Name HMS Prince Charles Displacement 270 long tons (274 t) | Type Q-ship | |
HMS Prince Charles was a 274 Tonne collier converted to a Q-Ship of the Royal Navy during World War I. In the afternoon of 24 July 1915 off North Rona in the Outer Hebrides, Prince Charles , commanded by Lieutenant William Penrose Mark-Wardlaw, sank the German submarine SM U-36. The sinking was the first by a Q-Ship working alone without the assistance of a British submarine. U-36 was a type 31 submarine, being commissioned on the 6th June 1914 under the command of Captain E. Graeff and by July 1915 had sunk 14 merchant ships and taken 3 more as prizes. On the day it was sunk, the submarine had just stopped and boarded the Danish vessel SS Luise and a boarding party was in the process of dumping her cargo when a lookout sighted an approaching steamer. U 36 sailed towards the disguised Prince Charles and ordered her to stop while firing at her. The Q-ship complied, swinging out her boats. The unsuspecting submarine came within about 600m of the ship when Prince Charles hoisted the British flag of war and commenced firing. Taken completely by surprise, U-36 took several direct hits and heavy damage, and sank.
Lieutenant Mark-Wardlaw received a Distinguished Service Order for the action, and two of his crew received Distinguished Service Medals. The merchant crew of the Q-ship (Master: Frank Norman Moncrieffe Maxwell) was awarded a prize sum of £1,000, to be divided amongst themselves.