| Venetia |
 |
| Rig Class. | Steam Yacht |
| Year built: | 1905 |
| General characteristics |
| Ton: | 568 tons |
| Beam: | |
Venetia was taken up for war service in August 1914 and armed with one 12-pounder and one 6-pounder.
She served until February 1919, first of all in the Orkney Islands area between 1914 and August 1916, and then in the Falmouth area.
In 1917 her name was changed to Venetia II.
She was unlucky not to be able to claim at least one U Boat victim, and it seems likely that she was the only Squadron yacht to have been engaged in a surface fight with a submarine.
She sighted the enemy for the first time in July 1916 when a U Boat was spotted dead ahead. She increased speed and opened fire, but the shells fell short and the submarine dived.
Her next sighting was in May 1917 when she dropped depth charges in an area where a submarine had been seen, but without any visible effect.
In July of the same year she picked up an SOS from a steamer that was being attacked and, on arriving at the scene, opened fire st 7000 yards. The submarine promptly dived and, although depth charges were dropped, it escaped.
In September 1917 she was picking up survivors from a torpedoed steamer when a submarine surfaced. She opened fire with both her guns but, instead of diving, the submarine returned fire. The shots fell short but the engagement continued for half an hur before the U Boat decided to submerge. Venetia II then depth charged the area but the submarine escaped.
Her next sighting of an enemy submarine was in April 1918 when she spotted its periscope. She attacked with depth charges but without any visible effect.
In September 1918 Venetia II intercepted an SOS from a steamer while on escort duty to Brest. When she arrived on the scene, the submarine was still in sight and she opened fire at short range. The second shot looked like a hit. The submarine then dived while heading in a north north easterly direction. Venetia II steamed over the spot, dropped her depth charges, and a large quantity of oil was seen on the surface. However, she seems not to have been credited with a kill, nor was any German submarine subsequently reported to have been sunk on that date.
Owners