Battle of Dover Strait (1916)

Battle of Dover Strait (1916)
Part of the First World War
HMS Nubian beached on the South Foreland, after her bow had been blown off in battle with German torpedo boats in the Dover Strait.
Date 26–27 October 1916 Location Dover Strait 51°00′N 1°27′E / 51.000°N 1.450°E / 51.000; 1.450Coordinates: 51°00′N 1°27′E / 51.000°N 1.450°E / 51.000; 1.450 Result German victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Henry G. L. Oliphant	Andreas Michelsen
Strength
7 destroyers 1 armed yacht 1 naval trawler 1 troopship 28 naval drifters	23 torpedo boats
Casualties and losses
1 destroyer sunk 6 naval drifters sunk 1 troopship sunk 3 destroyers damaged 1 naval trawler damaged 3 naval drifters damaged	1 torpedo boat damaged

The Battle of Dover Strait that occurred on 26–27 October 1916 was a naval battle of the First World War between Great Britain and the German Empire. Two and a half flotillas of German torpedo boats from the Flanders Flotilla launched a raid into the Dover Strait in an attempt to disrupt the Dover Barrage and destroy whatever Allied shipping could be found in the strait.

Upon approaching the barrage, the German torpedo boats were challenged by the British destroyer HMS Flirt and an engagement broke out. The Germans were able to destroy Flirt and successfully assault the barrage′s drifters, but were once more engaged when a flotilla of British destroyers was sent to repel them. The Germans were able to fight off the additional British units before successfully withdrawing. By the end of the night, the British had lost one destroyer, a transport, and several drifters while the Germans themselves suffered only minor damage to a single torpedo boat.

In October 1916, the Flanders Flotilla was finally reinforced by the German Admiralty with two full torpedo boat flotillas. The transfer of the 3rd and 9th Torpedo Boat Flotillas to Flanders had immediate consequences to the balance of power in the Dover Strait. Whereas before, the Flanders Flotilla had been equipped with only three large torpedo boats and several of the smaller inferior A-class torpedo boats, they now possessed 23 large torpedo boats capable of meeting the British Dover Patrol in combat. Due to the lack of large torpedo boats, the Flanders Flotilla had not sortied against the Dover Patrol in several months and as a result British defences were quite lax in the area.

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