H.M.S. Hawke was an old armoured cruiser operating as part of the 10th Cruiser Squadron assigned to the Northern Patrol.
Launched at Chatham in 1891 and was one of the oldest ships still in service. H.M.S. Hawke was being used as a training ship and had many young cadets on board. She had been re-commissioned in February 1913 with a nucleus crew and had come up to her full complement on the outbreak of war in August 1914.
After the disastrous loss of the Live Bait Squadron it was decided by the Navy the continued use of the squadron of old cruisers was worthwhile but a new policy was introduced, and that in future the ships would zig zag, sail at higher speed – 8 knots, have a destroyer escort and not stop to pick up survivors.
On the 25th October 1915 she was in the northern waters of the North Sea with H.M.S. Theseus operating without a destroyer escort.
Unknown to them German submarine U9 which had sunk HMS 'Hogue', 'Cressy' and 'Aboukir' 'The live bait squadron' was tracking them.
Their position was some 60 miles off Aberdeen.
At the time, H.M.S. Hawke had just turned to intercept a neutral Norwegian collier.
The U-Boat Commander was again Lieutenant Weddigen.
He missed the Theseus with his first torpedo but unfortunately hit H.M.S. Hawke amidships near a magazine. The detonation was followed by a second terrific explosion, in which a large number of the crew were killed.
The ship sank within 5 minutes and was only able to launch one ship's boat. Five hundred and twenty five perished. Only the 49 men in the long boat were saved.
They were picked up 3 hours later by a Norwegian steamer. H.M.S. Theseus was under strict Admiralty orders not to attempt to pick up survivors because of the earlier disaster on the 22nd September 1914. However, had they had sufficient time to launch other lifeboats from H.M.S. Hawke, then undoubtedly more would have been saved by the Norwegians.
A Newspaper report of how two of the survivors described the Hawke’s destruction:
“We were struck right amidships between the two funnels quite close to one of the magazines. All hands were on deck, and it was a terrible explosion. The vessel immediately took a heavy list to starboard. I have never been on a ship so well equipped with life saving apparatus, but the way the vessel heeled over made it almost impossible to get the boats out. The boat in which I was saved had a narrow escape from being taken down with the suction.
“We were struck about 11o’clock in the forenoon, and just as we got away from the Hawke, we distinctly saw the periscope of the enemy’s submarine come to the surface. We thought he was going to ram us, but apparently he was on the lockout for any other rescuing vessels. Prior to the accident the Hawke was cruising about zigzag fashion, and we never saw the submarine until we felt her.
It was beginning to get hazy when we were almost run down by the Norwegian steamer which picked us up. This boat, after affecting the rescue, cruised about in search of the rafts, but nothing was seen.”
The second survivor reported:
“Those on deck for an instant, immediately after the explosion, saw the periscope of a submarine, which showed above the water like a broomstick. When the explosion occurred, I, along with the others in the engine-room, was sent flying into space as it were, and must have been stunned for a little. When I came to, I found myself in the midst of an absolute inferno. One of the cylinders of the engine had been completely wrecked, and steam was hissing out in dense, scalding clouds, penetrating to every nook and cranny of the engine-room and stokehold. The horror of the situation was added to when a tank of fuel oil caught fire, and the flames advanced with fatal rapidity.
I scrambled up the iron ladder to the main deck. Already the captain, commander, and a midshipman were on the bridge, and calmly, as though on fleet manoeuvres in the Solent, orders were given out, and as calmly obeyed. The bugler sounded the ‘Still’ call, which called upon every man to remain at the post at which the call reached him. Soon there came the order, ‘Abandon ship, out boats’.
Many of the crew had scrambled on to the side of the sinking cruiser as she slowly turned turtle, and from this temporary place of safety were sliding and diving into the sea. The captain and the midshipman stuck bravely to their posts on the bridge to the last, and were seen to disappear as the ship finally plunged bow first amid a maelstrom of cruel, swirling waters.
As the Hawke went down a small pinnace and a raft which had been prepared for such an emergency floated free, but such was the onrush of the men who had been precipitated into the water that both were overcrowded.
On the raft was seen about seventy men standing knee-deep in the water, and the pinnace also appeared to be overfilled. The cutter rowed around the outskirts of the wreck, picking up as many survivors as the boat could with safety contain. All aboard who had donned life jackets divested themselves of these and threw them to their comrades struggling in the water, and oars and all movable woodwork about the boat was also pitched overboard to help those clinging to the wreckage, many of whom were seen to sink.
A westerly course was set with the idea of striking the Scottish coast. About 4 p.m. a Norwegian sailing ship hove in sight, and the exhausted men were taken aboard and treated in the most kindly fashion, being served with stimulants and furnished with clothing. The rescuing ship headed towards Peterhead, but on the way encountered the Aberdeen trawler Ben Rinnes, to which the men were transferred.
THE ADMIRALTY’S COMMENTS ON HMS Hawke sunk by German submarine
The Secretary of the Admiralty made the following announcement through the Press Bureau yesterday at noon: -
H.M.S. Theseus (Captain Hugh Edwards, R.N.) was attacked by submarine in the northern waters of the North Sea yesterday afternoon, but was missed.
H.M.S. Hawke (Captain Hugh P. E. Williams, R.N.) was attacked at about the same time, and was sunk.
The Guardian, 17 October 1914
Torpedoed in the North Sea HMS Hawke sunk by German submarine
Lamentable loss of life
By Archibald Hurd Saturday October 17, 1914
The Secretary of the Admiralty made the following announcement through the Press H.M.S. Theseus (Captain Hugh Edwards, R.N.) was attacked by northern waters of the North Sea yesterday afternoon, but was missed.
H.M.S. Hawke (Captain Hugh P. E. Williams, R.N.) was attacked at about the same Page 11 The Guardian, 17 October 1914 Saturday October 17, 1914
The Secretary of the Admiralty made the following announcement through the Press
H.M.S. Theseus (Captain Hugh Edwards, R.N.) was attacked by northern waters of the North Sea yesterday afternoon, but was missed. H.M.S. Hawke (Captain Hugh P. E. Williams, R.N.) was attacked at about the same
The following officers, together with 49 men of the crew, have been landed at Aberdeen from a trawler:
- Mr. Sidney Austin, boatswain. Mr. James Dennis gunner. Mr. Harry C. T. Evitt, acting gunner The remaining officers and men are missing. Further particulars will be published as soon as they are available.
H.M.S. Hawke was a cruiser built in 1889. At 8.25 last night the Secretary of the Admiralty issued through the Press Bureau the following further announcement:-
Lieutenant Command (G.) Robert R. Rosoman and 20 men have been saved from a raft. The Hawke and Theseus were sister ships, protected cruisers, and together with the Edgar, Endymion, Crescent, Gibraltar, Grafton, and Royal Arthur they formed the Tenth Cruiser Squadron attached to the Third Fleet. These are the oldest ships on the effective list, and their chief use recently has been for instructional duties. They are of similar size, equipment, and speed.
The Hawke displaced 7,350 tons, steamed 20 knots when new, and carried two 9.2inch and ten 6inch guns for principal armament. Launched in 1891 at Chatham, she was completed two years later at a cost of £400,702. She was commissioned the same year and spent some time in the Mediterranean. She was last re-commissioned in February last year with a nucleus crew, and most of her present officers joined her in August last.
Her full complement was 544 officers and men, but there is no official information as to the number actually on board on Thursday. The Hawke, it will be remembered, collided with the White Star liner Olympic in the Solent on September 20, 1911, when undergoing steam trials after refitting. Both vessels were damaged, the cruiser requiring a new stern. The incident led to litigation which is not ended yet, an appeal against the decision of the Admiralty Court in reference to liability for the damage being yesterday set down for hearing in the House of Lords on Tuesday next.
U-9 would survive the war, sinking another cruiser, the HMS Hawke on October 15th 1914, less than a month after sinking Aboukir, Hogue, and Cressy. She would also sink 13 other merchant ships or fishing boats for a total of over 50,000 tons. She was withdrawn from front line service in 1916 and assigned to training duties. Weddigen was killed on March 18th 1915 when his new command the U-29 was sunk.
Wreck of Royal Navy Warship Torpedoed During WWI Found in ‘Remarkable’ Condition
Aug 19, 2024 Clare Fitzgerald, Guest Author [War History Online]
The long-lost wreck of a British warship lost in the North Sea during the First World War has been discovered off Scotland’s coast. The HMS Hawke, which fell victim to a German U-boat in 1914, was found by members of Lost in Waters Deep, a group dedicated to locating shipwrecks that were lost in Scottish waters.
“You can look into the portholes and see rooms with artifacts - teacups, bowls, and plates just there on the floor. It took years of research, but the actual time on the ground was just a few hours,”
Diver Steve Mortimer speaking to BBC Scotland.
Those RMLI lost on the Hawke are listed here on the Royal Marines Roll of Honour Database:
Related Royal Marines 'Dits'
References/ Further Reading
THE SINKING OF HMS HAWKE - 15th October 1914 Compiled by E.J.Sparrow
Scottish Ship wrecks - HMS Hawke
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