The action of 14 October was a naval engagement of 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 ...

when the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Kaise ...

submarine attacked the Portuguese civilian steamer ''São Miguel'' and the

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy ( pt, Marinha Portuguesa, also known as ''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'' or as ''Armada Portuguesa'') is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Port ...

naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built ...

NRP ''Augusto de Castilho'' in the Atlantic Ocean on 14 October 1918.

Background

On the island of Madeira, the Portuguese patrol boat under the command of the First Lieutenant Carvalho Araújo received the mission of escorting the Portuguese civilian steamer ''São Miguel'', which was property of the ''Empresa Insulana de Navegação'' and was sailing from the Port of Funchal in Madeira to the port of

Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality ('' concelho'') and economic capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67, ...

on the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

archipelago, with 206 passengers and several tons of cargo on board.Atlântico Norte (14 de Outubro de 1918)
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.Saturnino Monteiro, page 141. The ship was equipped with two small Hotchkiss cannon, one of 65 mm on the bow and another of 47 mm on the stern.

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

, armed with two powerful 150 mm cannon and six

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s, 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 A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

, 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,João Medina, Aniceto Afonso, page 127. and with several fatal casualties on deck, the guns damaged, without ammunition, and having lost the

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

and the ship's engine, the Portuguese ship surrendered by lowering the national flag and raising a white flag. However, the German submarine continued firing, hitting the patrol ship with a direct shot which killed Araújo and injured Midshipman Armando Ferraz for a second time. After receiving orders from the Midshipman to abandon ship, the Portuguese survivors were able to enter in two life boats. The ship was then boarded and sunk by the Germans with explosive charges.

Aftermath

One of the life boats arrived at the island of

Santa Maria Island Santa Maria () is an island in the eastern group of the Azores archipelago (south of the island of São Miguel) and the southernmost island in the Azores. The island is known for its white sand beaches, distinctive chimneys, and dry warm weath ...

after 48 hours with 29 of the survivors, with one of the injured sailors having died during their journey. The other life boat, with 12 survivors onboard arrived at the island of

São Miguel Island São Miguel Island (; Portuguese for "Saint Michael"), nicknamed "The Green Island" (''Ilha Verde''), is the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, wi ...

, on 17 October. The action was ''U-139''s last and as a few weeks later the submarine surrendered to France on 24 November 1918.http://www.uboat.net
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References

Notes

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)''

{{DEFAULTSORT:19181014 Atlantic operations of World War I Conflicts in 1918 Naval battles of World War I involving Portugal Naval battles of World War I involving Germany 1918 in Portugal October 1918 events