EMDEN’S GUNS SALUTE AUCKLAND

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 698, 25 June 1929, Page 1

EMDEN’S GUNS SALUTE AUCKLAND

IN MORNING’S GREY

German Cruiser Arrives COURTESY CALLS EXCHANGED Welcomes on Ship-Board

WITH the mist of a rainy morning shrouding her, the German cruiser Emden, third of the name, nosed her way round North Head at eight o’clock, after a journey of 11 days from Thursday Island. She fired a salute of 21 guns, answered shot for shot from Fort Cautley. After the granting of pratique she anchored in the stream for the morning, going later in the day to Calliope Dock. Her commander, Captain of Frigate Lothar von Arnauld, German U-Boat hero, received and made official calls during the morning, and many times there throbbed across the Waitemata pinnaces with the flag of the German Republic Hying in the wind. The cruiser now has completed half of the journey ordered for her by President von Hindenburg.

Anchored In the stream with the (ierman Republican flag flying from her stern, and the Iron Cross won by the first Emden planted at her bows, the cruiser looks much the same as those of the New Zealand naval division. With the Iron Cross at her bows she bears the coat of arms of the town of Emden, after which she is named. The first impression gained by a visit to the ship is her general orderliness and the youth of the ratings.

There are 68 cadets on board, but the general crew appears to be youthful. For the most part men of solid build, they were clad in spotless duck uniforms, and the discipline, although not quite so automatic as that of the British Navy, Was, nevertheless, decidedly marked. OFFICIAL CALLS Pratique granted, the first call received was from the German Consul, Mr. W. I’enseler, who arrived promptly st nine o'clock In one of the vessel’s Pinnaces. He was met at the steps by the officer of the day and a guard of honour, which presented arms as he was piped up the vessel’s side. A short risit to the captain’s cabin followed, "here the usual courtesies were exchanged. The next to call was Commander kelson Clover, the senior naval officer in port, who was accorded the same honours. Then Captain Von Arnauld went ashore to call on the Hon. P. A. fle la Perrelle, Minister of Internal Affairs, at the Grand Hotel, who Is representing the Government, Lieuten-ant-Colonel Duigan, General Staff Officer representing the Northern Comutand, the Mayor, Mr. G. Baildon, at ( be Town Hall, and the chairman of ibe Auckland Harbour Board, Mr. M. Wynyard. This occupied until shortly after half-past ten. when Captain Von Arnauld returned to the vessel to receive the return calls, which were Wade with due ceremony. THE CRUISER’S HEART The heart of the cruiser is to be found in the commander’s cabin, and ln an honoured position is an oil porVait of the late Captain Von Mueller, who commanded the first Emden while she was on her historic raiding career 10 fbe Indian Ocean. •fext to the portrait is a photograph °f the same cruiser, a mass of piled Wreckage on Cocos Islands. Round the fnount of the picture is the ribbon ‘tom the cap of a sailor who participated in the engagement between the b-mden and H.M.A.S. Sydney. In his cabin Captain Von Arnauld as many souvenirs of his great Üboat career. He is credited with the linking cf 200 vessels, and those who . e w his exploits impartially have J* en unanimous in paying tribute to ’■is courage and sportsmanship. . * man under middle age, he has a “/■sk, incisive manner, and speaks English well. He is tall and eager to ttease. On one wall of the cabin is the ™etal plate of the submarine U 35. and eside it is the tattered flag which pc carried from 1916 onward. Having completed his service in the U 35, he *°cik command of the submarine kreu-

zer TJI39, in which he made a hazardous voyage to America. Beside a photograph of this vessel is her battered periscope. This was torn off during an encounter with an Italian ship in the Bay of Biscay in October, 1918. The mishap caused damage that could not be repaired, the result being that the submarine could not submerge. To get to safety she had to cruise along the coast of France and then round Scotland to Germany.

INSPECTION OF VESSEL HALL-MARK OF EFFICIENCY From the moment they stepped on board the Pressmen were treated with the utmost courtesy and hospitality. Oberleutnant Fritz Krauk had been delegated to escort the newspapermen over the vessel. He spoke excellent English and proved a very capable guide He explained that very few of the men had had war service, but ten or twelve officers had taken part. He himself had had war service since 1917. On the Koenig he had taken part in the capture of the Baltic Islands and had served £n board the vessel when she was engaged in the protection of mine-sweepers and on other war work. In addition to the commander, Captain Von Arnauld, the navigator, Lieu-tenant-Captain Fritz Lamprecht, had also served with distinction in various U-boats, and Lieutenant-Captain Kratzenberg, Lieutenant-Captain Kleikamp, Lieutenant-Captain AValdemar Winther, Lieutenant-Captain Stiegel, an engineer officer, liad served in battle cruisers. Naval Chaplain Ronneberger, like the majority of the war service officers, also wore the Iron Cross on his uniform. The chaplain, it was explained, had served with the army before joining the navy. A pleas-ant-faced man, he appeared to be on very popular terms with both officers and men.

In the wardroom, where the party was taken immediately after calling on the captain, a number of officers were found reading letters which had just been brought on board. It was a comfortably equipped room, and files of the principal German papers were hung around the room. Leutnant Krauk proved an excellent host, and in addition was well informed on the salient features of all departments of the vessel. Launched in 1925, the Emden was laid down in 1920, the depression affecting Germany at that time delaying the completion of the vessel until five years later. Nevertheless several modern improvements had been added. The latest Emden is a 6,000-ton vessel, anything larger than that for that class being forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. She is equipped with eight 5.9-inch guns, two 4i-inch, two double torpedo tubes, and two antiaircraft guns. On the bridge the visitors were shown some of the post-war improvements mentioned, including an automatic graph, which registers the slightest deviation from the correct course, and an acoustic sounding apparatus,

which gives the depth of water when approaching land. Everywhere was to be seen the hall-mark of efficiency. EARS OF THE VESSEL

j It was with no little pride that ' Lieutenant Krauk threw open the door ; of the wireless room, of which, as I wireless officer, he was in charge. A dozen men were on duty and they ‘ stood to attention as the officer and Sun representatives passed through i the room. It was a magnificently ; equipped plant, and, so the party was I informed, in direct communication on | short-wave with Germany. The place. I was a bewildering mass of controls | and typewriters were clicking merrily The watchroom, where the watch engineers are stationed, was also a highly technical unit. Here every movement of the ship to the slightest degree, steering or velocity, is recorded on various gauges. A very interesting feature of the watchroom equipment were the gauges that recorded minutely the exact amount of salt contained in the boiler water. Once a careful analytical process, it is now done automatically by electrical apparatus. Down in the bowels of the vessel, by way of narrow, tortuous iron stairs, the party proceeded to the engineroom, the last place, one could not help thinking, to be stationed during an engagement.

There are ten big boilers; six using oil and four coal. When the Emden returns it is thought more than likely that the coal burners will be substituted for oil, not so much on account of greater utility, but for convenience of refuelling. Coal, it was explained, had its uses, particularly as an armament factor. To illustrate this point it was explained how, at Jutland, a 16in. shell from the Queen Elizabeth entered the coal bunkers of one ship, and although it detonated, the force of the explosion was buried in the coal supply, and very little illeffects were experienced. ENGLISH SPOKEN HERE

During the tour of the vessel men were encountered who spoke a few

words of English, and who paraded with considerable pride the few words they knew. In the navigating room one man was discovered laboriously perusing an Auckland newspaper. At the request of a member of the party an officer questioned him as to whether he understood it. and was told that he could pick out bits here and there. The pictorial section, however, he found very interesting. It was explained that the officers spoke English much better than any other foreign language, English being a compulsory course at the Naval Academy. The officers had been informed of the earthquake disaster on the West Coast and regret was courteously and sincerely expressed. An interesting fact mentioned by one of the officers was that while at Naples in January last Vesuvius had shown considerable activity, and during their stay at the Sunday Islands a volcano had also registered displeasure. “It is very unfortunate,” he said, “that we should learn on arrival that part of New Zealand had suffered such a unfortunate experience.” From New Zealand the vessel will proceed to Suva, then to Pago Pago, Honolulu, Californian ports, Panama, Trinidad, Canary Islands, and then home to Germany in time for Christmas. After that another long cruise will begin, but the programme has not yet been drawn up. BY THE WAY GARNERED ITEMS On the walls of the cabin of Captain Von Arnauld’s cabin are hung autographed portaints of President Von Hindenburg and Admiral Von Tirpitz, who commanded the German fleet during the war. There is also a number of superb engravings and etchings. Placed where all members of the crew may see it during the business of the day is the roll of honour of German naval losses during the war. Every ship that went down with flying flag won its title to a place on the list. The recorded losses were as follow: First line ships, 1; battle-cruisers, 7; armoured cruisers, 17; cruisers, 17; auxiliary cruisers, 17; destroyers, 110; U-boats, 198; auxiliary vessels, 170; gunboats, 10; minesweepers, 29; Zeppelins, 30; naval airplanes, 170.

There is a special roll of honour with the names of the 132 men who perished in the engagement between the original Emden and the Sydney. At the bottom of it are three further names, those of the men belonging to tbe Cocos Island landing party who were killed in the Arabian desert on their way to Turkey under Captain Von Muecka.

In another prominent place is President Von Hindenburg’s official command that the cruise be undertaken. The Emden left Wilhelmshaven on December 5, 1928, with orders to visit Sweden, Spain, Suez Canal, East Africa, the Pacific, New Zealand, Honolulu, West Coast of Central America, the West Indies and the United States. The order is signed in Von Hindenburg’s large flowing autograph.

There are some magnificent etchings in the officers’ messroom, and even in the most obscure quarters tasteful pictures, the work of eminent artists, are to be found. =* * >K The cruiser’s hospital has a number of patients just now, but the men are cared for in a spotlessly clean ward where every possible comfort is provided. Even the most wan faces had a smile to spare when visitors broke in upon the peace of the place. “This is the washing man,’’ said Ober-Leutnant Krauf, as some visitors explored a dark part of the ship. The washing man had very little German blood in him —he was a Chinese. The arrival of the German cruiser attracted a large crowd to the Admiralty Steps on the waterfront this morning, where the arrival and departure of the captain of the cruiser, Government, civic and military representatives in the process of paying and returning courtesy calls was watched with considerable interest. The cruiser’s pinnace with the flag of the German Republic dipping over the stern was a very busy little craft, making frequent visits to tbe steps in turning official visitors. The assistance of several of the Harbour Board’s staff was required to keep the approach to the steps clear.