SMS V187

Movement of ships during first phase of Battle of Heligoland Bight, including sinking of V187

Movement and actions of V187 including sinking (German perspective)

On 28 August 1914, the British Harwich Force, supported by light cruisers and battlecruisers of the Grand Fleet, carried out a raid towards Heligoland with the intention of destroying patrolling German torpedo boats.[11] The German defensive patrols around Heligoland consisted of one flotilla (I Torpedo Flotilla) of 12 modern torpedo boats forming an outer patrol line about 25 nautical miles (29 mi; 46 km) North and West of Heligoland, with an inner line of older torpedo boats of the 3rd Minesweeping Division at about 12 nautical miles (14 mi; 22 km). Four German light cruisers and another flotilla of torpedo boats (V Torpedo Boat Flotilla) was in the vicinity of Heligoland. V187, the leader of I Torpedo Boat Flotilla, formed part of the outer screen of torpedo boats.[12] At about 06:00 on 28 August, G194, another member of the outer screen reported spotting the periscope of a submarine. As a result, V Flotilla was ordered out to hunt the hostile submarine. At 07:57 G194 was fired on by British warships, and was soon retreating towards Heligoland, pursued by four British destroyers. V Flotilla and the old torpedo boats of the 3rd Minesweeping Division also came under British fire, and were only saved by the intervention of the German cruisers Stettin and Frauenlob, with the torpedo boats V1, D8 and T33 damaged.[13]

V187 headed eastwards towards Heligoland in poor visibility when she encountered four British destroyers (Goshawk, Lizard, Lapwing and Phoenix) coming from the east at about 09:25 hr, and turned southwards towards the Jade estuary with the four destroyers in pursuit. Two British light cruisers, Nottingham and Lowestoft, were sighted to the West, on a course to intercept V187, and the torpedo boat reversed course away from the cruisers back towards the destroyers. V187 managed to dash past the four British destroyers without damage, but then found a second division of four destroyers (Ferret, Forester, Druid and Defender) ahead. Trapped between two groups of destroyers, V187 was taken under heavy fire at close range which disabled the ship's machinery, bringing the blazing torpedo boat to a standstill, and causing her to cease fire. The British destroyers lowered boats to rescue V187's crew, but V187's crew, believing that the British were attempting to board the torpedo boat, fired on Goshawk. The British destroyers then re-opened fire on V187 which sank at about 10:10 hr. The boats of the British destroyers started to pick up V187's crew, but these rescue operations were interrupted by the arrival of the German cruiser Stettin. Two of Defender's boats had to be left behind, carrying 28 survivors of V187's crew and 10 British sailors. Later in the day, the British submarine E4 surfaced by the two boats. She took off the British sailors and three of the Germans, but had no room for the remaining members of V187's crew, and so gave them food and water and a course for Heligoland.[14][15] 24 of V187's crew were killed,[16] with 14 wounded and 33 taken prisoner by the British.[17]