Editing Q-ship (section)

==Second World War==

===Germany===
Germany employed at least 13 Q-ships, including the ''Schürbeck'' which sank the British submarine {{HMS|Tarpon|N17|6}}. The  German {{ship|German auxiliary cruiser|Atlantis||2}}, which sank a number of ships with a total tonnage of 145,960 t including the Norwegian tanker ''Tirranna'' on 10 June 1940, was more of a [[merchant raider]].

===Japan===
The [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] converted the 2,205-ton merchant ship ''Delhi Maru'' into a Q-ship. On 15 January 1944, she departed from Nagaura (now [[Sodegaura]] on [[Tokyo Bay]]) on her first mission in company with the [[submarine chaser]] ''Ch-50'' and the [[netlayer]] ''Tatu Maru''. At 22:00 that evening, the vessels were detected by the submarine {{USS|Swordfish|SS-193|6}}, which launched three torpedoes. ''Delhi Maru'' was hit by all three on her port bow; following a number of internal explosions, she broke in two, the forward section sinking immediately and the aft section sinking later in heavy seas. Although '' Swordfish'' was depth charged by ''Ch-50'', she escaped unscathed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.subsowespac.org/news/the-short-life-of-the-first-japanese-q-ship.shtml |title=The Short Life of the First Japanese Q-Ship |last1=Howard |first1=Ed |website=www.subsowespac.org |access-date=22 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923191839/http://www.subsowespac.org/news/the-short-life-of-the-first-japanese-q-ship.shtml |archive-date=23 September 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===United Kingdom===
Nine Q-ships were commissioned by the [[Royal Navy]] in September and October 1939 for work in the North Atlantic:<ref name="Lenton, H.T 1968, p. 279">Lenton, H.T. and Colledge, J.J.: ''British and Dominion Warships of World War II'', 1968, p. 279</ref>

* 610-ton HMS ''Chatsgrove'' (X85) ex-Royal Navy {{sclass2|P|sloop|1}} PC-74 built 1918
* 5,072-ton HMS ''Maunder'' (X28) ex-''King Gruffyd'' built 1919
* 4,443-ton HMS ''Prunella'' (X02) ex-''Cape Howe'' built 1930
* 5,119-ton [[SS Lambridge|HMS ''Lambridge'']] (X15) ex-''Botlea'' built 1917
* 4,702-ton HMS ''Edgehill'' (X39) ex-''Willamette Valley'' built 1928
* 5,945-ton HMS ''Brutus'' (X96) ex-''City of Durban'' built 1921
* 4,398-ton HMS ''Cyprus'' (X44) ex-''Cape Sable'' built 1936
* 1,030-ton HMS ''Looe'' (X63) ex-''Beauty'' built 1924
* 1,090-ton HMS ''Antoine'' (X72) ex-''Orchy'' built 1930

''Prunella'' and ''Edgehill'' were torpedoed and sunk on 21 and 29 June 1940 without even sighting a U-boat. The rest of the vessels were paid off in March 1941 without successfully accomplishing any mission.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Marder, Arthur|title=The Influence of History on Sea Power: The Royal Navy and the Lessons of 1914–1918|journal=The Pacific Historical Review|volume=41|date=November 1972| issue=4 |pages=413–443| doi=10.2307/3638394 |jstor=3638394}}</ref>

The last Royal Navy Q-ship, 2,456-ton {{HMS|Fidelity|D57|6}}, was converted in September, 1940, to carry a torpedo defense net, four {{convert|4|in|adj=on}} guns, four torpedo tubes, two [[OS2U Kingfisher]] floatplanes, and [[Motor Torpedo Boat]] 105.  ''Fidelity'' sailed with a French crew, and was sunk by {{GS|U-435||2}} on 30 December 1942 during the battle for [[Convoy ON-154]].<ref name="Lenton, H.T 1968, p. 279"/>

===United States===
[[File:USS Atik AK-101 0975160801.jpg|right|thumb|USS ''Atik'' (AK-101)]]
[[File:USS Big Horn.jpg|right|thumb|USS ''Big Horn'' (AO-45)]]
[[File:USS Irene Forsyte (IX-93).jpg|right|thumb|USS ''Irene Forsyte'' (IX-93)]]
[[File:Anacapa flaps.jpg|upright|thumb|right|Hinged flaps aft of the anchor hid 3-inch guns aboard {{USS|Anacapa|AG-49}}]]
[[File:uss anacapa crew.jpg|right|thumb|Yeomen and supply clerks of USS ''Anacapa'' exhibiting non-regulation attire typical of U.S. sleeper ship duty to imitate merchant vessels]]
By 12 January 1942, the British Admiralty's intelligence community had noted a "heavy concentration" of U-boats off the "North American seaboard from New York to Cape Race" and passed along this fact to the [[United States Navy]]. That day, {{GS|U-123|1940|2}} under ''Kapitänleutnant'' Reinhard Hardegen, torpedoed and sank the British steamship ''Cyclops'', inaugurating ''[[Second Happy Time|Paukenschlag]]'' (literally, "a strike on the kettledrum" and sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Drumbeat"). [[U-boat]] commanders found peacetime conditions prevailing along the coast: towns and cities were not blacked-out and navigational buoys remained lit; shipping followed normal routines and "carried the normal lights."  ''Paukenschlag'' had caught the United States unprepared.

Losses mounted rapidly. On January 20, 1942, Commander-in-Chief, [[United States Fleet]] (Cominch) [[Earnest J. King]], sent a coded dispatch to Commander, Eastern Sea Frontier (CESF), requesting immediate consideration of the manning and fitting-out of "Queen" ships to be operated as an antisubmarine measure.  The result was "Project LQ."

Five vessels were acquired and converted secretly at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine:<ref>New Hampshire v. Maine, 426 U.S. 363 (1977)</ref>

* the Boston beam trawler MS ''Wave'', which briefly became the auxiliary [[minesweeper]] USS ''Eagle'' (AM-132) before becoming {{USS|Captor|PYc-40}},
* SS ''Evelyn'' and ''Carolyn'', identical cargo vessels that became {{USS|Asterion|AK-100}} and {{USS|Atik|AK-101}} respectively (these hull numbers were actually duplicates of the USS ''Lynx'' and the USS ''Lyra'' respectively),
* the tanker SS ''Gulf Dawn'', which became {{USS|Big Horn|AO-45}}, and
* the schooner ''Irene Myrtle'', which became {{USS|Irene Forsyte|IX-93}}.

The careers of all five ships were almost entirely unsuccessful and very short, with USS ''Atik'' sunk on its first patrol with all hands on 26 March 1942.<ref name="Beyer"/> [[COMINCH]] strongly criticized the program and all Q-ships patrols ended in 1943.<ref name=Langenberg></ref>

American Q-ships also operated in the Pacific Ocean.  One was {{USS|Anacapa|AG-49}} formerly the lumber transport ''Coos Bay'' which was converted to Q-ship duty as project "Love William". ''Anacapa'' was not successful in engaging any enemy submarines, although she is believed to have damaged two friendly subs with depth charges when they were improperly operating in her vicinity.  ''Anacapa'' was also withdrawn from Q-ship duty in 1943 and served out the remainder of World War II as an armed transport in the South Pacific and Aleutian Islands.

The US Navy did not use a consistent [[hull classification symbol]] for its Q-ships (AG, AK, AO, IX and PYc were all used). This and the unprecedented use of duplicate hull numbers for ''Asterion'' and ''Atik'' reflect the great secrecy attached to these ships.