Action off Noordhinder Bank
The Action off Noordhinder Bank on 1 May 1915 was a naval engagement between four British naval trawlers, supported by a flotilla of four destroyers and a pair of German torpedo boats from the Flanders Flotilla. The action began when the two torpedo boats were sent to rescue the crew of a reconnaissance seaplane that had been forced to alight by engine trouble and to attack the trawlers. The Germans engaged the trawlers; British destroyers from the Harwich Force appeared; the German ships tried to escape but were sunk.
Admiralty Chart No 3371 Dunkerque to Hook of Holland (1949) [enlargeable] Noordhinder Bank near left margin
HMS Leonidas
The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war.
Destroyers of the Harwich Force in line ahead
Painting depicting Harwich Force at anchor in 1914, by William Lionel Wyllie.
Surrender of U-Boats at Harwich: A British officer boards a U-boat at Harwich to examine her papers