An undertrained and anxious Baltic Fleet entered the North Sea primed by false reports of Japanese torpedo boats and even a nonexistent minefield. The supply ship Kamchatka reported attacks by ordinary merchant and fishing vessels, reinforcing the force's fear before the main shooting began. Russian battleships opened fire without adequate identification or control, sinking the trawler Crane, damaging other fishing vessels, and hitting the cruisers Aurora and Dmitrii Donskoi. Some crews imagined torpedo hits or boarders even though no enemy warship was present. Britain mobilized naval pressure, an international inquiry followed, and Russia paid compensation to the fishermen. The incident exposed severe failures of command, recognition, night training, and gunnery before the voyage to Tsushima.
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The 1904 Dogger Bank Incident
The Russian Baltic Fleet mistakes Hull trawlers for Japanese torpedo boats, fires chaotically, and nearly creates a wider diplomatic crisis.