The Dogger Bank Incident 1904

In the October of 1904 a Russian Fleet of warships was cruising southwards in the North Sea en route to battle stations in the Far East where their country was at war with Japan. 

Although many thousands of miles from the theatre of operations there were rumours and a lot of speculation of a surprise attack by Japanese Torpedo Boats who were said to be on station near to the Danish Coast. 

Although a far fetched ideas given the distances involved for a Japanese Naval Force to be in European waters the commander of the Russian Fleet, Admiral Rojdestvensky had received orders from his Government to be particularly vigilant even on this first leg of the long journey. 

Intelligence reports gave details that Japanese Torpedo Boats often sailed under a mizzenhead light so that from a distance they could take on the guise of an ordinary fishing vessel. 

The area of the North Sea known as Dogger Bank was an important fishing ground for the activities of the Trawlers based in the English Port City of Kingston Upon Hull. 

Around the 21st of October there was a large collection of Hull Trawlers with their nets down deep in that vicinity as the Russian Fleet began to pass through. 

The Hull vessels were all displaying the correct navigational and identifying lights. 

As part of a service signal between the Trawlers a green coloured rocket was propelled skywards and this immediately attracted the suspicions of the inexperienced, excitable and already on-edge crew of the ironclad, Kniaz Swaroff. 

The Swaroff then discovered, close by, a vessel which they claimed was in complete darkness  and when picked out in a strong searchlight from the deck of the warship it was taken to be a torpedo boat. Fire was directed at the target. 

In manouevring to attack the Swaroff narrowly missed colliding with another small boat and this time the searchlight did identify the vessel as, without doubt, an unthreatening trawler. 

An order was immediately issued by Admiral Rojdestvensky to cease firing but by now the panic stricken Russian crews were firing wildly and indiscriminately at any thing seen to be moving on the ocean. Several ships in the fleet joined in. 

One Russian warship was reputed to have fired 500 shells but thankfully the gunnery was so innacurate that no hits were recorded. There were incidents of friendly fire causing damage within the Russian fleet and with some casualties reported. 

When the hysteria and mayhem eventually ceased the Hull Trawlers had suffered two deaths (one later from shock), six wounded, one vessel sunk and six others with shell fire damage. 

The Russians persisted in their claims after the event that there had been clandestine armed ships hiding within the pattern of working Hull Trawlers. 

Although Rojdestvensky was commended for calling off the action and thereby avoiding even more tragic consequences for the fishermen he made a rapid escape with the Russian Fleet towards the Straits of Dover leaving the British to mount their own rescue and salvage operation. 

The incident almost brought about a major conflict between Britain and Russia but the two countries agreed in 1905 for the International Commission in the Hague to investigate and produce a report on the Dogger Bank Incident. The official outcome was conciliatory towards the perpetrators even with the catalogue of chaos that had taken place against harmless, and unarmed fishing boats.

The fudging of the Commission meant that there was no escalation to war. 

The Russians paid compensation of £66000 to the fishermen and a Memorial Statue erected in 1906 still occupies a prominent position on Hessle Road, Hull where many of the generations of trawlermen lived.