Battle of Dover Strait (1917)


The Second Battle of Dover Strait was a naval battle of the First World War, fought in the Dover Strait in April 1917. Two Royal Navy destroyers defeated a superior force of German Kaiserliche Marine torpedo boats. Two German torpedo boats were sunk and both British destroyers suffered damage.

Prelude

During the evening of 20 April 1917, two groups of torpedo boats of the German Navy left Zeebrugge to raid the Dover Strait, bombarding British and French positions on shore and to engage warships patrolling the Dover Barrage—the field of floating mines that obstructed German ships and U-boats from getting into the English Channel. Six torpedo boats of the 6th Torpedo Boat half-Flotilla bombarded Calais and the six of the 5th Torpedo Boat half-Flotilla bombarded Dover just before midnight.

Battle

Two flotilla leaders of the Royal Navy — and — were on patrol near Dover and engaged six of the German ships early on 21 April near the Goodwin Sands. In a confused action, Swift torpedoed. Broke rammed and the two ships became locked together. For a while, there was close-quarters fighting between the crews, as the German sailors tried to board the British ship, before Broke got free and G42 sank. Swift was slightly damaged and had to wait until dawn to return to port due to a loss of bearings. A search by Dover destroyers found Broke and it was towed into the eastern arm of the harbour, the drifters in port sounding their sirens and horns.

Aftermath

Analysis

Two British destroyers had attacked six German vessels and sunk two of them, both British ships receiving damage. It was a moral-boosting success and the two British captains were promoted and awarded the Distinguished Service Order. The press and propaganda outlets feted them. The Germans did not attack the Dover Strait with ships for ten months.

Casualties

Broke suffered 21 crew killed and 36 wounded; Swift suffered the loss of one man killed and four wounded. Swift and other Dover Patrol ships rescued 141 German sailors and 13 dead were buried at St James's Cemetery in Dover.