The Turkish boat was Sultanhisar, commanded by Captain Ali Rıza Bey with predominantly a German crew. Riza had only just been ordered to return to Istanbul because another torpedo boat, Basra, was on its way to replace them, when their luck was about to change. At around 8.00 am on 30 April, when she was off the Marmara Island, a crew member of the Sultanhisar spotted a submarine surfacing. Riza immediately gave the order to open fire on the periscope and gave chase. He recalled the action:"I did not want the enemy to escape; I was certain that we had damaged the submarines periscope with our shots. I was circling around the point where I had last spotted the submarine,, hoping to see her again. Suddenly I heard one of my men shout: "Its surfacing!". I saw the big black shadow of a giant monster surfacing right in front of our ship. Our distance to the submarine was approximately 1500 metres. I gave instruction to start firing and immediately put the engine at full speed, approaching the already submerging monster. At the same time I saw a torpedo rushing towards us through the water like a dolphin breaking the waves, missing us by only a few metres." [Ali Rıza's account does differ at this point when compared to Stokers official report. Stoker argued that he did not fire any torpedoes".
The AE2 was in trouble and damaged. Riza had fired his last torpedo, the first fell overboard, whereas the second was a miss. It looked to Riza like the submarine was going to escape when it started to emerge once again, almost in front of Sultanhisar. Riza recalled:
"This is when I read 'AE2' along her side. I thought something must be wrong, otherwise why would she surface so recklessly. Having no torpedoes left, we continued firing our cannons. I did not have much hope in fatally damaging the submarine by cannon fire, so I decided to ram into the 800-ton monster with my meagre 93-ton boat, hoping to tear a hole in her big hull. At that very instance, I saw a British flag being raised and sailors coming out on deck and diving into the sea. The last sailor on board, whom I later learned to be the captain of the submarine, was standing on the deck of the sinking vessel and saluting the flag. I felt a deep respect for this brave man performing his last duty for his beloved submarine. I sent two dinghies to pick up the sailors and the captain. I instructed my sailors to be gentle with the enemy and show them the traditional Turkish hospitality as much as could be appreciated in the circumstances. When the captain of the enemy submarine came up on board, I shook his hand and introduced myself as Ali Riza. He introduced himself as Captain Stoker."
AE2's war was over, and Stoker and crew were on their way to spend the next three and a half years in a Prisoner of War camp were treatment was not always 'gentle'. Unfortunately, four of AE2's crew would not be returning, their bodies remain interred in Turkish soil. For Turkey this little action would be turned into a great propaganda boost, and would make Ali Riza a national hero.
SOURCE: AE2 Denizalti Gemisini Marmara'da Nasil Batirdim? (How I Sank the AE2 Submarine in the Sea of Marmara) Publisher unknown, Istanbul 1947.
Stephen Chambers
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