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HMS Paxton
HMS Paxton was a First World War Royal Navy Q-ship torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-46 on 20 May 1917 in the Atlantic Ocean 90 miles (140 km) west of Great Skellig, Eire.[1] The ship was originally ordered as Lady Patricia for the British and Irish Steam Packet Company[1] but taken over on completion by the British Government as HMAV Lady Patricia.[2] The ship was damaged by gunfire from the German submarine U-57 on 30 March 1917 in St George's Channel and six crew killed.[3][4] Shortly afterwards work started on converting her to an anti-submarine Q-ship, Q25, which was completed on 30 April 1917.[2] The ship was commissioned as HMS Paxton the following day and sunk less than three weeks later. SinkingAt about 9:00 on 20 May 1917 the ship was heading west at about 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) when an unknown German submarine surfaced and shelled her with its deck gun, hitting the ship once. Paxton responded by firing back at the submarine with her stern 4-inch (100 mm) gun, thus revealing herself as a Q-ship. The submarine dived to escape.[5] Paxton continued on her westerly course, and the crew changed her disguise by painting the name of a Swedish ship on her sides.[5] At 19:15 on the same day U-46 torpedoed her,[1] disabling the engines.[5] Two men were killed, including the chief engineer,[5] but the ship remained afloat because she was loaded with lumber.[5] The submarine fired a second torpedo fifteen minutes later which broke the ship's back and it sank within about five minutes.[5] The surviving crew abandoned the ship on two boats and two rafts, but had not been able to send a distress radio message.[5] The submarine surfaced and took the captain, Commander George Hewett[6] and the second engineer,[5] Engineer Sub-Lieutenant James Wilfred Johnson[7] prisoner. The boats and rafts stayed together overnight, but at 5 am one boat separated to make for Berehaven (now Castletownbere) for help.[5] The boat had no food or water onboard.[5] However, it was spotted just after 9 pm, by an American destroyer, USS Wadsworth, which rescued the three officers and eight ratings on it but despite spending the following day searching the destroyer could not locate the other survivors.[5] On 26 May a further four crew were rescued from a raft by another ship,[2] and on 26[5] or 27 May[2] the second boat, containing the remaining survivors reached Killybegs.[5] Provisions and water had run out four days before the boat arrived, and two people had died en route.[5] In all 31 people were killed.[1][2] Surgeon Sub-Lieutenant Annesley George Lennon Brown, RNVR was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in June 1919 for his gallantry and devotion to duty following the torpedoing.[8][9] References
51°42′N 13°13′W / 51.700°N 13.217°W
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