HMS ''Engadine'' was a
seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...
which served in the Royal Navy (RN) during the
First World War
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 ...
. Converted from the cross-
Channel
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
packet ship
Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...
SS ''Engadine'', she was initially fitted with temporary
hangar
A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
s for three
seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
s for
aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of ima ...
and bombing missions in the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. She participated in the
Cuxhaven Raid
The Raid on Cuxhaven (german: link=no, Weihnachtsangriff, Christmas Raid) was a British ship-based Airstrike, air-raid on the Imperial German Navy at Cuxhaven mounted on Christmas Day, 1914.
Aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service were carried ...
in late 1914 before she began a more thorough conversion in 1915 that increased her capacity to four aircraft. ''Engadine'' was transferred to the
Battle Cruiser Fleet
The Battle Cruiser Fleet, (BCF), later known as Battle Cruiser Force, a naval formation of fast battlecruisers of the Royal Navy, operated from 1915 to 1919.
History
The Fleet was formed on 11 February 1915 when the Admiralty ordered the deployme ...
in late 1915 and participated in the
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...
in 1916 when one of her aircraft flew the first heavier-than-air reconnaissance mission during a naval battle. She was transferred to the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
in 1918.
She was sold back to her original owners in 1919 and resumed her prewar role. ''Engadine'' was sold in 1933 to a Philippine company and renamed SS ''Corregidor''. She was sunk with heavy loss of life by a
mine
Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to:
Extraction or digging
* Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging
*Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine
Grammar
*Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun
...
in December 1941 during the
invasion of the Philippines at the beginning of the
Pacific War
The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
.
Description
''Engadine'' had an
overall length
The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...
of , a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of , and a mean
draught of .
[ She displaced at ]deep load
The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...
[Friedman, p. 364] and was rated at . Each of the ship's three sets of direct-drive steam turbine
A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
s drove one propeller shaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...
. The ship's six boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central h ...
s generated enough steam to produce from the turbines,[ enough for a designed speed of .][Friedman, p. 30] ''Engadine'' carried of coal,[Layman 1989, p. 38] enough to give her a range of at .[Hobbs, p. 22]
Construction and service
SS ''Engadine'' was laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
by William Denny and Brothers
William Denny and Brothers Limited, often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scottish shipbuilding company.
History
The shipbuilding interests of the Denny family date back to William Denny (born 1779), for whom ships are recorded being built ...
at their Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Dumbarton was the ca ...
, Scotland shipyard as a fast packet for the South East and Chatham Railway's Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...
-Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
run. The ship was launched on 23 September 1911 and completed later that year. She was requisitioned for service by 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 ...
on 11 August 1914, and was commissioned on 1 September after she was modified to handle seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
s by Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...
. Three canvas hangar
A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
s were installed, one forward and two aft, and there was no flight deck, the aircraft being lowered onto the sea for takeoff and recovered again from the sea after landing by newly installed derrick
A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, and a ...
s. In 1918 her crew numbered 197 officers and ratings, including 53 aviation personnel.[
Upon completion of the modifications on 1 September, ''Engadine'' was assigned to the ]Harwich Force
The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war.
History
After the outbreak of the First World War, a p ...
along with the seaplane tenders and .[Layman 1989, pp. 38, 40] On Christmas Day 1914, nine aircraft from all three ships took part in the Cuxhaven Raid on hangars housing Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...
airships.[ Seven of the nine seaplanes successfully took off for the attack, but they inflicted little damage. Only three of the aircraft returned to be recovered, but the crews of the other three ]ditched
In aviation, a water landing is, in the broadest sense, an Landing, aircraft landing on a body of water. Seaplanes, such as floatplanes and flying boats, land on water as a normal operation. Ditching is a controlled emergency landing on the ...
safely[Friedman, p. 32] and were recovered by a British submarine and the Dutch trawler ''Marta van Hattem''. A notable member of her crew was Robert Erskine Childers
Robert Erskine Childers DSC (25 June 1870 – 24 November 1922), usually known as Erskine Childers (), was an English-born Irish writer, politician, and militant. His works included the influential novel ''The Riddle of the Sands''. Starting as ...
who served as an instructor in coastal navigation to newly trained pilots. He managed to extend his duties to include flying as a navigator and observer and participated in the raid, for which he was mentioned in despatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
.
''Engadine'' was purchased in February 1915 by the Admiralty and she was modified by Cunard
Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Bermu ...
at Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
from 10 February to 23 March 1915 with a permanent, four-aircraft, hangar in the rear superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
and a pair of cranes were mounted at the rear of the hangar to hoist the seaplanes in and out of the water.[ Four quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 12 cwt guns,]["Cwt" is the abbreviation for ]hundredweight
The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and US customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the US and British imperial systems. The two values are distingu ...
, 12 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. each with 130 rounds, and two Vickers
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...
QF 3-pounder anti-aircraft gun
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
s, each with 65 rounds, were fitted for self-defence.[ She also carried a pigeon loft that housed ]carrier pigeon
The homing pigeon, also called the mail pigeon or messenger pigeon, is a variety of domestic pigeons (''Columba livia domestica'') derived from the wild rock dove, selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over extremely long distan ...
s to be used by her aircraft if their wireless
Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
was broken.
Upon completion of the conversion, she rejoined the Harwich Force; on 3 July, ''Engadine'' and ''Riviera'' attempted to launch aircraft to reconnoitre the River Ems and lure out a Zeppelin so that it could be attacked. Of ''Engadine''s three Sopwith Schneider
The Sopwith Tabloid and Sopwith Schneider (floatplane) were British biplanes, originally designed as sports aircraft and later adapted for military use. They were among the first successful types to be built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. The ...
floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
s that she attempted to launch, two wrecked on takeoff and the third was badly damaged. She was transferred to Vice Admiral David Beatty's Battlecruiser Fleet (BCF), based at Rosyth
Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440.
The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...
in October. Later that month ''Engadine'' carried out trials on high-speed towing of kite balloon
A kite balloon is a tethered balloon which is shaped to help make it stable in low and moderate winds and to increase its lift. It typically comprises a streamlined envelope with stabilising features and a harness or yoke connecting it to the main ...
s for gunnery observations, although she generally served as a base ship for the fleet's seaplanes.[Friedman, p. 34]
Battle of Jutland
On 30 May 1916, ''Engadine'' was attached to the 3rd Light Cruiser Squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Trevylyan Napier
Vice Admiral Sir Trevylyan Dacres Willes Napier, (19 April 1867 – 30 July 1920) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station.
Naval career
Napier was the son of Ella Louisa (Wilson) an ...
, and carried two Short Type 184
The Short Admiralty Type 184, often called the Short 225 after the power rating of the engine first fitted, was a British two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo carrying folding-wing seaplane designed by Horace Short of Short Brothers. It ...
and two Sopwith Baby
The Sopwith Baby is a British single-seat floatplane that was operated by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) from 1915.
Development and design
The Baby (also known as the Admiralty 8200 Type) was a development of the two-seat Sopwith Schneider. ...
floatplanes aboard. The two-seat Type 184s were intended for observation and were fitted with a low-power wireless while the Babies were intended to shoot down Zeppelins. ''Engadine'' accompanied the cruisers when the Battlecruiser Fleet sortied from Rosyth that evening to intercept the German High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet (''Hochseeflotte'') was the battle fleet of the German Empire, German German Imperial Navy, Imperial Navy and saw action during the World War I, First World War. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet ...
. For a time on 31 May she was actually leading the BCF and may have been one of the first ships to spot the oncoming Germans. Her position in the vanguard
The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force.
History
The vanguard derives fr ...
was dictated by the requirement for smooth water to successfully launch her aircraft; turbulent water from ships' wake
Wake or The Wake may refer to:
Culture
*Wake (ceremony), a ritual which takes place during some funeral ceremonies
*Wakes week, an English holiday tradition
* Parish Wake, another name of the Welsh ', the fairs held on the local parish's patron s ...
s was enough to ruin a take off attempt. She would also have to come to a complete stop to hoist her aircraft over the side and prepare it for launch, a process that took at least 20 minutes at anchor. Thus she could launch her floatplane in unruffled water and then fall back among the main body of the fleet.
Beatty ordered ''Engadine'' to make a search to the north-northeast at 14:40 and she sailed through the BCF before turning north-east to find calmer water. At 15:07 Lieutenant Frederick Rutland
Frederick Joseph Rutland, (21 October 1886 – 28 January 1949) was a British pioneer of naval aviation. A decorated pilot in the First World War, he earned the nickname "Rutland of Jutland" for his exploits at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. H ...
took off in his Type 184 and his observer signalled ''Engadine'' that they had spotted three German cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles.
The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...
s and five destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s at 15:30. These were ships from the II Scouting Group
II is the Roman numeral for 2.
II may also refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Image intensifier, medical imaging equipment
* Invariant chain, a polypeptide involved in the formation and transport of MHC class II protein
*Optic nerve, the second ...
, leading the battlecruisers of Vice Admiral Franz von Hipper
Franz Ritter von Hipper (13 September 1863 – 25 May 1932) was an admiral in the German Imperial Navy (''Kaiserliche Marine''). Franz von Hipper joined the German Navy in 1881 as an officer cadet. He commanded several torpedo boat units an ...
. This was the first time that a heavier-than-air aircraft had carried out a reconnaissance of an enemy fleet in action. After a few other spot reports were transmitted, the aircraft's fuel line ruptured around 15:36 and Rutland was forced to put his aircraft down. He was able to repair it and signalled that he was ready to take off again, but he was ordered to taxi
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
to the carrier on the surface. The aircraft reached the ship at 15:47 and it was hoisted aboard by 16:04. By this time, a pair of destroyers, and , that had been ordered to protect ''Engadine'' while she was stationary had reached her. ''Engadine'' attempted to relay the spot reports to Beatty's flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
and the flagship of the 5th Battle Squadron
The 5th Battle Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 5th Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Second Fleet. During the First World War, the Home Fleet was renamed the Grand Fleet.
Hist ...
, but was unsuccessful. She trailed Beatty's force during the "Run to the South", during which time her two escorts were detached and again when they reversed course during the "Run to the North".
The armoured cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
''Warrior'' had been crippled by numerous hits by German battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
s around 18:30 and fell in with ''Engadine'' 10 minutes later. The former's rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
had been jammed full over and she continued to turn in tight circles until her steam was exhausted. At 19:45 ''Engadine'' attempted to take her in tow, but the jammed rudder prevented that until it was trained amidships. By 21:30 she was making while her turbines were making revolutions for . Early the following morning ''Warrior''s progressive flooding had worsened and she was sinking. Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Vincent Molteno ordered his ship abandoned after ''Engadine'' came alongside to take them off at 08:00. One of ''Warrior''s guns punctured ''Engadine''s hull below the waterline
The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...
as the former ship rolled
Rolling is a Motion (physics)#Types of motion, type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an Axial symmetry, axially symmetric object) and Translation (geometry), translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the ot ...
in the moderate seas, but this was quickly patched. About 675 officers and ratings successfully made it to the much smaller ''Engadine'' which had to quickly distribute them to prevent her from capsizing
Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fro ...
. Among these were about 30 seriously wounded men who were transferred across in their stretchers; one man fell off his stretcher between the ships, but was rescued by Rutland against orders. For his bravery he was awarded the First Class Albert Medal for Lifesaving
The Albert Medal for Lifesaving was a British medal awarded to recognize the saving of life. It has since been replaced by the George Cross.
The Albert Medal was first instituted by a royal warrant on 7 March 1866. It was named in memory of P ...
in gold and briefly became the only living recipient. The transfer was completed before 09:00 and ''Warrior'' sank shortly afterwards.
''Engadine'' remained with the Battlecruiser Force until early 1918 when she was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...
. She was based out of Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, conducting anti-submarine patrols, for the remainder of the war.
Postwar career
She was sold back to her original owners, the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, in December 1919 and resumed her former role as a cross-Channel ferry. ''Engadine'' was transferred to the Southern Railway in 1923 when the British railways were consolidated. Passing through the hands of a ship broker, she was sold to Fernandez Hermanos, Inc. in the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
in 1933 and renamed SS ''Corregidor''.
Sinking
At 22:00 on 16 December 1941, ''Corregidor'' left its dock in Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
in total darkness, loaded to overcapacity with Filipino civilians seeking to escape to the southern Philippines after the war had started. It has been estimated that between 1,200 and 1,500 people were on board, including approximately 150 Philippine soldiers, 7 Americans, 5 Philippine legislators, and hundreds of college students who were traveling home after their schools had closed. Also aboard were military supplies as well most of the artillery complement ( 2.95-inch mountain guns) of the Visayan-Mindanao Force of the Philippine Army
The Philippine Army (PA) ( Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the ...
. The owners of the ship failed to inform the Navy's Inshore Patrol of the ship's plan to leave Manila Bay
Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phili ...
.
Although Captain Apolinar Calvo of the ''Corregidor'' had prior experience navigating the mined entrance to Manila Bay (the mines had been in place since July), the Navy had changed its procedures on that day. Rather than post a gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.
History Pre-steam ...
near the safe channel as they had in days previous, lighted buoy
A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents.
Types
Navigational buoys
* Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...
s were used to guide boats through. As the ''Corregidor'' sailed close to the island of Corregidor to pass through the channel at around 01:00, the ship was observed turning toward the electrically-controlled minefield
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
. Some officers posted at the Army's Seaward Defense Command headquarters on the island recommended that the mines be temporarily disarmed so that the ship could pass through the minefield. A number of accounts state that Seaward Defense Commander Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
Paul Bunker
Paul Delmont Bunker (May 7, 1881 – March 16, 1943) was an American football player and soldier. Bunker attended the U.S. Military Academy and became the first football player at West Point to be selected as a first-team All-American by Walter Ca ...
ordered that the mines be kept active.
When the ''Corregidor'' entered the minefield, there was a large explosion on the starboard side of the vessel. The overcrowded ship quickly began to sink, with many people trapped below-deck. Survivors stated that the ship sank so quickly that there was no time for large-scale panic to set in. Searchlights from Corregidor Island illuminated the scene which aided the rescue effort. Sailors of MTB Squadron 3 posted at Sisiman Cove heard the explosion and left on three PT boat
A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the wa ...
s ( ''PT-32'', ''PT-34'' and ''PT-35'') to investigate. When the boats arrived they found survivors in the water and were able to retrieve 282 survivors. Seven of the rescued passengers later died from their injuries.[Cressman]
The incident was never investigated due to the Japanese invasion. Later, some Army officers reported that the remote-controllable mines were set to the safety position immediately after the explosion occurred. The total number of victims is unknown. It has been estimated that 900–1,200 lost their lives. Among the dead were the captain and most of the crew, two of the legislators, and one of the American passengers. At the time, the sinking of the ''Corregidor'' was the most significant maritime disaster in Philippine history.Remarks at combinedfleet.com refute the suggestion the mine had been laid by I-124.
/ref>
See also
* Gerald Livock
Group Captain Gerald Edward Livock (11 July 1897 – 27 January 1989) was an English officer of the Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force, who served from the beginning the First World War until the end of Second, and was also an Archaeolog ...
* Mount Engadine
Notes
Footnotes
References
*
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External links
Discussion with quotes from several sources about the sinking of SS ''Corregidor'' at Corregidor.com
Manila Bay minefield map at "The Sinking of SS ''Corregidor''" at MaritimeReview.ph
Battle of Jutland Crew Lists Project - HMS Engadine Crew List
{{DEFAULTSORT:Engadine
Seaplane carriers of the Royal Navy
Ships built on the River Clyde
1911 ships
Ships of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway
Steamships of the United Kingdom
World War I aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom
Ships of the Southern Railway (UK)
Steamships of the United States
World War II merchant ships of the United States
World War II shipwrecks in the South China Sea
Maritime incidents in December 1941
Ships sunk by mines