In January 2006, when the guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) captured a pirate ship off of the coast of Somalia, it highlighted not only the increasing problem of piracy in many of the world's littoral areas but also the rarity of catching pirates in the act despite the hundreds of cases of piracy reported each year. Piracy today is a threat to maritime traffic of all types, especially through such vital choke points as the Strait of Malacca and the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb. Furthermore, if pirates in November 2005 had managed to board the cruise ship M/V Seahoiirn Spirit in the same general area near Somalia, it would have been hard to determine where piracy ended and terrorism began.
The Sailors and ships of the 5th Fleet are playing an important role in suppressing piracy in the Horn of Africa, but we might wish to look at another approach besides using large men-of-war or even the littoral combat ship to battle this menace. Pirates engage the weak and run from the strong. Therefore, maybe we should look back to the experiences of World War I and see if the Q-ship concept may still have value today.
The Q-ship concept was invented during that war to deal with the new menace of submarine warfare. In that era. the code of naval warfare required submarines to surface and warn their targets before attacking them. Small, unescorted merchant ships were usually attacked by a submarine's deck gun in order to conserve the boat's limited supply of torpedoes. This gave Britain's Royal Navy the idea of creating "Q" or "mystery" ships that looked liked inviting targets but were actually warships with disguised gun batteries ready to deal with the submarines once they had been lured within range.
Drawing submarines into range proved to be hazardous. Several Q-ships were lost during the war, and by I9I7 the tactic became less effective since German submarine commanders had learned to be wary of such prey. However, the concept still worked as a deterrent and probably saved an unknown number of small, unescorted craft that submarine commanders feared might be Q-ships. The U.S. Navy experimented with Q-ships on a small scale early in World War II. The results were not positive, and one ship was lost to hostile action.
The Q-ship concept, therefore, has inherent risks. However, this concept might still be useful as a tactic to tight piracy and terrorism in littoral regions. Modern protective technologies and satellite communications can reduce the risks that Q-ships of old faced. Ships could be modified not only to hide precision-guided weapons that would give them the edge over pirate craft armed with just machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades but they could also be further modified to ensure additional spare buoyancy in case of battle damage and Kevlar could be incorporated to safeguard personnel and hull integrity.
Furthermore, modern Q-ships would not have to work alone. They could operate in tandem with an armed helicopter-capable warship that trailed it just over the horizon. The initial firepower of a Q-ship and the quick reaction force of an armed helicopter, followed by a gun- and missile-armed destroyer or cruiser, would certainly prove to be a deadly combination for pirates in their own flimsy craft.
Modern Q-ships operating in pirate-infested waters could take several guises, from private yacht or sailing vessel to small tramp steamer or medium-sized cargo ship. Manned and operated by special operations forces and Navy crewmen, such vessels, backed up by conventional forces, could bring a wicked surprise to pirates used to preying on the weak. Even after a few actions and the inevitable press reporting that would alert pirates to this tactic, the concept could still be effective by providing a deterrent effect in the area that would protect innocent mariners.
While many details would have to be worked out before this concept could be made operational, it certainly would provide a unique way to deal with piracy and maritime terrorism at a relatively low cost. Finally, it also brings the battle to the pirates instead of waiting to react to their next attack against helpless civilians. Let's see how the pirates like being hunted.
Colonel Wasieiewski is a reserve infantry officer currently serving with Il MEF in Iraq.