https://uboat.net/forums/read.php?23,76331,76342"(
U154 & U153)... on
April 25th 1918 they fell in with the
Q-boat Willow Branch (alias Bombala), carrying stores between
Gibraltar and
Sierra Leone. This ship was
nine days out and was off
Cape Blanco when the two large submarines hove in sight."
"The U-boats expended thirty rounds before they found the range. For two and a half hours the fight waxed and waned. Finally the
Willow Branch, a blazing wreck,was abandoned by her crew, numbering
53; the
Third Officer was
taken prisoner"
https://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritishQships.htm#BM0https://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritishQships.htm#BM3WILLOW BRANCH, 25th April 1918, Central Atlantic, NE of the
Cape Verde Islands, off
Cape Blanco (now
Ras Nouadhibou),
Mauritania (20°50’N, 17°20’W) - sunk by
German submarine cruisers "U-153" & "U-154".
Q-ship "Willow Branch" (or "Bombola", or "Britannia", collier, 3,300grt, 2-14pdr, 1892) was sunk in a hard fought action with
"U-153" and "U-154" each armed with two 10.5cm and two 8.8cm guns. They were working together off
NW Africa at the time.
"Willow Branch’s" complement is not known, but there were no survivors.