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Queenstown – now Cobh – in County Cork played a major role in the U-boat war during the First World War. The British Admiralty’s Queenstown Command was in charge of the waters off much of Britain’s and Ireland’s south coast. The local dockyard on Haulbowline Island converted civilian ships into decoy vessels. These so-called Q-ships were designed to act as bait for the German submarine commanders.

A range of ships, from sailing ships to colliers and trawlers, were armed with concealed heavy guns. Many were given light ballast to keep them afloat if they were damaged. Their ordinary appearance gave them a chance to come close to German U-boats and attack.

The Q-ships sank numerous U-boats off the south coasts of England and Ireland. In 1915, shortly after the Lusitania was torpedoed off Kinsale with the loss of 1,200 lives, the Q-ship Barralong sank a German U-boat and killed its crew in controversial circumstances.

Haulbowline Island is now the headquarters of the Irish Navy. Historian Daire Brunicardi, who has researched the story of the Q-ships, lived on the island when he was a child.

Location: Cobh Harbour, Co. Cork:51°50'55.5"N 8°17'58.7"W
Image: Cobh Harbour with Hawlbowline Island in the distance
Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

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