1914
Shetlopedia - The Shetland Encyclopaedia
- Lerwick was the base for a total of 643 fishing vessels.
- The Christian, laden with a general cargo, from Scalloway to Rea Wick foundered at an unspecified location en route with the loss of one soul, during or before 1914.
- The rental of the county was £65,000, £30,000 attributable to Lerwick alone.
March
- 19th
The Vale of Endrick, a British steam fishing trawler sank following being in collision with, it is believed the vessel Senator Oswald, at a position approx 180 miles NE of Aberdeen Scotland/100-120 miles ESE of Sumburgh Head.
June
- 28th
Norwegian steamer D/S Robert Lea, (JNSV), of Bergen, grounded and wrecked on Stoura Baa at the north end of Brother Isle, Yell Sound.
July
- 17th
The Algieba, a steel hulled sail schooner in ballast, of Shoreham, England, from Lerwick and for Hull, England wrecked on Mousa in thick fog. - 28th
World War 1 breaks out
August
- 6th
The German U-boat campaign begins, with attacks on North Sea shipping. The Germans focus particular attention on the area between Shetland and Bergen.
- U-15 sighted the British battleships HMS Ajax, Monarch, and Orion on manoeuvres off Fair Isle and fired a torpedo at Monarch. The torpedo failed to hit. Shortly after this, HMS Birmingham manages to sink U-15.
September
- 5th
HMS Pathfinder is sunk by U-21 off the Firth of Forth. It is the first successful sinking by a submarine, since the American Civil War, and marks the beginning of U-boats becoming a serious threat in British waters. - 8th
RMS Oceanic of the White Star Line grounds on the Shaalds of Foula. Over 600 men rescued by the Aberdeen trawler Glenogill
October
- 20th
SS Glitra sunk by U-17 off Skudeneshavn, on Karmøy in Norway. It is Stavanger bound, and is the first British merchant vessel to be sunk by a u-boat. Its crew are allowed to board lifeboats for Norway.
November
- 8th
The Hygea, a wooden hulled schooner laden with a cargo of coal, of and for Tonsberg, Norway, from Dysart, Fife, Scotland foundered approx eight miles NE of Out Skerries Lighthouse. - 23rd
U-18 penetrates channels into Scapa Flow in Orkney, demonstrating U-boats' capabilities in inlets and shallow waters.
