HMS G9

HMS G9 was a British G class submarine, one of eight Royal Navy submarines lost to friendly fire in World War I.

Construction

The second of her class built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness,G9 was laid down on 8 December 1914. She was launched on 15 June 1916, and commissioned on 22 August that year.

War service

The role of the G class was to patrol the North Sea and German Bight in search of U-boats.

Loss

G9 was sunk by the destroyer HMS Pasley in foul weather on the night of 16 September 1917. G9 had mistaken Pasley for a U-boat and fired two torpedoes at her. The first struck Pasley on her starboard quarter, but too acutely to detonate; the second passed astern. On seeing the submarine's wash, Pasley's officer of the watch, Midshipman Frank Wallis, RNR, turned hard to starboard and rammed G9 just aft of amidships all but cutting her in two, and she sank less than one minute later with the loss of all but one of her crew, Stoker William Drake.

Commanded by Lieutenant Commander The Hon. Byron Plantagenet Cary, Bt.,G9 had sailed Scapa Flow on 9 September to patrol an area between Shetland and Norway. On 15 September, she was ordered north to between latitudes 60.30 N and 61.30 N to keep her clear of the fleet on exercises en route from Rosyth to Scapa. Meanwhile, Pasley was attempting to locate merchantmen detached from the convoy she was escorting in appalling weather from Aspö Fjord in Norway to Lerwick, and had resorted to displaying a white light halfway up the mast by night. Weathering the heavy seas and blinding rain squalls, Cary sighted Pasley's light. Forewarned a U-boat was in the area, he gave the order to attack. Presumably realising the error soon afterwards, Cary ordered the connection of the cruiser arc lamp to signal the destroyer. The signal was recognised aboard Pasley; her captain, Commander Charles Ramsey, ordered 'Full Astern', but it was too late to prevent his ship ramming the submarine.