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A "Q" -Ship was a vessel that flew the flag (colours) of a neutral Country and posed as a trader. This was a disguise to fool the enemy into believing that that the vessel was an innocent vessel. Due to the fact the German submarines only carried a limited amount of torpedo, they would come to the surface fire warning shots with deck guns to make the vessel stop. Once the vessel had stopped they let the crew go into the life boots. The Germans would quite often take the Merchant Captain prisoner and any gunners (later in the War, quite a number of large merchant vessels carried deck guns) as well. The usual plan was to board the ship and place bombs on board and open sea cocks. If the vessel was a small fishing vessel or an old wooden or steel sailing ship, a few shells fired into the water line would do the job of sinking it.

In a classic Q-Ship action, the Submarine fired a number of warning shots from its deck guns. The vessel stopped and a panic crew left the vessel in a life boat giving the impression that the vessel was then unmanned. The remaining Royal Naval personnel aboard laid low out of sight, waiting for the submarine to circle it to get detail of tonnage etc. The submarine would continue to circle and would also be firing on the vessel while making sure that it is safe to get closer. Once the crew of the submarine were sure the the way was safe to get closer, they would put some shells into the waterline to effect the sinking, the "Q"-Ship's crew would take to the guns (that would be hidden out of site in collapsible deck houses etc.). The white ensign of Great Britain would be run up the mast and the fight would be on.

During December of 1914 the idea of Decoy ships that would be known as "Q-Ships" was hatched and over time the Admiralty took up a total of at least 220 merchant steamers, trawlers, fishing smacks, Barquentine and Topsail schooners and armed them with 12 pound guns , Lewis Guns, maxim guns, depth charges and various other armaments. Later they were armed with heavier guns and torpedo tubes. These vessels were different to the armed trawlers that were operating at the time of the Lusitania in that they flew neutral colours and this included painting the country of origin on the hull of the vessel to imitate neutral vessels. This was perfectly legitimate under international law, provided that before opening fire on the enemy the neutral colours were lowered and the White Ensign was hoisted.

There were many exciting engagements in the time Q-Ships were active and even though Q-Ships only disposed of about a dozen U-Boats, they made the Germans very weary and saved many thousands of tons of valuable cargoes and lives.