Battle of Dover Strait

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Dover Strait
Part of World War One
Date 21 April 1917
Location in the Dover Strait
Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom German Empire
Commanders
Edward Evans Bernd von Arnim
Strength
2 destroyers 2 torpedo boats
Casualties and losses
1 destroyer damaged 2 torpedo boats sunk

The Battle of Dover Strait was a naval battle of World War I, fought in the Dover Strait on the night of 21 April 1917.

On 20 April 1917 two groups of destroyers of the Kaiserliche Marine raided the Dover Strait to bombard Allied positions on shore and to engage warships patrolling the Dover Barrage —[1] the field of floating mines that prevented German ships from getting into the English Channel. Six destroyers bombarded Calais and another six bombarded Dover just before midnight.

Two flotilla leaders of the Royal Navy, HMS Broke (Commander Edward Evans) and HMS Swift, were on patrol near Dover and engaged the German ships early on 21 April 1917 near the Goodwin Sands.[2] In a confusing action, Swift torpedoed G85. Broke rammed G42, and the two ships became locked together. For a while there was close-quarters fighting between the crews, before Broke got free and G42 sank.[3]

Broke was damaged and had to be towed back to port. The other ten German destroyers made it back to port without loss.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Liddle 149.
  2. ^ Baldwin 115.
  3. ^ Chatterton 189.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Baldwin, H. W. World War I: An Outline History. New York: Harper and Row, 1962.
  • Chatterton, E. K. The Auxiliary Patrol. London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1923.
  • Liddle, Peter H. The Sailor's War, 1914-1918. New York: Stirling, 1985.
Languages