ON THE OUTER SEAS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2263, 24 September 1914, Page 5

ON THE OUTER SEAS

CAPTURED MERCHANT SHIPS , THE TOTALS TO DATE The Prime Minister has received the following message from the High Commissioner :— London, September 23, 2.30 a.m. Official—H.M.S. Berwick is operating in North Atlantio waters. It is reported that she has captured the, German Hamburg-America liner Spreewald, known to be fitted as an armoured merchant'cruiser. At the same time two colliers were captured in Atlantio waters loaded with coal. The vessels had on board 6000 tons of coal, and 180 tons of provisions. The total number of German vessels captured- by British vessels at sea or by British port authorities now amounts to 92 ships. In addition 95 German vessels wore detained in British ports on the outbreak of the war, making a total of 187 German vessels in our possession. Seventy British vessels were detained in German ports on tho outbreak of the war. Since then twelve British seagoing vessels have been captured or sunk at sea, out of 4000 British vessels carrying oversea trade. Tho Spreewald is a vessel of 3899 tons, built in 1907, and belonging to the Hamburg-America Lino. She has a speed of 12.} knots. The British cruisers, reported as operating in the North Atlantic, are tho Fourth Cruiser Squadron of tho First Home Fleet, and they had been assigned to these waters for some months before the outbreak of war. This squadron consists of the Suffolk, Berwick, Essex, Lancaster, armoured cruisers, of the county cliwn, and the Bristol, _ which is protested second-class cruiser, la

a addition, the Drake, a heavy, armoured cruiser, was dispatched from Home waters-to assist in the work of disposing of the German menace to British shipping, _ and the protected first-class cruiser Niobe, a Canadian vessel, is also on the station. o «'!, Berwick > Essex > Lancaster, and Suffolk are sister ships, of 9800 tons displacement, each 440 feet long. Their armament is practically identical, consisting of fourteen six-inch guns, eight 0 twelve-pounders, three three-pounders, - eight machine-guns and two torpedo tubes. They differ slightly in speed, . being credited respectively with 23.61, 8 22.79, 24.01, and 24.7 knots an hour. EMDEN INSTRUCTED BY WIRELESS LONDON "TIMES'". THEORY. (Reo. September 23, 5.40 p.m.) B arm. m London, September' 22. 1 , 1^ e -limes _ _ naval correspondent i hazards the opinion that the Ernden acted under instructions received by wireB ess from Berlin. The notion that Berlin is able to direct operations at such I a distance is almost uncanny, and there j can be no more striking oxmbition of the use of wireless in naval war imaginable. _ We may picture Admiral von j Tirpitz in his office in Berlin receiving 0 news of the situation in the Bay of 8 Bengal, realising that there is opportunity for a little coup and issuing his order, while the cruiser does the rest.— _ ("Times" and Sydney "Sun" Service.) j ZANZIBAR ENCACEMENT. y ACCURATE GERMAN SHOOTING, f. London, September 22. The German cruiser Konigsberg, at 6 o'clock in the morning, disabled the British cruiser Pegasus with, three shots, shooting very accurately. The Pegasus's broadside was engaged, but the guns were disabled in fifteen minutes. Most of the casualties occurred round the guns. 3 A flag of truce was shot away, and marines then held it up by hand.