Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window). Only five minutes after the impact, groaning and tearing noises from below signalled that the forward bulkheads had collapsed – the ship was going down fast! H.M.S. The HMS Pathfinder is said to be the first ship sunk by a locomotive torpedo in September 1914 Scuba divers are to lay a wreath on the wreck of a ship sunk by … Not long after completion, two additional 12 pounder guns were added and the 3 pounder guns were replaced with six 6 pounder guns. guns. (However The Scotsman also reported that Pathfinder had been attacked by two U-boats and had accounted for the second one in her death throes. The huge wreck of HMS Pathfinder lies in position 56°07.593’N, 002°10.048’W (WGS84) in 62 metres of water and rises 8 metres above the seabed. "I was then thrown forward by the slope of the deck and got jammed beneath a gun (which I expect is the cause of my bruising) and while in this position was carried down some way by the sinking ship, but fortunately after a time I became released and after what seemed like interminable ages I came to the surface, and after swimming a short time I was able to get an oar and some other floating material with the help of which I was just able to keep on the surface. The HMS Pathfinder was torpedoed while it was on patrol duty on the waters off the southern part of Scotland. Additionally, the British destroyers HMS Stag and Express had spotted the smoke and headed for the pall of smoke, only to find that what few survivors there were had already been rescued. Broken in two, the "Pathfinder" instantly began sinking, dragging most of her crew down with her and leaving a massive pall of smoke to mark her grave. [2], Pathfinder was laid down at Cammell Laird's Birkenhead shipyard on 15 August 1903, was launched on 16 July 1904 and completed on 18 July 1905. [5] Twelve Normand water-tube boilers fed steam to two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines rated at 16,500 indicated horsepower (12,300 kW) and driving two shafts. The base of the gun must have been damaged in the attack because, as the gun was fired, it ripped of its base and careered dangerously across the deck before dropping over the side of the ship. The bow section broke off during the initial explosions and lies some distance from the main body of the wreck. Overnight Hersing withdrew from the Forth, patrolling the coast from the Isle of May southwards. The seamen struggling in the water then turned back towards their ship to see the stern lift into the air and the ship sink beneath the waves at a 60 degree angle – it had been 15 minutes since the explosion. At one point the periscope was spotted and the battery opened fire but without success. The HMS Pathfinder was the first warship to be sunk by a torpedo fired from a submarine. Pathfinder was sunk off St. Abbs Head, Berwickshire, Scotland, on Saturday 5 September 1914 by the German U-21, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Otto Hersing. The impact of the torpedo itself ignited the forward magazine and the resulting huge explosion ripped open the hull of the British ship. E.A. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. At about 3:50pm, with Pathfinder in a position approximately 17 miles south east of May Island, and with Officer of the Watch Lieutenant Commander Favell on the bridge, the peaceful scene was shattered as a torpedo from U-21, commanded by Oberleutnant Otto Hersing, smashed into the starboard side of the ship. 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