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Description: | Inscribed, as title, and signed by the artist, lower right. This drawing was reproduced in Wyllie and M.F. Wren's 'Sea Fights of the Great War' (1918), f. p.18 with an account of the action. The 'K�nigin Luise' (note Wyllie's wrong spelling) was completed in 1913 for the Hamburg-Amerika Line. She was taken over by the Imperial German Navy, converted into a minelayer and sailed on her first minelaying mission into the North Sea on 4 August 1914. At 10.00 on 5 August she was sighted about 30 miles off Southwold, Suffolk, by the destroyers 'Lance' and 'Landrail' (both completed 1914) of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla based at Harwich under Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt. At 11.00 the 'Lance' fired the first naval shot of the First World War, followed soon after by the 'Landrail', and they pounded the German ship until she rolled over and sank a little after noon. The two destroyers used their boats to rescue 43 of the German crew and when the scout cruiser 'Amphion' (1911) arrived on the scene, the prisoners were transferred to her . However, 18 of them died on 6 August - with 150 of 'Amphion's' crew - when that ship fell victim to one of the mines laid by the 'K�nigin Luise' and sank, hitting another mine as she capsized. This drawing is not an accurate record, since only 'Lance' and 'Landrail' were close to the 'K�nigin Luise' when she went down. 'Amphion' (on the left) and the other destroyers shown here did not come up until afterwards.
Box Title: Wyllie: Kitson II c, d, e. 1st World War, colour, b & w. | Publisher: | "http://collections.rmg.co.uk/" | Rights holder: | "Royal Museums Greenwich" | Subjects: | drawings Koenigen Louise | Source: | Royal Museums Greenwich | Identifier: | http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections... | Go to resource |
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