Map of Rufigi Delta CAB 45/218 show positions of Monitors, RNAS and KonigsbergĪfter the sinking of the Pegasus, the Konigsberg had been pursued by HMS Chatham to the Rufigi River on 22 November 1914 the recently commissioned Flight Sub-Lieutenant Cutler of the Royal Navy Air Service (RNAS) used his hydroplane to carry out the first aerial reconnaissance.

The correspondence shows that the Admiralty then realised that the Cape squadron needed be strengthened by two or three swift light cruisers of the Konigsberg type, so that they could protect convoys and locate and destroy the German cruiser (ADM 137/9). The Pegasus returned fire but fell short and was severely damaged within several minutes. The Pegasus had been in Zanzibar harbour to repair engines and for cleaning down, when the Konigsberg carried out the surprise attack.

No contact was made with the Konigsberg until 20 September 1914, when the Admiralty received a telegram from Zanzibar at 7.30 am: Konigsberg reported not damaged, Pegasus sunk. An example of was Looff’s capture of the City of Winchester near Aden on 6 August 1914, which was carrying inferior Bombay coal ( ADM 137/9). A problem he faced was that the merchant ships were mainly carrying inferior coal which often could not be used. Max Looff, the Konigsberg’s captain would need to replenish fuel supplies by raiding merchant ships. Raiding the key shipping route from India to Britain via the Suez Canal was seen as a way to disrupt the British war effort and destroy key supplies. Within days she was off Aden and was threateningly placed in the shipping lane of freighters heading for the Suez Canal. The availability of coal and its quality would affect both the Konigsberg and the British ships, limiting the effectiveness of their operations. Admiralty correspondence shows that on 1 August 1914 the Konigsberg slipped her escort as ‘it was not possible to shadow her for any time as Hyacinth had very little coal, and with the fuel (patent) in use, could not get more than 16 Knots at full speed’ ( ADM 137/8). The Konigsberg left Dar-es-Salaam, German East Africa on 31 July 1914, tracked by a combination of three British warships: Astraea, Hyacinth and Pegasus.

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