The U-boat campaign from 1914 to 1918 was the World War I naval campaign fought by German U-boats against the trade routes of the Allies, largely in the seas around the British Isles and in the Medite
A German postcard depicting the U-boat SM U-20 sinking RMS Lusitania
General warning issued by Imperial German Embassy, appearing coincidentally alongside an advert for the Lusitania, published a day before the ship sailed.
Claimed effectiveness: Artist's conception of a U-boat commander's periscope view of a merchant ship in dazzle camouflage (left) and the same ship uncamouflaged (right), Encyclopædia Britannica, 1922. The conspicuous markings obscure the ship's heading.
Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attac
U-boat campaign
…sunk in 1915 whilst attacking trawlers so fitted. The following step was to arm and man ships with hidden guns to bait in submarines, the so-called Q ship. A variant on the idea was to equip small vessels with a submarine escort. In 1915, two U-boats were sunk by Q-ships, and two more by submarines…
British First World War Q-ship HMS Tamarisk
Q-ships hid naval guns behind moveable or pivoting panels