'Pegasus after her action with Konigsberg'

Inscribed by the artist, as title. Early on the morning of 20 September 1914, the 3rd-class protected cruiser, HMS 'Pegasus' (1897) was at anchor in Zanzibar harbour, Kenya, undergoing repairs to her engines and boilers, when she was surprised by the German light cruiser 'Königsberg' (1905). She was outranged and outgunned by the German ship and in under ten minutes was completely disabled. Her colours were struck to enable her surviving crew members to get ashore and the severely damaged ship capsized and sank later that morning. All that remained visible were her masts, which is what is shown here with a patch of land beyond. It was not until 1955 that the wreck was sold for breaking up as scrap metal.

Object Details

ID: PAE0975
Collection: Fine art
Type: Drawing
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Wyllie, William Lionel
Vessels: Pegasus (1897)
Date made: circa 1914
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection
Measurements: 189 mm x 157 mm
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