Raid on Lowca and Parton
| Raid on Lowca and Parton | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Naval warfare of World War I | |||||||
German U-24 submarine attacking Harrington Coke factory near Whitehaven (illustration by Willy Moralt) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Germany | United Kingdom | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Rudolf Schneider | None | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| U-24 | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 1 dog killed | ||||||
The Raid on Lowca and Parton during the First World War on 16 August 1915 was an attack by the Imperial German Navy submarine U-24 on the Harrington Coke toluene factory located near Lowca and Parton villages in Cumbria on the British coast. A German U-boat, U-24 fired 55 shells and then left without British interference, causing minimal damage on the facility and the death of a local dog. The incident occurred as one of the few naval operations in the Irish Sea and probably the first time when the Britain was bombarded by a submarine.
The event played a significant part in an espionage affair of Hildegare Burnyeat, German-born wife the British Parliament MP William Burnyeat, shortly after he was accused, convicted and finally pardoned, for an espionage for German Empire.