Diary of Capt. J. D. Allen, HMS Kent

Diary of Capt. J. D. Allen, HMS Kent

The Gneisenau and Nürnberg came steadily on towards the harbour until they were only 14,000 yards from the Kent Suddenly we heard the Canopus open fire on them with her 12-inch guns across the land, and we saw the shell strike the water a few hundred yards short of the German ships. This must have surprised them, as Canopus was hidden behind the land. About this time also they must have caught sight of the tripod masts of the Invincible and Inflexible, as they immediately turned round and made off. We could now see the smoke of three more cruisers coming up from the southward: these were the Scharnhorst, Dresden, and Leipzig.

The Glasgow was now coming down the harbour, and soon afterwards the Invincible and Inflexible came out, followed by the Cornwall and Carnavon The Admiral now signalled to the Kent to proceed and observe the enemy's movements, keeping out of range. Off we went at full speed ahead in the direction of the enemy's ships, which were now clearly in sight to the south east, hull down. Presently the Glasgow came along full speed and passed us, then out came the Invincible and Inflexible sending up great columns of black smoke, then the Carnavon and Cornwall. It was a magnificent sight. It was a glorious day just like a fine spring day in England, a smooth sea, a bright sun, a light breeze from the north-west.

Right ahead of us we could see the masts, funnels and smoke of the five german cruisers, all in line abreast and steaming straight away from us. At 10.20 a.m. the signal was made for a general chase, and off we all went as hard as we could go. It was only a question of who could steam the fastest. The Invincible and Inflexible were increasing speed every minute, and soon passed the Kent They were now steaming 25 knots and were rapidly gaining on the enemy.

At 12.55, the Inflexible opened fire from her fore turret at the right hand ship of the enemy, a light cruiser (SMS Leipzig). A few minutes later the Invincible opened fire at the same ship. As the first shots were fired, the Kent's men cheered and clapped. They were as happy and cheerful as any men could be, and you might have thought they were watching a football match instead of going into action. The first shots fell short, as the nearest ship of the enemy was still out of range, but at 1.20 p.m. a 12-inch shell fell close alongside the rear ship and the three light cruisers the Nürnberg, Leipzig, and Dresden turned away to starboard to the south-west. Seeing this, the Kent, Glasgow, and Cornwall turned to starboard, too, in chase of them

As a result of these movements the Kent was now steaming across the wake of the big ships, and about four miles away, so we had a splendid view of them without any risk of being hit. It was a wonderful sight, and the German ships were firing salvo after salvo with marvellous rapidity and control. Flash after flash travelled down their sides from head to stern, all their 6-inch and 8-inch guns firing every salvo. We could not see our own battle-cruisers so well, on account of their smoke, but it was evident they were keeping up a rapid fire. We could see their shell bursting all round and on board the German ships.

The battle became one of separate engagements, with Invincible and Inflexible engaging Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. The fastest German ship, Dresden escaped; Cornwall and Glasgow engaged the Leipzig, leaving Kent to go after Nürnberg.

It was exasperating to know that we must submit to being fired at without being able to hit back until we could get near enough for our guns to reach her. But it was only a matter of time and the Kent could easily put up with a few hits at such long range without being any the worse. It only made us feel more determined We had several shots through our rigging and funnels, and one on the upper deck aft, but no serious damage had been done yet, and nothing to reduce our speed.. It was now raining, fine rain and mist, and the light was getting bad. We altered course slightly to port, and opened fire with the fore turret and the two foremost starboard casemates. Owing to the bad light and the rain it was very hard to see the fall of our shot, but as far as we could see they were going very close to her.

One of Kent's shells hit the Nürnberg's after steering compartment, below the waterline, and at about 5.35 p.m., two of her boilers burst, and her speed fell to 19 knots.