A barquentine-rigged royal naval q-ship of the first world war, probably 'gaelic'
(updated, august 2014) q-ships were disguised small merchant vessels intended primarily to decoy enemy submarines to attack them on the surface, when they would uncover hidden armament and attempt to sink or disable the submarine: 'q' stood for queenstown (cobh) in southern ireland which was officially their registered port. Only five of the sailing vessels used for the service were barquentine-rigged, one being too small. Of the other four, this one is most likely to be the 'gaelic' (1898), an iron ship requisitioned from november 1916 to march 1919 and operated as 'brig 11', 'gaelic', 'gobo' and 'q22'. From a photograph of her in the nmm collection it is apparent that the hull shape, rig and position of boats and gun are very similar to this drawing. A less likely possibility is the 'imogene' (1882, ex-'strathendrick'), which only served from february 1918 to may 1919 and also used the names 'dorothy', 'impey' and 'jeanette'. However, other images of 'imogene' sent to the museum in august 2014 (as well as the fact she was a woodden vessel while the present drawing has the more general appearance of an iron hull) suggest this is most probably 'gaelic'. She appears to be at anchor, though no cable or personnel are visible and the drawing is essentially a study, with the outline of spread sails pencilled-in. Date: 1916. Dimensions: 252 mm x 353 mm. Collection: Fine art.
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