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Battle or Action:
HMS Pegasus, Sinking of
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Detail : |
HMS Pegasus In the early morning of September 20, 1914 HMS Pegasus was anchored in Zanzibar harbour, now part of Tanzania, having left her battle group, which included HMS Hyacinth and HMS Astraea, to attend to boiler and engine problems. The German light cruiser SMS Koenigsberg launched a surprise attack on the ship. Out-ranged and out-gunned, HMS Pegasus was incapacitated within eight minutes and the Captain, Commander Ingles, struck the colours to avoid further bloodshed. The ship sank later that day with the loss of 38 killed and 55 wounded. The hospital ship Gascon and Scottish ship Clan Macrae came to the aid of the survivors. The HMS Pioneer, Pegasus' sister ship, later assisted in the blockade of the Rufiji River where the Koenigsberg had taken refuge. Six of the eight guns of the Pegasus were salvaged and two, named Peggy III and Peggy IV, were used in the land campaign until 1916. Of the other four, two remained in Zanzibar, one was mounted on board the lake steamer Winifred and the last mounted at Mombasa where it survives to this day outside Fort Jesus museum. Twenty four of the British sailors that died in the battle were laid to rest in a mass grave in part of the naval cemetery on Grave Island, Zanzibar; the remaining fourteen were buried in the town cemetery but in 1971 were moved to Dar es Salaam war cemetery. The wreck was sold in 1955 for £500 and broken up for scrap, although large amounts of debris still remain on the seabed.
Leamington Spa Courier records the detail in its 25 September publication: The Story of the Action. The following account of the action in which H.M.S. "Pegasus" became "completely disabled" shows the unequal nature of the contest.
The "Koenigsbery" approached at full speed at 5 a.m. on Sunday, and disabled a British patrol boat with three shots. She then opened fire on the "Pegasus." Her shooting, which was very accurate, began at a range of 9,000 yards, closing to 7,000. All the broadside of the "Pegasus" was engaged, but her guns were disabled in fifteen minutes, when her fire ceased. After a lull of five minutes the "Koenigsberg" again opened fire for another quarter of an hour, the "Pegasus" being unable to reply.
Out of her crew of 234, no fewer than 25 were killed and 80 wounded. Nearly all the casualties occurred around the guns and on the upper deck. Lieut.-Commander Turner only survived long enough to be brought ashore.
The British flag was shot away twice, but was held up by hand by Marines. Apparently little or no damage was done to the "Koenigsberg" which then turned and steamed away to the south.
The naval correspondent of The Times says:- The little cruiser could only fall an easy prey, since she could neither get away nor reach her opponent with her guns. Zanzibar harbour affords no protection whatever, for it is practically an open roadstead, and it may be assumed that only an urgent necessity found the "Pegasus" cleaning her boilers and repairing machinery in such a place. As a fighting unit the Pegasus is no great sacrifice, but it is a sad ending to a little vessel which had done useful service to be completely disabled and lose such a large proportion of her crew.
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