German Submarine Fires On English Island

Walney Island is an island off the west coast of England. Walney is the largest island of the Furness Islands group, both in population and size, as well as the largest English island in the Irish Sea. Walney had a battery post since 1881 and in 1911 coastal defenses were constructed for the Lancashire and Cheshire Royal Garrison Artillery.

On January 29, 1915 at 2:15pm the German submarine ‘U21’ surfaced and opened fire on the ‘German designed’ airship sheds that had been constructed on the island. The rounds that they had discharged fell ‘well short’ of their intended target. The U21 had sunk the HMS Pathfinder in September 1914. It was the first time a ship had been sunk by a self-propelled torpedo.