Action of 14 October 1918
Action of 14 October 1918 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Atlantic U-boat Campaign | |||||||
Portuguese Navy ship NRP Augusto de Castilho | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Portugal | German Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Carvalho Araújo † | Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1 civilian steamer | 1 Submarine | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Naval trawler sunk with 6 dead and several wounded | Submarine damaged, unknown human casualties |
The action of 14 October was a naval engagement of the First World War when the Imperial German Navy submarine SM U-139 attacked the Portuguese civilian steamer São Miguel and the Portuguese Navy naval trawler NRP Augusto de Castilho in the Atlantic Ocean on 14 October 1918.[1]
Background
On the island of
NRP Augusto de Castilho, originally the fishing trawler Elite, built in 1909, had been requisitioned by the Portuguese government and transferred to the service of the Portuguese Navy which adapted it to serve as an escort ship following Portugal's entering into the war in 1916.
Action
After leaving Funchal at sunset on 13 October, São Miguel came under fire at 06:15 AM on 14 October from the German submarine U-139, one of the more and better equipped submarines of the Imperial German Navy, armed with two powerful 150 mm cannon and six torpedo tubes, and under the command of Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière. In order to protect São Miguel, and after using all the smoke canisters available for creating a smoke curtain while repeatedly firing the stern cannon, Araújo gave orders for NRP Augusto de Castilho to turn to port, describing half a circle, and advance towards the German U-139, taking gunfire from the submarine, thus giving São Miguel time to escape at full speed.
After two hours of fierce but one-sided fighting,
Aftermath
One of the life boats arrived at the island of
The action was U-139's last and as a few weeks later the submarine surrendered to France on 24 November 1918.[5]
See also
- History of Portugal
- Portuguese First Republic
- Battle of the Lys (1918)
- Portuguese Expeditionary Corps
References
Notes
- ^ James H. Guill, "the only battle of note that occurred near the Azores during this period took place 14 October 1918 between the German U-139 and Portugal's ships São Miguel and Augusto Castilho.", page 507.
- ^ a b c Atlântico Norte (14 de Outubro de 1918) Archived 28 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine (in Portuguese)
- ^ a b Saturnino Monteiro, page 141.
- ^ a b João Medina, Aniceto Afonso, page 127.
- ^ http://www.uboat.net
Bibliography
- Saturnino Monteiro, Batalhas e combates da Marinha Portuguesa: 1808–1975 (1997).
- João Medina, Aniceto Afonso, História contemporânea de Portugal: Primeira República (2 v.) (1990).
- James H. Guill, A History of the Azores Islands.
External links
- (Portuguese) Portal da Marinha Portuguesa
- (English) uboat.net