SOLVED AT LAST.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 235, 13 March 1915, Page 2

SOLVED AT LAST.

TniT KOENiG-SBERG' MYSTERY. BOTTLED UP AND" 1 SUNK. ! (Lyctelton Tillies; correspondent jl. Lond'on, January 15. mystery of wltut happened to the German cruiser Koenigsllerg after she was bottled up in the- Ruflji River, i on the cast coast' of Africa- is solved at last.. That she couM'not escape', owing j to Vessels having been sunk in the only I navigable channel of the river- was announced by the Admiralty aborrt the, I same time as the news of" the- Einden's fate waß issued, lint until'now we have not been permitted' to know what further steps were taken to make 'Sure that the Koenigsberg would never again vex- our mercantile marine, ami at the same time relieve our warships on the African coast of the- necessity for keeping an eye on tile RullJt River. Whilst she remained iir being there was always a possibility tliat German ingenuity might discover-a method of clearing the channel""sufficiently to enable their ship to reach open sea again, unless British ships were ltept on hamt to frustrate their efforts. According; however, to Captain WiHett, who was in command of one of the vessels sacrificed in the "bottling up" operation, the Koenigsberg was eventually battered' into wreckage' by the big- guns of the ships which ran her to earth. Captain AA'illett's story of tha chase and destruction t of this German raider forms quite a thrilling chaptei> in the history of the war at sea. It seems that on the evening-when war was declared' tlie Koenigsberg was in the harbor 1 of Dar-es-Salaam. and two British cruisers lay outside. Tlie Koenigsberg steam- '! edemt to sea at miihlight, and .it was I not until several' hours later that the British received the news tliat hostilities bad-begun. | The Koenigsberg rapidly got to work I amongst our- shipping-, and eventually I she attacked' and placed hors de combat If.M.S. Pegasus at Zanzibar, while the boilers of the Pegasus were being repaired. Several vessels were soon on her track,- hut, she evaded detection until one morning a steamer was seen coming out of tlie Rtiflfi River, which enters tlio Indian Ocean just behind the Mafia Islands. The movements of-thi# steamer aroused suspicion and she was chased. Site doubled back up the river, but not before she was recognised as the Oerin nn East Africa liner Somali. Soon after the Koenigsberg was located higher up the stream. Both were shelled by the British cruisers, ami the Somali was quickly set on fire and sunk. The Koenimberg, however, t/K ->ut of range and sight by working l.e? wey < •> the river. " ROTATED UP.» Our cruiser could net follow far enough up to shell her effectively, an the British decided t) "bottle up" the enemy's craft. To effect this purpose, Captain AVilleti,'.-' boat, the was requisitioned. This] vessel had just taken a cargo of coai toi Zanzibar, and still had 1500 tons on] board, which was afire. Her olvn crew were replaced by naval officers and b]ue--1 jackets. Captain Willett, however, remained on board, but Lieutenant Lavington, late of the Pegasus, was in charge. ' Arrangements were, made to protect those 011 board from the gunfire of the enemy. Sand bags were placed forward , and sacks of coal piled up aft, while a steel sheet was used as p.. protection for the steering gear and engiiie-rocini. These preparations were carried out with great secrecy, but (he Germans evident- ■ ly received information of the intended! visit of the Newbridge, and its object. • Consequently they had made every preparation to give, those on board a particularly warm reception. There is a small island at the ;n----tranee of the river, and a number of the Kocnigrtberg's crew had entrenched themselves here, supported with Maxims and nuickfirors landed from their ship. The, Newbridge went in under her own steam, and the Germans soon opened lire as soon as she came within range, but, in spite of a hail of bullets ami shrapnel, the only casualty was caused by a shell exploding in one of the sacks of coal, and a seaman got badly peppered with minute, pieces. After the Newbridge had been manoeuvred into position for blocking the channel her anchors were' let go, and the ship was then securely moored into position. Three charges of gimcotton were placed in the hold, an electric wire being led therefrom to the turret deck and connected with one of the launches that accompanied the ship on her mission. Previous to exploding tlie charges water was let into the port tank, so that she took a list up stream, and would sink iu that position, thus offering the greatest resistance to the current, which would rapidly silt up the sand over- the vessel. AA'hen all w»« 1n readiness the little crew took to the boats, the guncotton charges were exploded, and' tile ship filled and sank. A PERILOUS JOURNEY. Then began the most perilous part of the undertaking-. The launches and boats had to run the gauntlet of the Germans lying in wait for them, at point-blank range, as they proceeded to rejoin the British cruisers. The first victim was the coxswain of one of the launches. lie was struck in the shoulder by a dinn-dum bullet, which came out oil the other side of his body, the whole, of his left breast being torn away. His death was instantaneous. Other casualties soon followed; the "cox" of the other launch being killed with a bullet right through his head. Another dum-dum tore the muscles from the arms of one of the artificers. In all. eight men from the-warships were wounded and two killed, and the, Duplex. a, cable ship which accompanied the Newbridge, had five Lascars killed, while a lieutenant of the Royal Naval Reserve, who was on hoard the Duplex, had the sinews and muscles of one arm shot away. HOAV THE END CAME. A day or two Inter the Duplex went , ashore, on a reef. After being towed off she was found to be badly holed, so she was also sunk iu the fairway to complete the bottling-up process.' Three ves-els were now sunk in the channel, the Somali lay furthest up stream, the Newbridge and Duplex lying inside the reef nearest the sea, aiid as there is only one navigable channel of sufficient depth for f'.;." a cruiser, the Koenigsberg's f;i'.i' .'-reined completely sealed."so far as esc-ive from the river was concern- ' ed. But the cruiser captains were not r taking any risks, and decided, if possible, 1 to make assurance doubly sure, by des- < tuning her. And this is how her end came five days later. The German cruiser had so effectively concealed herself amongst the palms by actually covering i herself with foliage, that it was impos" ' sible to locate the exact position. To get over this difficulty the Kinfauns i Castle arrived on the scene with an aeroplane. This was soon soaring over the river, and the position of the hidden cruiser conveyed to the British by means of smoke bombs. Very quickly' the big guns of our ships got tlie range,' and battered the Koenigsberg till she was sunk.