The Dogger Bank incident (also known as incident of Hull) was the assault on British trawlers at the Dogger Bank by the Russian Baltic Fleet in the night of October 21 to October 22, 1904. Jump to: navigation, search A modern Icelandic trawler A trawler is a fishing vessel designed for the purpose of operating a trawl, a net that is dragged along the bottom of the sea (or sometimes above the bottom at a specified depth). ... Dogger Bank is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about 100km off the coast of the United Kingdom. ... The Baltic Fleet, located at the Baltic Sea. ... Jump to: navigation, search October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search October 22 is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 70 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Dogger Bank incident must not be confused with the battle of Dogger Bank. The Battle of Dogger Bank was a naval battle in the North Sea that took place on 24 January 1915, during the First World War, involving units of the Royal Navy and the German Fleet. ...

The occurrence

Russian warships were on their way to the Far East, to partake in the Russo-Japanese war. Because of wrong reports about the presence of Japanese torpedo boats and general nervousness of the Russian sailors, approximately 30 harmless fishing trawlers were, thousands of miles away from the enemy waters, attacked by the Russians. Jump to: navigation, search Greater Manchuria, Russian (outer) Manchuria is region to upper right in lighter Red; Liaodong Peninsula is the wedge extending into the Yellow Sea The Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) was an extremely bloody conflict that grew out of the rival imperialist ambitions of Russia and Japan... A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to launch torpedoes at larger surface ships. ...

The disaster began in the evening, when the drunken captain of the supply ship Kamtchatka (Камчатка), which was last in line, took a passing Swedish ship for a Japanese torpedo boat and radioed that he was being attacked. Later in the night the officers on duty sighted the British ships, interpreted their signals incorrectly and classified them as Japanese torpedo boats, and consequently opened fire on the British fishermen. The British trawler Crane was sunk and two British fishermen lost their lives. On the other boats there were six fishermen wounded, one of which died a few months later. In the general chaos, Russian ships shot at each other: when the armoured cruiser Aurora (Aврора), which had yet to be involved, approached, she was taken for a Japanese warship, bombarded and slightly damaged. At least one Russian sailor was killed, another heavily wounded. The armored cruiser was a naval cruiser protected by armor on its sides as well as on the decks and gun positions. ... The Aurora (Russian: Авро́ра; English transliteration: Avrora) is a Russian protected cruiser, currently preserved as a museum ship in St. ...

The incident led to a serious diplomatic conflict between Russia and Great Britain, which was particularly dangerous due to the alliance that existed between Britain and Japan. In the aftermath some British newspapers called the Russian fleet "pirates". The Royal Navy intervened, and the Russian admiral Zinovi Petrovich Rozhdestvenski was heavily criticised for not leaving the British sailors lifeboats. The Royal Navy went after the Russian fleet and bottled her up in Vigo, Spain. The Russian government agreed to investigate the incident, after which, the Russian ships were let free. The investigation was given up after the Russian fleet was almost completely destroyed in the battle of Tsushima. Meanwhile the Russian government paid £65,000 as compensation for the fishermen in order to placate the British government. This article is about sea pirates. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... Jump to: navigation, search Zinovi Petrovich Rozhdestvenski1 (1848-January 14, 1909) was an admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy, who was involved in the Russo-Japanese War. ... Situation of Vigo within Galicia Vigo is the largest city of the Galicia region and Pontevedra province in northwestern Spain. ... The Battle of Tsushima (Japanese: 対馬海戦), commonly known as the Sea of Japan Naval Battle (Japanese: 日本海海戦) in Japan, was the last and most decisive sea battle of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. ...

In 1906 the Fisherman’s Memorial was unveiled in Hull, which reminds of the death of the three British sailors. The approx. 5,40 m high statue shows the killed fisherman George Henry Smith and carries the following inscription: Jump to: navigation, search 1906 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Hull or Kingston upon Hull is a British city situated on the north bank of the Humber estuary. ...

Erected by public subscription to the memory of George Henry Smith (skipper) and William Richard Legget (third hand), of the steam-trawler CRANE, who lost their lives through the action of the Russian Baltic Fleet in the North Sea, October 22, 1904, and Walter Whelpton, skipper of the trawler MINO, who died through shock, May 1905.

Literature

• Westwood, John N., Russia against Japan 1904-05. A new look at the Russo-Japanese war, Houndmills 1986.