Baralong incidents

Baralong incidents
Part of the Atlantic U-boat campaign of World War I
Date 19 August and 24 September 1915 Location Irish Sea, Atlantic Ocean
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Godfrey Herbert A. Wilmot-Smith	Bernd Wegener † Klaus Hansen †
Strength
1 decoy vessel 2 steamers	2 submarines
Casualties and losses
2 steamers damaged	2 submarines sunk

The Baralong incidents were two incidents during the First World War in August and September 1915, involving the Royal Navy Q-ship HMS Baralong and two German U-boats. Baralong sank U-27, which had been preparing to attack a nearby merchant ship, the Nicosian. About a dozen of the crewmen managed to escape from the sinking submarine and Lieutenant Godfrey Herbert, commanding officer of Baralong, ordered the survivors to be executed after they boarded the Nicosian. All the survivors of U-27's sinking, including several who had reached the Nicosian, were shot by Baralong's crew.

Later, Baralong under command of Andrew Wilmot-Smith sank U-41 in an incident which has also been described as a British war crime.^[1][2]