Q-ship Heritage

The preserved record of Q-ships, heavily armed merchant vessels disguised as unarmed tramp steamers or sailing ships, used by the Royal Navy in both world wars to lure surfaced submarines into gun range. The name derives from the home port Queenstown (Cobh), Cork. About 200 were commissioned in the First World War; they sank or damaged a small number of U-boats at heavy cost to themselves. The decoy concept and individual actions are interpreted in Imperial War Museum collections.