THE SINKING OF THE "NÜRNBERG"
"While England, England rose,
Her white cliffs laughing out across the waves,
Victorious over all her enemies."
--ALFRED NOYES (_Drake_).
We must now go back to the commencement of the action with the
_Leipzig_. At 4.30 P.M., in accordance with a signal made by the
_Cornwall_, the _Kent_ branched off in pursuit of the _Nürnberg_ and
was soon out of sight.
Thus a third fight developed through the high speed attained by
the _Kent_, which enabled her to catch up and force action on the
_Nürnberg_. The following description has been largely compiled from
a narrative written by an officer in the _Kent_, while from the
particulars undernoted concerning the ships two important features
stand out: the speed of the two ships was nearly equal, and the
German was built five years later than her opponent, and therefore
should have been able to maintain her speed with less difficulty.
_Name_ _Tonnage_ _Armament_ _Speed_ _Completion_
_Kent_ 9,800 14--6" 23.7 1903
_Nürnberg_ 3,396 10--4.1" 23.5 1908
8--2.1"
"Brassey's Naval Annual."
In the course of the afternoon the weather became misty, so that it
seemed imperative to get to close quarters as rapidly as possible.
That this was fully realised and acted upon is shown by what was
written by an officer in the _Kent_: "In the last hour of the chase,
helped by a light ship and a clean bottom, by the most determined
stoking, by unremitting attention to her no longer youthful
boilers--in short, by the devotion of every officer and man in the
engine and boiler rooms, the _Kent_ achieved the remarkable speed of
25 knots."
Both ships were steering a south-easterly course at 5 P.M. when the
_Kent_ got within range of the _Nürnberg_, which opened fire with
her stern guns. The chase had in all lasted nearly seven hours,
so the sound of the enemy's guns proved doubly welcome, since it
brought home the fact that the German was now trapped. The fall
of the enemy's shot was awaited with that eagerness combined with
anxiety which only those who have undergone the experience can fully
realise. Accurate ranges were hard to take on account of the abnormal
vibration caused by the speed at which the ship was travelling, but
it was expected that the enemy's first salvoes would fall short. But
not a sign was to be seen anywhere of these projectiles. Where, then,
had they gone?
Officers glanced round the horizon to make quite certain that the
enemy was not firing at another ship, but nothing else was in sight.
A light, drizzling rain was falling, so that it was not till the
third salvo that the splashes were discovered astern of the ship.
This bore out the experience of the _Cornwall_ and _Glasgow_, which
had also been astonished at the long range of the German 4.1" gun,
which is said to be sighted up to 12 kilometres (13,120 yards).
Nine minutes after (5.9) the _Kent_ opened fire at 11,000 yards
with her fore turret, but the shots fell short. Altering course
slightly to port, she was able to bring her two foremost 6-inch on
the starboard side to bear, making four guns in all. The light was
poor, and both ships had difficulty in seeing well enough to correct
the gun range at this distance. Thus this opening stage of the combat
was not very fruitful of results as far as could be judged, though
survivors subsequently stated that the _Kent_ scored two effective
hits, one of which penetrated the after steering flat below the
waterline and killed all the men in it with one exception. On the
other hand, the enemy (missing mainly for deflection) only got in one
hit during the same period.
About 5.35 two boilers of the _Nürnberg_ burst in quick succession,
apparently from excess of pressure due to her strenuous efforts to
escape. This reduced her speed to 19 knots, when all hope of averting
disaster, even with the aid of several lucky shots, was shattered at
one fell swoop. The _Kent_ now gained very rapidly on her opponent,
and all anxiety as to the chase being prolonged until dark was
dispelled.
[Illustration: _Plan of action between H.M.S. "KENT" and German Light
Cruiser "NÜRNBERG" off FALKLAND ISLANDS December 8^{th} 1914_
The Mappa Co. Ltd. London
]
Realising the hopelessness of continuing the attempt to escape, the
German decided to fight it out, and altered course ten minutes later
90 degrees to port (_see_ Plan). The _Kent_ turned about 70 degrees
to port, so that both ships were on converging courses, and able to
bring every gun on the broadside to bear. The running fight was over,
and the action developed during the ensuing quarter of an hour
into as fierce a duel as it is possible to imagine, with the range
rapidly decreasing from 6,000 to 3,000 yards and all guns firing
in succession, keeping up one continuous thunder. The _Kent_ now
started using her lyddite shell. As was only to be expected, a good
deal of damage resulted. In a very short time a fire broke out near
the German's mainmast, followed a little later by the fall of her
main-topmast, which bent gracefully forward like a sapling, and then
fell with a crash. Both ships were firing their guns independently,
not in salvoes, and in consequence the sequence of the discharges
was almost unbroken. A fearful din resulted, which was as loud as
it was penetrating, and soon began to have an irritating effect on
the nerves. The incessant clanging and clashing jarred horribly and
gave the impression that the ship was being continually hit; in fact,
those below began to think that matters were not going too well from
the constant concussions and severe jolts that were felt, until they
were reassured by the optimistic and cheering bits of news passed
down through the voice-pipes. The _Kent's_ fore-topgallant-mast now
suddenly fell over, fortunately remaining suspended in midair by the
stays; a chance shot had cut right through the heel.
From the rate of fire maintained at such a short range it was
patent that matters would soon be brought to a finish so far as
the _Nürnberg_ was concerned. By 6.5 P.M. her fore-topmast had
disappeared, she was on fire in two or three places, and her speed
was still further reduced. She turned away, as if to escape such
heavy punishment, the details of which could be plainly observed at
this short distance. Her upper deck was a veritable shambles, and
most of the guns' crews, only protected by gun shields, had been
killed. In the words of one of the _Kent's_ officers, "her foretop
and foremost funnel were so riddled that they appeared to be covered
with men"; the torn and twisted steel sticking out in every direction
caused this paradoxical illusion. Only two of her guns on the port
side remained in action.
On the other hand, the _Kent_ herself had by no means come out
unscathed. In addition to the hits already mentioned, there were many
more that had struck the ship's side and boat deck on the starboard
side, but no fires of consequence had taken place, nor had there been
any hits on the water-line of a vital character. One of the enemy's
shells burst just outside the midship casemate situated on the main
deck. Only fragments entered, but there were ten casualties, most
of them burns; one man was killed instantly, and he remained in
the same position after death with arms bent for holding a cordite
charge. A small fire was caused, and the flames passed down the
ammunition hoist to the passage below, igniting a charge which was
hooked on ready to be hoisted. Had it not been for the prompt action
of Sergeant Charles Mayes, of the Royal Marines, complete destruction
might easily have followed. With the greatest presence of mind, he
immediately isolated the cordite charges in the vicinity, closed the
sliding scuttle in the hoist, and at the same time ordered his men
to run for the nearest hoses to flood the compartment. The fire was
extinguished before it could get a hold, and for this brave deed he
was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal and an annuity of £20.
The _Nürnberg_ executed a sudden and unexpected manœuvre at 6.10 by
turning inwards as if about to ram her opponent. Continuing the turn,
however, she eventually passed astern of the _Kent_ and brought her
starboard guns into play for the first time. During this manœuvre,
and while in an end-on position, two of our shells burst almost
simultaneously on her forecastle, causing a fire and putting the guns
there out of action.
In reply to this manœuvre the _Kent_ turned to a nearly opposite
course. It will be realised from the plan that the _Kent_ was
travelling well over twice as fast as her opponent at this time, and
that her port guns were now brought into action. The courses of both
ships were again roughly parallel, the _Kent_ taking care to avoid
getting on the beam of the _Nürnberg_, which would have afforded the
latter an opportunity of using her torpedoes.
From now on the distance between the two ships gradually increased.
The German's fire was very spasmodic, and it was evident that she
could not last much longer. By 6.25 her engines were apparently
stopped, for she was barely moving through the water. She was now
badly battered and scarcely recognisable as the ship of an hour and
a half before. The _Kent_ had to turn right round again to keep
somewhere near her, and continued to fire at her with devastating
effect.
At 6.36 the enemy ceased fire altogether, the _Kent_ followed suit,
and for a short while awaited developments. Being now on fire all
along her fore part, the German ship looked a complete wreck, and
showed not a vestige of life as she lay helpless on the water. She
had a list, and was at a dead standstill. In vain the _Kent_ waited
for her to strike her colours, and so, as she showed no signs of
sinking, opened fire once more, slowly closing and keeping well
before her beam, firing at her with all guns that would bear. Not
till 6.57 did she haul down her colours, whereupon all firing ceased.
On examination it was found that nearly all the _Kent's_ boats were
splintered or smashed up by the enemy's fire, and there were only
two that could be temporarily patched up in a short space of time.
While the necessary repairs were in progress, the _Nürnberg_, which
had been heeling over more and more, turned over on her starboard
side, and in a deathlike silence disappeared beneath the surface
at 7.27 P.M. Captain J. D. Allen, in Writing of his Men, says, "No
sooner had she sunk than the _Kent's_ men displayed the same zeal and
activity in endeavouring to save life as they had done in fighting
the ship. Boats were hastily repaired and lowered, manned by men
eagerly volunteering to help. Unfortunately, the sea was rough and
the water very cold, so we only succeeded in picking up twelve men,
of whom five subsequently died." The search for the survivors was
continued till 9 A.M. It is said that even the living were attacked
by albatrosses.
While the ship was sinking a few German seamen gathered at the stern
and waved their ensign to and fro before going down with the ship.
The _Kent_ was hit thirty-seven times altogether, but suffered
no damage affecting her seaworthiness. Her wireless telegraphy
transmitting instruments were smashed to pieces by a shell, which
passed through the wireless office. She was thus unable to report the
result of her action, and caused the Commander-in-Chief some anxiety
regarding her fate. The receiving instruments, however, were intact,
so all the wireless signals made by the Commander-in-Chief inquiring
as to her whereabouts were taken in and read, though she was
powerless to reply. The upper works on the starboard side presented
a sorry spectacle, but the armour, though hit, was unpierced. Only
two shots burst against the unarmoured part of the ship's side,
one making a hole about four feet square just before the foremost
starboard 6-inch gun on the main deck, and the other a hole of about
equal size on the same side immediately below the after shelter deck.
A German officer who was saved said that they had heard by wireless
that the British had "blown up the harbour" at the Falklands, and had
fled to the west coast of Africa! He also stated that the _Nürnberg_
had not been refitted for three years, and that her boilers were in
a very bad state, which was borne out by some of them having burst
during the chase.
Each seaman 6-inch gun's crew had five Royal Naval Reservemen in it,
and their conduct speaks volumes for the all-round efficiency of the
men that the Navy has drawn from the Reserve during the War.
The total casualties in the _Kent_ amounted to 16 men, 5 of whom were
killed, whilst 3 of the wounded afterwards died of their wounds.
Commander Wharton, of the _Kent_, gives a remarkably realistic
description of the closing scenes: "It was strange and weird
all this aftermath, the wind rapidly arising from the westward,
darkness closing in, one ship heaving to the swell, well battered,
the foretop-gallant-mast gone. Of the other, nothing to be seen
but floating wreckage, with here and there a man clinging, and the
'molly-hawks' swooping by. The wind moaned, and death was in the air.
Then, see! Out of the mist loomed a great four-masted barque under
full canvas. A great ghost-ship she seemed. Slowly, majestically, she
sailed by and vanished in the night." This was the same ghost-ship
that had appeared in the middle of the action fought by the
battle-cruisers--a very fitting apparition, which upholds the legend
that one always appears at a British naval engagement. Meeting one
of the officers of this sailing vessel later on in the Dardanelles,
it was revealed that she had been out at sea so long that she was
unaware that war had even been declared, until she suddenly found
herself a spectator of two naval actions on the same day.
A silk ensign, presented to the ship by the ladies of Kent, was
torn to ribbons in the course of the day. The pieces, however, were
carefully collected by Captain J. D. Allen, and returned to the
donors, who sewed them together. This ensign now hangs in Canterbury
Cathedral. A new silk ensign was given to the ship by the ladies of
the county of Kent, and was hoisted on the first anniversary of the
battle, December 8th, 1915.