In 1915, Britain was in desperate need for a countermeasure against the U-boats that were strangling her sea-lanes. Depth charges were very primitive, and the only method of sinking a submarine was by gunfire or by ramming. The problem was to lure the U-boat to the surface.
The solution to this problem was the creation of the Q-Ship, one of the most closely-guarded secrets of the war. Known to the Germans as a "U-Boot-Falle" (U-boat trap), it was an old-looking tramp steamer loaded with wooden caskets, wood, or cork, and armed with hidden guns and torpedoes. Its bouyant cargo made it almost unsinkable, so after firing a few torpedos, a U-boat would surface to use its deck gun at close range. The Q-Ship would then hoist the White Ensign and overwhelm the U-boat with its heavy guns.
The first victory of a Q-Ship occured on July 24, 1915, when U-36? was sunk by [HMS Prince Charles]?, commanded by Lieutenant Mark Wardlaw RN.
The "Baralong Incident" involved the Q-Ship [HMS Baralong]?.
Despite some spectacular actions and a great deal of romantisation, Q-Ships were not particularly successful. In 150 engagements they were able to kill 14 U-boats (about 10% of all U-boats lost) and damaged another 60, but at a cost of of 27 Q-Ships lost out of 200.
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