The German force held decisive advantages in firepower, speed, size, and gun stability, sinking a trawler, seven drifters, and a paddle minesweeper while damaging six more drifters. The British toll was three Royal Naval Reserve officers, seven skippers, and 12 men killed, with 54 missing and 13 wounded. The racecourse-class paddle minesweeper HMS Newbury was shelled and set on fire. British destroyers and heavier support had been drawn away during the peak of the anti-submarine war, leaving the lightly armed patrol crews badly overmatched. The Germans withdrew when a larger British group appeared. The raid inflicted severe casualties but again concentrated on replaceable barrage craft rather than the merchant traffic carrying critical supplies to France.
Chapter · 1:07:00-1:10:44
The February 1918 raid devastates the barrage patrol
Five German destroyers and eight torpedo boats overwhelmed lightly armed drifters and minesweepers while scarce British reaction forces were committed elsewhere.