1915
Shetlopedia - The Shetland Encyclopaedia
- The first Eshaness Lighthouse was lit.
- The Thors II, laden with a cargo of timber, from Frederikstadt, Norway, for Melbourne, Australia went ashore in Basta Voe, Yell, but was subsequently refloated.
February
- German submarine blockade began.
March
- 3rd
The Rondo (GY528), an iron hulled requisitioned steam fishing trawler, converted to an Auxiliary Patrol Vessel (No: 666), wrecked on The Unicorn. - 8th
Germany includes the waters surrounding the Orkney and Shetland Islands in the war zone, navigation on both sides of the Faroe Islands not yet endangered. - 12th
The Canadia, a steel hulled steamship, of Elsinore/Helsingør, Denmark, from the U.S.A. to Scandinavia with a cargo of flour and cotton, but with a UK prize crew aboard taking her to Kirkwall, Orkney for inspection, wrecked on either "Heely Stack" or "Fugla Stack", near Malcom's Head, Fair Isle. All of the crew and a significant amount of the cargo was saved.
April
- 4th
The Australian barque Avanti Savoia, bound for Rotterdam, was wrecked with the loss of all hands at Burga Stack, near Culswick Ness on West Mainland - 12th
An explosion occured in a former Net Store at the North Esplanade, immediately to the north of the then Fish Market, which was being used to store Naval munitions, believed to be the result of a fire breaking out. Five souls perished immediately, a further twenty two were injured, two of whom died from their injuries soon after. The store was effectively destroyed, and the quay beneath it suffered significant damage. Windows as far away as at the Excelsior Bar in Fort Road were shattered. Pictures of the damage can be viewed here. - 14th or 18th
The Aberdeen, Scotland, fishing vessel Glencarse, (188 or 196 GRT), on her way between Shetland and Aberdeen, Scotland, was captured as a prize by the German submarine U 6, Captain Reinhold Lepsius, and taken to List, Germany. The crew were made prisoners. - 27th
By-election of the Lerwick Town Council.
May
- 19th
The British fishing vessel Chrysolite (222GRT) was sunk by the German submarine U 23, 25 approx nautical miles generally SW of Lerwick. - 28th
The Mars, a wooden hulled sail schooner laden with a cargo of timber, of Pernau, Russia (now Pärnu, Estonia), from Halmstad, Sweden, for Ayr, Scotland was captured by the German submarine U 16, who forced the crew to abandon ship before sinking the vessel with gunfire, approx 40 mile E of Shetland.
June
- 2nd
The Salvador, a wooden hulled sail schooner laden with a cargo of timber, of Marstal, Denmark, from Gotherburg, Sweden, for Bideford, England was stopped by the German submarine U 19, who forced her crew to abandon ship before sinking her approx 7 miles SW of Sumburgh Head. - 3rd
British fishing vessel Ena May, (90GRT), was captured by a German submarine and sunk 60 miles south of Sumburgh Head.
The British ship Iona, (3344GRT), was torpedoed by a German submarine and sunk 22 miles south - southeast of Fair Isle. - 4th
British fishing vessel Ebenezer, (113GRT), was sunk by a German submarine 117 miles south of Out Skerries. - 5th
British fishing vessel Bardolf, (215GRT), was sunk by a German submarine 115 miles south by west from Sumburgh Head. - 20th
The Premier, a steam fishing trawler of North Shields, England, was sunk by the German submarine U 22. A number of contradictory claims are made within the various available records as to the location of the inclident, and while the majority view within U.K records favour a position very approximately 50 miles WNW of Foula, it would seem a position within 10 miles or less off the west coast of Orkney, Scotland, is the most probable position. - 21st
The Francoise D'Amboise, a steel hulled sail barque laden with a cargo of coke, of Nantes, France, from Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, for Valparaiso, Chile, was stopped by the submarine U 22 who forced her crew to abandon ship, before sinking her with a torpedo at a position given as 60.00N, 03.45W, which falls very very approximately 55 miles WSW of Foula. All of the crew were saved. The incident occured either on this date, or on the same date in 1916 (the available records are in dispute). - 22nd
The Leo, a wooden hulled sail schooner in ballast, of Russia, from Moss, Norway, for Canada, was captured and sunk by the German submarine U 38, at a position in the vicinity of 45 miles SE - 40 miles SSE of Fair Isle. - 23rd
15 herring drifters sunk off Shetland by German submarines.
The British fishing vessels Ugiebrae (79GRT), Elizabeth (94GRT), Josephine (85GRT), Uffa (79GRT), Viceroy (150GRT), Research (89GRT), Primrose (91GRT), Piscatorial (84GRT), Four (84GRT), J M & S (78GRT) and Star of Betlehem (77GRT) were all sunk east of Out Skerries. Lebanon (110GRT) sunk east - northeast of Muckle Flugga and Quiet Waters (63GRT) sunk east of Baltasound. No lives were lost, 5 drifters were left to pick up the crews of those sunk.
Norwegian steamer Truma, laden with a cargo of timber (pit props), from Archangel, Russia, for London, England, was sunk to the E of Shetland, crew saved. - 24th
The fishing vessels Vine (110GRT) and Monarda (87GRT) sunk east of Out Skerries, and Commander (149GRT) sunk east of Baltasound. All sunk by German submarines.
July
- 13th
The Lennok, a steel hulled steamship, of Pernau, Russia (now Pärnu, Estonia), from Archangel, Russia, for London, England, was stopped by the German submarine U20, who ordered her crew abandon ship, before sinking her with gunfire at a position approx 35 miles NNE of Muckle Flugga, Unst. - 17th
The General Radetzky, a steamship laden with a cargo of timber, of Riga, Russia (now Latvia), from Archangel, Russia, for London, England, was sunk by the German submarine U41, at either 60.04N, 01.52E, which falls very approximately at 100 miles E of Lerwick, approx on or close to the division line between Shetland and Norwegian waters, or at a position 65 miles E of Lerwick. All of the crew are believed to have been saved. - 22nd
The King Athelstan, a British registered steel hulled fishing trawler, was sunk by a submarine at a position very approximately 100 miles W of Foula. - 24th or 25th
The Grangewood, a steel hulled steamship laden with a cargo of wheat, (3422GRT), of London, England, from Archangel, Russia and for Le Havre, France, was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U41 20 miles east - northeast from Muckle Flugga. - 25th
The trawlers Cydonia and Celtic of Grimsby and the Gadwell of Liverpool were sunk by a German submarine approx 6 miles W of Sumburgh Head. - 28th
The Trondhjemsfjord, a steamship laden with a general cargo, of Norway, from New York, U.S.A. for Bergen, Norway, was sunk by the German submarine U 41 at a position very approx 85 miles WNW of Muckle Flugga. All aboard are believed to have been saved.
August
- 3rd
By-election of the Lerwick Town Council. - 6th
- British fishing steam fishing trawler Ocean Queen (A175), (185GRT), was stopped and sunk by the German submarine U 38, 23-25 miles north by west or NW from Muckle Flugga.
- British steam fishing trawler Westminster of Grimsby, England, (252GRT), on Royal Navy service, was stopped and sunk by the German submarine U38, 20 miles east - southeast from Muckle Flugga.
- 7th
The Geiranger, a steamship laden with a cargo of timber, of Norway, from "Petschora" (Russia??), for Southampton, England, was sunk by gunfire from the German submarine U24, at either 59.33N, 01.39E, approx at 105 miles E by S of Sumburgh Head, or at a position 70 miles ESE of Sumburgh Head. All of the crew are believed to have been saved.
December
- 2nd
The iron hulled steam fishing trawler Jackdaw (H300) of Hull, England wrecked on Burra Ness, Yell. All of the crew were saved, but one died later from the effects of exposure.
