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Sinking of SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse

April 10, 2024

Sinking of SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse
Part of the Atlantic U-boat campaign of World War I
Date26 August 1914; 109 years ago (1914-08-26)
Location
off Río de Oro, Spanish Sahara
23°43′19″N 15°56′05″W / 23.7219°N 15.9347°W / 23.7219; -15.9347
Result British victory
Belligerents
 United Kingdom  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Henry T. Buller Max Reymann
Strength
1 protected cruiser 1 auxiliary cruiser
Casualties and losses
  • 1 killed
  • 6 wounded
  • 1 cruiser damaged
 1 cruiser scuttled

The Battle of Río de Oro was a single-ship action fought in August 1914 during the First World War, when HMS Highflyer attacked the German SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse off Río de Oro on the coast of Northwest Africa.

Background edit

Under the command of Max Reymann, Imperial German Navy ship SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was originally a passenger liner, built in 1897, part of the German merchant fleet until requisitioned for service at the outbreak of World War I and fitted with six 4-inch guns and two 37-millimeter guns. The German vessel set steam for a commerce raiding mission in the Atlantic Ocean.

Commanded by Henry T. Buller, Royal Navy ship HMS Highflyer was a protected cruiser built in 1898 with eleven 6-inch guns, nine 12-pounder guns, six 3-pounder guns and two torpedo tubes. She had been detached to support the 5th Cruiser Squadron in hunting the German raider.

Battle edit

 
HMS Highflyer

The battle of 26 August 1914 began when the German raider Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was caught by surprise in a harbour, taking on coal from three German and Austro-Hungarian colliers. Highflyer, greatly outgunning the German auxiliary cruiser, first demanded surrender, but the German commander argued that the British had violated Spain's neutrality.

The British disregarded this because the Germans had already violated Spain's neutrality by taking over a week to resupply in a neutral port. So a battle began: from 15:10 to 16:45 the two ships bombarded each other, sometimes dodging the shots. Eventually, Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse exhausted her ammunition and sought to flee the battle. The crew then scuttled the ship, made it to shore and escaped into the Saharan Desert.

Aftermath edit

 
Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse

British sources at the time insisted the German auxiliary cruiser was sunk by Highflyer's crew but eventually stories from the surviving German seamen began to circulate, thus ending Britain's claim. Regardless of whether the ship was sunk by the British or scuttled by the Germans, the British were still responsible for the raider's demise.

Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse became the first passenger liner to sink during World War I. The wreck of the German commerce raider was identifiable because its starboard side remained above the waterline until the ship was scrapped in 1952. One British soldier was killed in the battle and six others were wounded. German casualties are unknown.

See also edit

References edit

Further reading edit

  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, B. (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy. London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818.

External links edit

  • The Great Ocean Liners: Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse
  • Lostliners: Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse
  • Maritimequest Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse photo gallery

April 10, 2024
sinking, kaiser, wilhelm, grosse, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Sinking of SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations February 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Sinking of SS Kaiser Wilhelm der GrossePart of the Atlantic U boat campaign of World War IDate26 August 1914 109 years ago 1914 08 26 Locationoff Rio de Oro Spanish Sahara23 43 19 N 15 56 05 W 23 7219 N 15 9347 W 23 7219 15 9347ResultBritish victoryBelligerents United Kingdom GermanyCommanders and leadersHenry T BullerMax ReymannStrength1 protected cruiser1 auxiliary cruiserCasualties and losses1 killed6 wounded1 cruiser damaged1 cruiser scuttled The Battle of Rio de Oro was a single ship action fought in August 1914 during the First World War when HMS Highflyer attacked the German SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse off Rio de Oro on the coast of Northwest Africa Contents 1 Background 2 Battle 3 Aftermath 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksBackground editUnder the command of Max Reymann Imperial German Navy ship SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was originally a passenger liner built in 1897 part of the German merchant fleet until requisitioned for service at the outbreak of World War I and fitted with six 4 inch guns and two 37 millimeter guns The German vessel set steam for a commerce raiding mission in the Atlantic Ocean Commanded by Henry T Buller Royal Navy ship HMS Highflyer was a protected cruiser built in 1898 with eleven 6 inch guns nine 12 pounder guns six 3 pounder guns and two torpedo tubes She had been detached to support the 5th Cruiser Squadron in hunting the German raider Battle edit nbsp HMS HighflyerThe battle of 26 August 1914 began when the German raider Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was caught by surprise in a harbour taking on coal from three German and Austro Hungarian colliers Highflyer greatly outgunning the German auxiliary cruiser first demanded surrender but the German commander argued that the British had violated Spain s neutrality The British disregarded this because the Germans had already violated Spain s neutrality by taking over a week to resupply in a neutral port So a battle began from 15 10 to 16 45 the two ships bombarded each other sometimes dodging the shots Eventually Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse exhausted her ammunition and sought to flee the battle The crew then scuttled the ship made it to shore and escaped into the Saharan Desert Aftermath edit nbsp Kaiser Wilhelm der GrosseBritish sources at the time insisted the German auxiliary cruiser was sunk by Highflyer s crew but eventually stories from the surviving German seamen began to circulate thus ending Britain s claim Regardless of whether the ship was sunk by the British or scuttled by the Germans the British were still responsible for the raider s demise Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse became the first passenger liner to sink during World War I The wreck of the German commerce raider was identifiable because its starboard side remained above the waterline until the ship was scrapped in 1952 One British soldier was killed in the battle and six others were wounded German casualties are unknown See also editBattle of TrindadeReferences editFurther reading editColledge J J Warlow B 2006 Ships of the Royal Navy London Chatham ISBN 9781861762818 External links editThe Great Ocean Liners Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse Lostliners Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse Maritimequest Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse photo gallery Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sinking of SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse amp oldid 1217981973, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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