Aug 16,1730 hours. SMS
Nürnberg, Observatory Inlet, Near Anyox B.C.
“Action stations! Jam wireless transmissions! Form up boarding party!” ordered Von Schönberg. A barge followed the tug around the point. Von Schönberg raised his binoculars. The tug’s name was
SS Pyrite. She was working hard towing a black hulled barge named
Louisiana, clearly a former sailing ship, her hull sitting low in the water.
“Sound the siren! Signal for tug to stop!” The
Nürnberg’s siren filled the channel.
The tug flashed back in Morse. “Enemy vessel repots it must keep headway or lose control of its tow.” Reported the signalman. The intervening distance closed rapidly, with tug and its load being carried on the tide.
Nürnberg slowed, keeping only enough forward motion for steerage.
Prince Rupert copied, then appearing to think better of it, dashed upstream to stay clear. The tug and barge passed
Nürnberg head-on, to port
.
“Helm, bring us about to port, full rudder, opposite screws, full speed.” By running one engine full forward and one full reverse,
Nürnberg turned 180 degrees in little more than her own 115 meter length.
“Chase down that tug!” The cruiser soon caught up with the tug and its load and matched speeds. Members of the tug’s crew were yelling towards
Nürnberg and waving her off. “Boarding party forward! We are going to have to do this pirate style, he said to the helmsman. I want you to put our bow against that tug, and keep it there so the boarding party can jump across. We have to be very careful to keep our screws from getting fouled. If we bend a blade, it is a long way the Wilhelmshaven. Execute!”
Nürnberg turned gently to port, pressing the side of her bow against the tug’s bow. The tug’s bow was wrapped in jute hawser to cushion her rail when pushing loads, so the screeching and grinding sounds were subdued. A dozen armed sailors jumped across the gap to the lower foredeck of the tug, staggering and sprawling on landing. One lost his rifle overboard. They quickly took control of the
Pyrite’s wheelhouse. Von Schönberg noticed that the pressure from the
Nürnberg’s bow was pushing the tug’s bow to starboard, and slowing her. Indeed, tow line slackened, and dipped deeper into the sea.
“Bring that crew aboard!” Von Schönberg called through his loudhailer. “All the below decks crew as well! The prize will be sunk in one minute!” Both the
Nürnberg and the
Pyrite continued to rotate slowly to starboard, and the barge was now noticeably overtaking them both. In the number four gun casemate, one deck below the main deck, the crew were looking out level with the tug’s deck. They had their barrel shipped inboard, so as not to snag the tug’s rigging, and realized that their open gun port was the quickest route back onboard
Nürnberg. The gun crew called to the boarding party, and the tug’s captive crew was marched over to the gun port and pulled through by the outstretched arms of the gunners.
The barge had not lost momentum as fast as the tug, and continued to overtake, turning slightly to port as it did so. Von Schönberg ran to the starboard bridge wing, where he could look directly down on the tug’s deck. “Helm! On my order, Full astern!” he called. The gunners were pulling the boarding party through the gun port as fast as they could, having to dodge bayonets as the rifles were passed back onboard. One of the rifles got stuck crossways against the gun port opening. The barge connected with the stern of the
Pyrite and forced her against the side of the
Nürnberg as between a hammer and an anvil. The tug’s screw began beating against the cruiser’s hull with a terrible rhythmic clanging. The trees scrolling by on the north side of the inlet were becoming uncomfortably close.
“Leave the rifles!” yelled the gun commander. The remainder of the boarding party scrambled wildly aboard. The last two were grabbed by their suspenders and pulled through the port, legs kicking in space as the tug, pushed by the barge, swung side on into the current.
“Full astern!” ordered Von Schönberg. Great gouts of water churned behind
Nürnberg’s stern as she backed away. As they watched, the barge rode on top of the tug, pushing her under with a horrible crunching. The
Pyrite capsized side on to the channel, with the black bottom of her hull facing downstream. Her funnel broke away as it was forced against the barge’s rail. There was an explosion and white burst of steam as the sea found her boiler. Then the tug disappeared under the barge.
“Sink that barge with gunfire!” ordered Von Schönberg. Guns numbers one and two opened fire immediately. At less than 200 meters this was point blank range, and both guns registered hits on the first shot, aimed at the water line. The high explosive shells raised tall waterspouts, and pieces of timber flew skyward. Four seconds later the forward guns fired again, and managed two more hits. On the third salvo, gun six joined, the crew finding they had a line of sight. The crew of gun four was still too distracted from the rescue to respond.
“Cease fire!” ordered Von Schönberg. The barge was visibly settling. The
Louisiana capsized to port. As she did so the hatch covers broke away, and cascades of heavy blocks rained into the channel. The hull of the
Pyrite re-appeared, upside down and low in the water her screw shiny and deformed, but still turning. Ahead of her, the barge sank quickly.
“Secondary guns, sink the tug!” The two starboard 5.2 cm guns fired into the tugs upturned hull. The 2 kilogram shells only had a bursting charge the power of a hand grenade, and left small holes in the hull. Still, this seemed to be sufficient to let the trapped air escape and the tug disappeared under the water. After three salvos Von Schönberg ordered a cease fire.
“Helm, Bring us about.”
The Nürnberg again performed the maneuver that had her turn on the spot, and faced north-east, upstream, towards Anyox. Von Schönberg went down from the bridge to check on the Pyrite’s crew and the boarding party. When the
Pyrite’s captain saw Von Schönberg he lunged forward and shouted “You crazy son of a bitch! You crazy son of a bitch!” over and over. The lieutenant from the boarding party, who had lost his hat, held the tug captain by the collar until he had exhausted himself.
“I can’t say that I disagree with you captain,” said Von Schönberg. "But, this
is war."
Looking upstream he saw the
Prince Rupert holding station, waiting for
Nürnberg. The Morse light was flashing a message. Momentarily, the signalman came to Von Schönberg. “Message from
Prince Rupert sir.”
RADL SAYS THAT WAS ONE MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF COPPER JUST SUNK
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Königsberg-class_cruiser_(1905)#/media/File:Königsberg_class_cruiser_diagrams_Janes_1914.jpg
