The Battle of May Island is the name given to the series of accidents that occurred during Operation E.C.1 in 1918.
Named after the Isle of May, a nearby island in the Firth of Forth, the "battle" consisted of a disastrous series of accidents amongst Royal Navy vessels on their way from Rosyth, Scotland, to fleet exercises in the North Sea. On the misty night of 31 January–1 February 1918, five collisions occurred between eight vessels. Two K-class submarines were lost and four other submarines and a light cruiser were damaged. 105 British sailors in total died in the accidents.
The bow of the drydocked cruiser HMS Fearless after colliding with the submarine K17
HMS K12 in 1924
The memorial to the battle, Anstruther
The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) off the coast of mainland Scotland. It is about 1.5 kilometres long and 0.5 kilometres wide. The island is owned and managed by NatureScot as a national nature reserve. There are now no permanent residents, but the island was the site of St Adrian's Priory during the Middle Ages.
Robert Stevenson's lighthouse on the Isle of May
The Isle of May viewed from the north horn
The disused Low Light lighthouse on the Isle of May, now used as a bird observatory
Sketch of the original lighthouse.