Oberleutnant zur See Bernhard Putzier must have been amazed when on February 9, 1917 he located two British vessels in the North Sea east of Scotland. Benbow and Duke of York were both approached by Putzier and his 324 ton SMS UB-22. This late in the Great War it was well known by the British just how ruthless German U-boat commanders were and how dangerous a weapon the U-boat was. The sight of the Hun submarine frightened the British seamen so much they immediately surrendered their vessels. The Germans boarded them, set up scuttling charges and blew them up. The survivors were forced to watch their vessels slip beneath the waves from their lifeboats.

Of course these were not the Battleships of the same names, but were two small fishing vessels. So perhaps Putzier was not so amazed after all. The good news in this is that nobody lost their life in the event.