Kapitäleutnant Ernst Rosenow had been serving in submarines since before the Great War began, he was commanding officer of SMS UC-10 until Nov. 1915, then SMS UB-28, but only for a couple of weeks, and finally SMS UC-29. He remained in the latter boat until June 7, 1917.

Early that morning Rosenow sighted a collier plodding her way through the sea about 60 miles off the western Irish coast. The 2,817 ton Vittoria, built by Richardson Duck in 1907, should have been an easy target for Rosenow, he had more than enough experience in sinking ships, sending 18 to the bottom. While several were sunk by mines he laid, about half of them were either stopped and sunk or torpedoed. At this time in the war unrestricted submarine operations were in full swing, on both sides, the "gentlemans" war was over. It was raining and the choppy sea was shrouded in mist when, without warning, Rosenow sent his torpedo speeding toward the unsuspecting target and at 0800 it struck.

The explosion blew a hole in the engine room at the waterline, destroyed a lifeboat (pieces of which landed on the radio antenna) and killed one man. The blast also caused one of the starboard gun port covers to come loose. Vittoria had been armed with a array of guns and torpedoes, all hidden behind false walls, since being converted into a Q-ship and renamed HMS Pargust.

On the bridge was Commander Gordon Campbell, V.C., D.S.O. and a crew that would gain hero status in just 40 minutes. Campbell had been awarded the Victoria Cross after sinking SMS U-83 on Feb. 17, 1917 in HMS Farnborough Q-5 and now he was facing another submarine less than four months later. Campbell later stated that he had seen the torpedo when it "jumped out of the water" about 100 yards off the starboard side of the ship. There was no need to move into the line of the torpedo as it was fired from a short distance and could not miss, Campbell and his men were bait and it was the duty of a Q-ship to take a torpedo.

After the explosion the panic party, a group of sailors trained to appear like an unorganized group of scared merchant sailors, lowered a lifeboat and began to row away from the stricken ship, a ruse designed to draw the U-boat closer to the ship. Without moving or giving away their positions, the men at the guns waited for the order to run up the battle ensign and open fire. However the port gun port had to be held in place bodily, this was done by a powerful Welshman named William Williams, he held the gunshield in place for over 30 minutes, should it have fallen and revealed the gun behind it the whole operation would have been compromised and probably failed.

Apparently Rosenow was cautious in his approach, by now German U-boat captains were aware of the Mystery Ships and were careful to make sure they were not going to be caught in a trap. For thirty minutes Rosenow cruised around the ship, using his periscope to look for any sign of movement on board, however everyone to a man stood fast. Waiting for the enemy to surface was a terrible strain on the men in a Q-ship, some had been injured and there was always the chance that the submarine would not surface and instead send another torpedo into their ship. One can hardly understand the feelings that must have been racing through the minds of the men just sitting there waiting, would the enemy fire again, would they survive the explosion or was this the end. Courage of the highest order was the rule and not the exception.

When Rosenow did bring his submarine to the surface he allowed only the conning tower to rise, the decks remained awash just in case he had to crash dive. One of the U-boat's crew came out and ordered the lifeboat to come alongside the submarine, but they rowed toward Pargust. Soon another German appeared on the conning tower, and he trained a gun on the lifeboat. Campbell chose his moment carefully, with men on the outside of the boat it could not submerge so he could wait until it moved into a favorable position for his gunners.

At 0836 that moment came, Campbell ordered his men to open fire, Williams was finally able to drop the gunshield which he had been holding up and the men of Pargust went to work on the enemy boat. As 4" shells pummeled the boat she began to list, Rosenow sent men topside in an attempt to fool the British into thinking he was surrendering and several men ran out on the casing and raised their hands. Campbell ordered a cease fire, but soon realized the U-boat was making a run for it. It is presumed that Rosenow could not submerge, but would rather try to get out of range of Campbell's guns, his attempt failed. Campbell fired on the fleeing submarine until he saw an explosion in the forward end of the boat, at 0840 she rolled on to her side and sank in a few seconds. A man holding fast to the sharp bow as she went down was the last ever seen of UC-29 and her crew, only two survivors were picked up (Leutnant zur See der Res. Hans Bruhn and U-Obermaschinistenmaat Stelan).

The battle was over, but HMS Pargust was dead in the water with a hole in her side. Four hours later HMS Crocus arrived on the scene and took her in tow. USS Cushing DD-55 and HMS Zinnia soon joined them, Zinnia took the German prisoners aboard and they then escorted the ships into Queenstown arriving on June 8.

The men of Pargust had won a great victory and awards were in order, but because Campbell had already received the Victoria Cross, exactly who should receive which honour was a difficult decision. The Admiralty had decided on all awards, but passed the decision of who should receive the Victoria Cross on to a higher authority, H.M. King George V himself was to decide. The King evoked the thirteenth clause of the Victoria Cross Warrant, which reads;

It is ordained that in the event of a gallant and daring act having been performed by a squadron, ship's company, or detached body of seamen and marines not under fifty in number, or by a brigade, regiment, troop or company in which the admiral, general, or other officer commanding such forces may deem that all are equally brave and distinguished, and that no special selection can be made by them, then is such case the admiral, general, or other officer commanding, may direct that for any such body of seamen or marines, or for every troop or company of soldiers, one officer shall be selected by the officers engaged for the Decoration, and in like manner one petty officer or non-commissioned officer shall be selected by the petty officers and non-commissioned officers engaged, and two seamen or private soldiers or marines shall be selected by the seamen, or private soldiers, or marines engaged, respectively for the Decoration, and the names of those selected shall be transmitted by the senior officers in command of the Naval force, brigade, regiment, troop, or company, to the admiral or general officer commanding, who shall in due manner confer the Decoration as if the acts were done under his own eye.

In short, a vote would be taken by the men of HMS Pargust and they would decide who should receive the highest honour of the realm, this was the first instance of an elected V.C. awarded to a ships crew. Campbell notified his crew, read them the proclamation and told them to have a decision for him in 24 hours. His crew elected him in the first vote, but Campbell refused the honour. He wrote; "I, of course, could not agree to this as I already felt that the Victoria Cross I wore was on behalf of my crew and through no special act of my own".

It was decided by the crew that Lieutenant Ronald Stuart, D.S.O. and Seaman William Williams, D.S.M. would receive the awards, Campbell received a Bar to his D.S.O. Campbell later wrote of Williams; "But for Williams' intervention, the action might never have taken place". In all fourteen crewmen were decorated and eleven Mentioned in Despatches.

Pargust was repaired and again was used as a Q-ship, after the war she was returned to civilian control. She sailed under several names and almost survived the next war. In a strange turn of fate, the now German owned Johann Faulbaum (ex-Pargust) was bombed and sunk May 13, 1944 by the Royal Air Force in Norway.