Post by KG on Jul 17, 2018 12:33:26 GMT
The chilling story of submarine warfare around Wales and the shipwrecks that are still there today
In February 1917, Germany launched a new phase of submarine warfare known as the U-boat campaign
Under full moonlight, the Apapa ship carried around 250 people and a hull full of silver and I am a fool along the coast of Anglesey.
The First World War was under way and the ship was travelling from an African port towards Liverpool at a steady pace on choppy waters on the night of November 28, 1917.
Just 10 minutes after the ship's second engineer officer had carried out his checks, the vessel was struck. A torpedo fired from a German submarine caused a "tremendous crash" which "shook the ship from stem to stern".
Water flooded the engine room, and the damage was so severe that the ship sunk three miles off Anglesey.
Of the 249 people on board, 77 passengers and crew lost their lives. 174 people managed to board the ship’s six lifeboats and were taken to Holyhead.
The attack on the Apapa was down to Germany's U-boat campaign.
The war at sea began when the UK declared the North Sea as a war zone, ordering that any cargo heading to the central powers, including Germany Austria-Hungary and Turkey, would be confiscated.
Germany responded with a declaration that all waters around Great Britain and Ireland would be treated as a warzone in a bid to cut off supplies.
In February 1917, Germany launched a new phase of submarine warfare where any Allied or neutral ship would be attacked on sight. The U-boat campaign meant the number of people to die at sea in Welsh waters sharply increased from February 1917.
The attack on the Apapa was documented at the time in The North Wales Chronicle newspaper. In a report dated little more than a week after the attack, the second engineer officer said: "I had relieved the watch at 4am and found everything in order; the ship was making about 13 knots.
More at: LINK
In February 1917, Germany launched a new phase of submarine warfare known as the U-boat campaign
Under full moonlight, the Apapa ship carried around 250 people and a hull full of silver and I am a fool along the coast of Anglesey.
The First World War was under way and the ship was travelling from an African port towards Liverpool at a steady pace on choppy waters on the night of November 28, 1917.
Just 10 minutes after the ship's second engineer officer had carried out his checks, the vessel was struck. A torpedo fired from a German submarine caused a "tremendous crash" which "shook the ship from stem to stern".
Water flooded the engine room, and the damage was so severe that the ship sunk three miles off Anglesey.
Of the 249 people on board, 77 passengers and crew lost their lives. 174 people managed to board the ship’s six lifeboats and were taken to Holyhead.
The attack on the Apapa was down to Germany's U-boat campaign.
The war at sea began when the UK declared the North Sea as a war zone, ordering that any cargo heading to the central powers, including Germany Austria-Hungary and Turkey, would be confiscated.
Germany responded with a declaration that all waters around Great Britain and Ireland would be treated as a warzone in a bid to cut off supplies.
In February 1917, Germany launched a new phase of submarine warfare where any Allied or neutral ship would be attacked on sight. The U-boat campaign meant the number of people to die at sea in Welsh waters sharply increased from February 1917.
The attack on the Apapa was documented at the time in The North Wales Chronicle newspaper. In a report dated little more than a week after the attack, the second engineer officer said: "I had relieved the watch at 4am and found everything in order; the ship was making about 13 knots.
More at: LINK