 Upon Nubian 's contact with the German 17th Half Flotilla , she made the same error as Flirt and mistook the German boats for Allied vessels . Surprised with a hail of gunfire , Nubian attempted to ram the last boat in the German line of battle but was struck by a torpedo that blew off her bow and reduced her to a drifting hulk . Amazon and Cossack soon arrived to aid Nubian and engaged the German boats . The Germans scored several hits on Amazon , knocking out two of her boilers before withdrawing . Viking 's division of boats also clashed with Kaiserliche Marine torpedo boats . The German 18th Half Flotilla was heading back to Zeebrugge when it sailed into Oliphant ′ s group of destroyers , engaging them as they passed . Although Viking escaped unscathed , Mohawk suffered several hits , before the Germans were able to break away to the safety of the coast . Near the end of the action , Reginald Bacon — the commander of the Dover Patrol — dispatched the Dunkirk Division to intercept the German torpedo boats before they could return to Flanders but the Germans were able to successfully withdraw before being caught by these further reinforcements . 
