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E5 (I 85)

Built By: Vickers (Barrow)
Build Group: E1
Fate: On 7th March 1916 Submarine E5 was on patrol in the North Sea north of Juist Island when it was sighted by a German Battle Cruiser SMS Seydlitz. An attack was carried out on the Submarine - apparently without effect.

Later a Submarine, believed to be E5, was sighted by German Cruiser SMS Regensburg further east and close by a German minefield off the west of the Ems River. Submarine E5 was not seen again and is thought to have been lost in the minefield.
E5
E5
E5 (I 85)
E5 (I 85)
E5 (I 85)
E5 (I 85)

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Commanders

1914 - 8th Flotilla. HMS Maidstone, Harwich.

Supported the British surface fleet at the 'Battle of Helgoland'.

E5 had a very short career before and after her commissioning. She had an engine room explosion on 8 June 1913, 20 days before commissioning. 13 were killed.

A further three men were killed when there was an oil blow back into the starboard engine off St Ann's Head. The submarine depot ship HMS Adamant and HMS Alligator carried the medical team out to meet E5 on her way into Pembroke Dock. Ten other men were seriously injured, although all civilian staff from Barrow were safe and unharmed.

E5 Found

By James Tozer for the Daily Mail 21st November 2016

Found, a WWI submarine that took twenty-nine men to their doom: The fate of brave British sailors who vanished at sea is finally revealed after the ship's hull is found off the Dutch coast one hundred years later. Submarine E5, which is reported to be the first British Submarine to fire a torpedo in WWI, vanished in 1916.

Divers have now found the hull of HMS E5 off the coast of the Netherlands. The Submarine is thought to have struck a mine while rescuing survivors from trawler. The hatches were found open in poignant indication that crew may have tried to escape

For just over one hundred years it has kept its secrets, lying almost forgotten on the seabed. But now the descendants of the twenty-nine brave crewmen who died at last know its fate.

Divers found the remarkably intact hull of HMS E5 off the coast of the Netherlands after securing an agreement for a brief suspension of the busy shipping lane beneath which it rests.

Built in Barrow-in-Furness and commissioned in 1913, HMS E5, the Royal Navy didn't start naming its submarines until 1942, was feared to have struck a mine while rescuing survivors from a stricken trawler near Heligoland Bight on March 7, 1916.

The Submarine’s resting place remained a mystery until amateur maritime archaeologists won permission to examine a wreck off Schiermonnikoog, near the German border.

Encrusted with limpets and barnacles, it proved to be that of the 178 foot E5, its hatches open in a poignant indication that its crew made a vain effort to escape.

Its conning tower, which once bore its identifying 'Pennant Number' of 85, lay nearby on the seabed but there was no sign of major damage to the hull, indicating that it was not sunk because of enemy action.

Remy Luttik, who led the Zeester diving team, said: 'A piece of the puzzle of the maritime history of the North Sea has surfaced. The results offer hope for relatives looking for their missing loved ones.'

Roll of Honour
34
Died: 08-06-1913
Clarke, Lewis Alfred 
Leading Stoker Died: 08-06-1913
Died in Pembroke Dock Naval Hospital following an explosion inside E5 main engines
Greenall, James Alexander 
Chief Engine Room Artificer Died: 08-06-1913
Killed when an explosion occurred inside E5 main engines
Moore, Walter Lancelot 
Engineer Commander Died: 08-06-1913
Lost both legs and an arm and suffered third degree burns when an explosion occurred inside E5 main engines. Died in hospital at Pembroke Dock
Died: 24-02-1916
Crane, Arthur Thomas  J6686 (Po)
Leading Telegraphist Died: 24-02-1916 Aged: 25
It is reported that he was accidentally lost overboard and drowned
Died: 07-03-1916
Aldred, Albert  K 12395
Stoker 1st Class Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 27
Arnold, William James  197172
Petty Officer Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 35
Atkinson, Henry Warkman  J 12152
Able Seaman Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 22
Bassett, John Thomas  203189
Leading Seaman Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 32
Bonner, William Arthur  K 13881
Leading Stoker Born: 06-11-1884 Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 31
RN DoB 06/11/1887
Bor, Thomas Humphrey  (RNR)
Lieutenant Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 24
Buchanan, Philip  (RNR) EA 1407
Engine Room Artificer Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 26
Chinn, Robert Leonard  K 14836
Stoker 1st Class Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 21
Cowburn, Francis Garratt  309136
Stoker Petty Officer Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 31
Dale, Alan Denzil  K 15770
Stoker 1st Class Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 25
Davis, Frederick William  M 496
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 22
Edwards, Harrington Douty  DSO
Lieutenant Commander Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 30
Commanding Officer
Goff, George  K 20958
Stoker 1st Class Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 24
Kingcome, Howard William  J 11519
Signalman Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 20
Lane, Joseph Frederick  K 16052
Stoker 1st Class Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 23
Lefever, James  J 11476
Able Seaman Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 22
McDowell, William  211344
Leading Seaman Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 33
Moore, George Frederick  K 14005
Stoker 1st Class Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 22
Morris, Ernest Richard  268807
Chief Engine Room Artificer Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 40
Oates, Charles John  J 4526
Able Seaman Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 24
Owen, Arthur Robert  199878
Petty Officer Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 32
Parker, William  J 6076
Able Seaman Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 22
Parrell, Charles  270476
Chief Engine Room Artificer 2nd Class Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 35
Pendred, Alfred Joseph  J 2418
Petty Officer Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 25
Powell, Robert Albert  K 798
Leading Stoker Born: 27-04-1887 Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 28
RN DoB 27/04/1888. Actual 27/04/1887
Rice, Cecil Frank  M 7200
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 28
Shepherd, William Edwin  J 35848
Boy Telegraphist Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 17
Smith, Ernest  K 17473
Stoker 1st Class Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 21
Thirlwell, Arthur Robert  235171
Able Seaman Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 27
Watson, Sidney Frederick 
Lieutenant Died: 07-03-1916 Aged: 22

Events

09-06-1911 Laid Down
17-05-1912 Launched
07-06-1913 Completed
08-06-1913 An explosion occurred inside E5's Main Engines, resulting in the death of one Officer and two men. In addition, nine men were badly burned.
07-03-1916 At 08.10 on the morning the German battle cruiser Seydlitz sighted a submarine north of Juist Island. The cruiser and her accompanying torpedo boats dropped depth charges but to no avail. A few hours later another German cruiser, the Regensburg sighted a submarine to the east, not far from a German minefield of the Western Ems. E5 failed to return from her patrol and it is believed that this was the submarine seen by the Regensburg near the minefield.
21-11-2016 Divers found the remarkably intact hull of HMS E5 off the coast of the Netherlands after securing an agreement for a brief suspension of the busy shipping lane beneath which it rests. The wreck of E5 was found by off the island of Schiermonnikoog, there was no sign of major damage to the hull, indicating that it was not sunk as a result of enemy action. Remy Luttik, head of the diving team, said he was relieved: “A puzzle piece of the maritime history of the North Sea could be clarified.”
Comments

Comment by: Robert Clark on October 24, 2022

My paternal grandfather, Lewis Alfred Clark, was badly burnt in the 1913 fire and died four days later from his injuries He is buried in Pembroke Dock Cemetery. My father was just three months old when the incident occurred.

Comment by: Keith Feay on January 23, 2021

Hello,
My wifes late mother was the daughter of petty officer stoker Francis Garratt Cowburn.
The family have the certificate and bronze plaque given to serviceman lost in WW 1.
He was born in the Altrincham area and was married in Manchester at the age of 25.
Unfortunately we don't have a lot of information about his early life before he joined the Royal Navy

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