontation with warships. Kormoran ' s attack upon Sydney was motivated by desperation. She was not

2030-493: The British continued to arm ships with heavier guns even as the number of surface attacks reduced. The 76mm 12 pounders were to be used as a minimum, and 4.7-inch guns preferred. Around 3000 additional guns were mounted in 1917. Guns had been manned mostly by Royal Marines at this point, but now the Navy had to provide a two-week course on combating the "Submarine Menace" to ship masters. By November 1918, 4,203 vessels were armed,

2100-568: The Cape Town coastal defences, to counter the Boers' " Long Tom " gun during the Siege of Ladysmith in 1899–1900. Scott then improvised a travelling carriage for 4.7-inch guns removed from their usual static coastal or ship mountings to provide the army with a heavy field gun. These improvised carriages lacked recoil buffers and hence in action drag shoes and attachment of the carriage by cable to

2170-624: The Cold War (MORFLOT often operated as an adjunct to Soviet foreign and military policy, both overtly and otherwise). In 2007, facing a chronic shortage of naval vessels the Cuban Navy placed into service the Rio Damuji class of frigates , which are large fishing trawlers converted into warships. In April 2010, it was reported that a Russian company was offering a version of the 3M-54 Klub missile that could be disguised and launched from

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2240-520: The French navy installed quick-firing weapons on its ships completed in 1894–95. Quick-firing guns were a key characteristic of the pre-dreadnought battleship , the dominant design of the 1890s. The quick-firing guns, while unable to penetrate thick armour, were intended to destroy the superstructure of an opposing battleship, start fires, and kill or distract the enemy's gun crews. The development of heavy guns and their increasing rate of fire meant that

2310-586: The German approach was to use them offensively to attack enemy shipping. The armed merchant cruisers (AMC) of the British Royal Navy were employed for convoy protection against enemy warships. They ultimately proved to have limited value and many, particularly ocean liners , were later converted into troopships, a role for which they were more suited. Documentary evidence quoted by the BBC researched from

2380-617: The German ship attacked the convoy. Though she and five vessels of the convoy were sunk, this enabled the rest of the convoy to escape. Her master, Acting Captain Edward Fegen was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously for his actions. Another famous action involving an armed merchant cruiser was the November 1939 battle between HMS  Rawalpindi and the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau . Outgunned,

2450-664: The Royal Bath Hotel Bournemouth before the volunteers temporarily joined the Royal Navy with the rank of petty officer (aircraft identifier). The volunteers continued to wear their ROC uniforms, but wore seaborne shoulder flashes and a Royal Navy brassard with the letters RN. During the D-day landings two seaborne observers were allocated to each of the defensively equipped British and American merchant vessels. The ROC volunteers were given direct control of each ship's anti-aircraft batteries, immediately reducing

2520-657: The Royal Observer Corps, and in particular to the Seaborne observers themselves, how grateful I, and all pilots in the Allied Expeditionary Air Force, are for their assistance, which has contributed in no small measure to the safety of our own aircraft, and also to the efficient protection of the ships at sea. The work of the Royal Observer Corps is quite often unjustly overlooked, and receives little recognition, and I therefore wish that

2590-654: The UK with submarines. After the British intensified the blockade with a North Sea "military area" declaration in November 1914, on 4 February 1915 Admiral Hugo von Pohl published a notice declaring a "war zone" in all waters around the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . The "war zone" had a different meaning to the British military area: within that zone, Germany was to conduct unrestricted submarine warfare against merchant ships from 18 February 1915, without warning and without regard to safety of their crew. U-boats could attack from underwater without warning, or attack on

2660-489: The absence of efficient communications. DEMS guns were manned by 24,000 Royal Navy personnel and 14,000 men of the Royal Artillery Maritime Regiment. 150,000 merchant sailors were trained to assist by passing ammunition , loading and replacing casualties. Initially, Royal Artillery personnel provided anti-aircraft protection by bringing their own machine-guns aboard ships operating close to

2730-474: The contemporary Gatling gun and the true machine guns that succeeded it, such as the Maxim gun , which fired at a steady continuous rate. It was superseded for anti-torpedo boat defence in the mid-1880s by the new generation of Hotchkiss and Nordenfelt " QF " guns of 47 mm and 57 mm calibre, firing exploding " common pointed " shells weighing 3–6 lb (1.4–2.7 kg). The French firm Hotchkiss produced

2800-489: The defensive nature of the guns, they were to be mounted aft, so that they could be used only while making an escape. In March the policy was made public, and in April it was implemented. On 25 April 1913 Aragon left Southampton carrying two QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) naval guns on her stern. The Admiralty planned to arm Houlder Brothers ' La Correntina similarly if the reaction were favourable. Governments, newspapers and

2870-678: The early stages of the First World War suggests that the express liners had greater speed than most warships (few warships of the period could exceed 21 knots), which made them suitable as AMCs. The downside proved to be their high fuel consumption; using them in a purely AMC role would have burned through the Admiralty reserve supplies of steam coal in less than three months. The ships were vulnerable to enemy fire because they lacked warship armour, and they used local control of guns rather than director fire-control systems , which reduced their effective fire power. A famous AMC of World War I

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2940-476: The end of 1940; and all ships were armed by 1943. The low-angle guns were typically in the 3-inch to 6-inch range (75–150 mm) depending on the size of the ship. Rifle -calibre machine guns were augmented or replaced by Oerlikon 20 mm cannon as they became available. The high-angle QF 12-pdr Mk V mount was the most common anti-aircraft gun and later ships sometimes received Bofors 40 mm guns . Untrained gunners posed significant risk to friendly aircraft in

3010-532: The fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers , many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in long distance and high value trade. In more modern times, auxiliary cruisers were used offensively as merchant raiders to disrupt trade chiefly during both World War I and World War II, particularly by Germany. While armed merchantmen are clearly inferior to purpose-built warships, sometimes they have scored successes in combat against them. Examples include East Indiamen mimicking ships of

3080-690: The flags of neutral or occasionally Allied nations. They were refueled and provisioned from special supply ships, from Japanese island bases or from prizes they had taken. To counter the effectiveness of these disguises, the Allies introduced the check-mate system in 1942 to identify individual ships on a one-by-one basis with the Admiralty in London. In one incident, the German Kormoran (ex-merchantman Steiermark ) managed to surprise and sink

3150-530: The home countries were at war, a convoy system would be used whereby the ships were escorted by a warship . However, many East Indiamen also travelled on their own, and therefore were heavily armed in order to defend themselves against pirates and privateers . They also defended themselves against warships, scoring signal victories at the Battle of Pulo Aura and the action of 4 August 1800 . The British Royal Navy purchased several that it converted to ships of

3220-519: The invasion and just before his death Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory wrote the following to be circulated to all ROC personnel: I have read reports from both pilots and naval officers regarding the Seaborne volunteers on board merchant vessels during recent operations. All reports agree that the Seaborne volunteers have more than fulfilled their duties and have undoubtedly saved many of our aircraft from being engaged by our ships guns. I should be grateful if you would please convey to all ranks of

3290-554: The invasion of France called Operation Overlord there was deep concern over the danger to Allied aircraft from the large number of DEMS involved in the landings. A request for volunteer aircraft recognition experts from the Royal Observer Corps produced 1,094 highly qualified candidates, from which 796 were selected to perform valuable aircraft recognition duties as seaborne volunteers. These Seaborne Observers were organised by Group Commandant C. G. Cooke and trained at

3360-438: The late 1870s to the early 1880s and was an enlarged version of the successful rifle-calibre Nordenfelt hand-cranked "machine gun" designed by Helge Palmcrantz . The gun fired a solid steel bullet with hardened tip and brass jacket. The gun was used in one-, two-, and four-barrel versions. The ammunition was fed by gravity from a hopper above the breech, subdivided into separate columns for each barrel. The gunner loaded and fired

3430-492: The line and chasing off regular French warships in the Battle of Pulo Aura in 1804, and the German auxiliary cruiser  Kormoran sinking the Australian light cruiser HMAS  Sydney in their battle in 1941, although Kormoran was also destroyed and had to be scuttled. East Indiamen of various European countries were heavily armed for their long journeys to the Far East . In particularly dangerous times, such as when

3500-710: The line . In 1856, privateering (or seizure of a belligerent country's merchant ships as a private enterprise) lost international sanction under the Declaration of Paris . From 1861 to 1865 European countries built high-speed ships to run the Union Blockade during the American Civil War . Some of these were armed and served as Confederate States Navy raiders. Russia purchased three ships in 1878 of 6,000 long tons (6,100  t ) armed with 6-inch (150 mm) guns for use as auxiliary cruisers for

3570-698: The most successful German raider of World War II (both Atlantis and Pinguin scored higher kill tonnages). Another, Stier , was also sunk in a mutually destructive engagement with the American Liberty ship SS  Stephen Hopkins . The only encounters between Allied and Axis auxiliary cruisers in World War II were all with the raider Thor . This small vessel, which captured or sank 22 merchantmen, encountered three British AMCs in her career, defeating RMS  Alcantara and HMS  Carnarvon Castle and later sinking HMS Voltaire in

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3640-459: The most valuable cargoes long distance. From the turn of the 20th century, growing tensions between Europe's Great Powers included an Anglo-German naval arms race that threatened the security of merchant shipping. In December 1911 a memo from Winston Churchill , recently appointed as First Lord of the Admiralty , proposed that the utility or otherwise of arming British merchant ships "for their own defence" be ascertained. The Admiralty created

3710-409: The multiple barrels by moving a lever on the right side of the gun forward and backwards. Pulling the lever backwards extracted the fired cartridges, pushing it forward then loaded fresh cartridges into all the barrels, and the final part of the forward motion fired all the barrels, one at a time in quick succession. Hence the gun functioned as a type of volley gun , firing bullets in bursts, compared to

3780-448: The port of Misrata . In October 2011, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that British merchant shipping passing through areas known for piracy were permitted to carry firearms. Since the late 19th century various navies have used armed merchant ships in the role of auxiliary cruisers , also called armed merchant cruisers . Significant use of this type of ship was made by Britain and Germany in both World Wars. Some of

3850-600: The presence of the weapons, until 1917 when the German Admiralty announced that defensively armed ships would be sunk without warning on sight. While submarines were still scoring a high number of kills on the surface, the rising number of armed merchant ships was cited as a factor (alongside the more major point that they anticipated a swift victory by starving Britain) in the German Admiralty Staff's December 1916 Holtzendorff Memorandum, leading to

3920-477: The previously high level of friendly fire incidents. Their success is measured by a signal from Wing Commander P. B. Lucas, air staff officer who reported: The general impression amongst the Spitfire wings, covering our land and naval forces over and off the beach-head, appears to be that in the majority of cases the fire has come from warships and not from the merchant ships. Indeed I personally have yet to hear

3990-486: The principles of international law". However, the policy continued. Aragon ' s sister ship RMS Amazon was made the next DAMS, and in the following months further RMSP "A-liners" were armed. They included the newly built Alcantara , that in the First World War did indeed serve as an armed merchant cruiser. During the First World War , the UK blockaded Germany , while Germany in turn attempted to blockade

4060-530: The public in South American countries that Aragon visited took little notice and expressed no concern. There was more criticism in Britain, where Commander Barry Domvile , Secretary to the Committee of Imperial Defence, warned that the policy undermined Britain's objection to the arming of German merchant ships. Domvile predicted that arming merchant ships would be ineffective, and would lead only to

4130-502: The quick-firer lost its status as the decisive weapon of naval combat in the early 1900s, though quick-firing guns were vital to defend battleships from attack by torpedo boats and destroyers , and formed the main armament of smaller vessels. An early quick-firing field gun was created by Vladimir Baranovsky in 1872–75. which was officially adopted by the Russian military in 1882. On land, quick-firing field guns were first adopted by

4200-1413: The service they rendered on this occasion be as widely advertised as possible, and all units of the Air Defence of Great Britain are therefore to be informed of the success of this latest venture of the Royal Observer Corps. As of 2010 there is a Seaborne Observers’ Association for the dwindling number of survivors. Air Vice-Marshal George Black (Rtd.), a former Commandant ROC, is the honorary president. The Imperial Japanese Army established several shipping artillery units during World War II. These units provided detachments to protect Army-operated transports and chartered merchant ships from air or submarine attack. The Imperial Japanese Navy also formed air defence squads from April 1944 that were deployed on board ships. The Merchant Marine Act of 1936 identified mariners aboard United States flagged merchant ships as military personnel in time of war. Neutrality Acts prevented arming of United States flagged merchant ships until 17 November 1941, although American-owned ships under Panamanian registry had been armed earlier. Guns were manned by United States Navy Armed Guard. The United States began equipping ships of other nations with guns and United States Navy Armed Guard on 24 January 1942; and approximately 145,000 USN armed guards ultimately sailed aboard 6,236 merchant ships. United States policy

4270-493: The ship by opening valves to flood holds with seawater. The procedure followed customs originated by surface ships. International maritime law required the naval vessel to make adequate provisions for the safety of the merchant crew and passengers before sinking their ship. The two procedures for sinking merchant ships were compared in 1915. Merchant ships escaped 42% of torpedo attacks made without warning, in comparison to 54% escaping from conventional surface attempts to stop

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4340-431: The ship. However submarines can carry much more ammunition for the deck gun and thus can sink more ships. For that reason, despite pressure from naval authorities and public declarations of intent to attack with warning, crews preferred otherwise, sinking the majority of ships on the surface in accordance with cruiser rules up until the end of 1916. Thus, armaments on merchant ships were useful: they aided escape, even if only

4410-417: The ships used in this role include: Quick-firing gun#Use in battleships A quick-firing or rapid-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer , that has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate. Quick-firing was introduced worldwide in the 1880s and 1890s and had a marked impact on war both on land and at sea. The characteristics of

4480-471: The surface, typically with warning. The latter method was how the first merchant ship lost to U-boats was sunk: This, the Glitra , was an 866-ton British steamer outbound from Grangemouth to Stavanger with a cargo of coal, iron plate, and oil. She was stopped by the German submarine U-17 on 20 October 1914; and a boarding party gave Glitra ' s crew time to disembark into lifeboats before sinking

4550-484: The vast majority of ships operating in the danger area. Guns were removed at the end of the war. Old naval guns had been stored since 1918 in ports for possible use. In the Second World War the objective was to equip each ship with a low-angle gun mounted aft as defence against surfaced submarines and a high-angle gun and rifle-calibre machine guns for defence against air attack. 3,400 ships had been armed by

4620-424: The war ended. Many were sunk after being caught by regular warships – an unequal battle, since auxiliary cruisers had poor fire control and no armor. There were, however, a few success stories. Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was a former passenger liner that sank two freighters in 1914 before being caught by HMS  Highflyer . Her sister ship, Kronprinz Wilhelm , had a legendary journey, sinking or capturing

4690-814: Was stated by the Vice Chief of Naval Operations on 19 August 1942: "Ships sailing independently should be armed. Ships sailing in regularly made-up convoys, other than ships bound to North Russia or tankers en route to the United Kingdom , may sail unarmed if the urgency of delivery of their cargo warrants it." The United States followed the British practice of a single large gun aft. Early United States installations included low-angle 4"/50 calibre guns (Mark 9) removed from old Wickes -class destroyers and Clemson-class destroyers. The first installations of dual-purpose 5"/38 calibre guns began in September 1942, on new ships over 10,000 tons. Victory ships carried

4760-429: Was that around half of ships attacked during 1916 (with U-boat attacks occurring mainly in the latter part of that year) had defensive armament and were sunk at much lower rates. When guns were not available, fake guns were sometimes used to deter attack. The ships created problems with neutrals, so in late 1915 the Admiralty issued orders that ships equipped with defensive guns must not do anything to disguise themselves or

4830-549: Was the British RMS ; Carmania which, after a battle that caused heavy damage on both sides, sank the German auxiliary cruiser SMS  Cap Trafalgar near the Brazilian island of Trindade in 1914. By coincidence, Cap Trafalgar was disguised as Carmania . In World War II, HMS  Jervis Bay , the sole escort for convoy HX 84 in November 1940, stood off the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer , when

4900-769: Was to experiment with having civilian ships armed for their own protection, starting with the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company passenger liner RMS Aragon . She was due to carry naval guns from December 1912, but within the British Government and Admiralty there was uncertainty as to how foreign countries and ports would react. Many merchant ships had been armed in the 18th century and it had never been made illegal, but Britain feared that foreign authorities might refuse to let armed British merchant ships enter port, or might intern them. In January 1913 Rear Admiral Henry Campbell recommended that

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