HMS ''Bayano'', built in 1913, was originally a

banana boat Banana Boat is a Polish a cappella sextet, authoring and performing original songs representing the genre of neo-shanties. Being one of the pioneers of the new genre, the group retains its simultaneous focus on contemporary interpretations of ...

for the Elders & Fyffes line. At the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

it was drafted into the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

on 21 November 1914 as an armed merchant auxiliary cruiser. On 11 March 1915, it was torpedoed by and sank within minutes killing around 200 of its crew. Twenty-six survivors were pulled from the water.

Background

Once in the Royal Navy she was part of the

10th Cruiser Squadron The 10th Cruiser Squadron, also known as Cruiser Force B was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1913 to 1917 and then again from 1940 to 1946. First formation The squadron was established in July 1913 and allocated to the T ...

. The

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

had begun to use experimental

indicator net Constructed using light steel nets, indicator nets were often anchored at various depths to the sea bed around Allied naval bases during both world wars. They were intended to entangle U-boat traffic of the enemy, even though the submarines often ...

s to counter German submarines. Indicator nets were made from strong thin wires, draped from the surface of the sea and kept buoyant with kapok, small buoys or glass globes. Sections of the net were held together with clips which (in theory) would part when the section was hit by a submerged submarine. The net would wrap around the vessel and indicate its presence via a buoy being pulled along the surface of the sea. The Admiralty established 21 net barrages, one of which was in the

North Channel North Channel may refer to: *North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland) *North Channel (Ontario), body of water along the north shore of Lake Huron, Canada *North Channel, Hong Kong *Canal du Nord, France {{geodis ...

Sinking

In the North Channel, HMS ''Bayano'' had reduced speed to avoid passing the net line in the dark en route to Liverpool for coaling. At 05:15 on 11 March 1915, the ship was attacked by the German submarine about west of Corsewall Lighthouse, Corsewall Point, Galloway, Scotland. The auxiliary cruiser sank in five minutes. Most of the crew was asleep and only 26 men survived to be rescued by the British steamer ''Castlereagh''. ''Bayano'' Lieutenant Commander Guy described Carr on the bridge, standing without fear waving goodbye while shouting "Good luck to you boys" before the ship disappeared under the waves.

Aftermath

Casualties

The captain and 194 other crew members were killed in the sinking.

Commemoration

Residents of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

were greatly affected by the sinking as a number of bodies were washed up on the island. The funeral procession for the ''Bayano'' victims numbered in the thousands, even though the dead were not Manx. The

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established on 26 September 1907, and confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westmi ...

, part of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

, was also hard hit. A dozen men from the

Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve The Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve was a military reserve force founded in 1900 in what was then the Newfoundland Colony, a part of the British Empire. From 1900 to 1902, approximately 50 members of the reserve trained each winter with the North ...

were lost on ''Bayano''.

''Baralong'' incidents

was attacked and sunk in the

Western Approaches The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...

in position by gunfire from

Q-ship Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open f ...

. Her entire crew, including Bernhard Wegener, was killed in the so-called ''Baralong'' incidents.

Notes

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bayano Maritime incidents in 1915 1913 ships World War I Auxiliary cruisers of the Royal Navy Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I