Battle of May Island
The Battle of May Island is the name given to the series of accidents that occurred during Operation E.C.1 in 1918. Named after the Isle of May, a nearby island in the Firth of Forth, the "battle" consisted of a disastrous series of accidents amongst Royal Navy vessels on their way from Rosyth, Scotland, to fleet exercises in the North Sea. On the misty night of 31 January–1 February 1918, five collisions occurred between eight ships. Two K-class submarines were lost and four other submarines and a light cruiser were damaged. 105 British sailors in total died in the accidents.
The use of Battle for the events is an example of black humour. Although it took place during the First World War, no enemy forces were present and the losses were entirely accidental.
On the afternoon of 31 January 1918, around forty naval vessels left Rosyth on the Firth of Forth, Scotland, bound for Scapa Flow in Orkney where exercises involving the entire Grand Fleet would take place the following day.[1] The vessels included the 5th Battle Squadron of three battleships with their destroyer escorts, the 2nd Battlecruiser Squadron of four battlecruisers and their destroyers, two cruisers and two flotillas of K-class submarines each led by a surface warship. The K-class submarines, specially designed to operate with a battle fleet, were large boats for their time, at 339 feet (103 m) long. The submarines were powered by steam turbines to allow them to travel at 24 knots on the surface to keep up with their fleet.[2]
