HMS 'Pegasus', 3rd-class protected cruiser, at Zanzibar, 19 September 1914

This drawing is an almost exact copy of a photograph of the 3rd-class protected cruiser 'Pegasus' (1897) anchored in the harbour at Zanzibar, Kenya, on 19 September 1914 for boiler cleaning and engine maintenance. She has awnings rigged amidships and at the base of the mainmast. The day after this photograph was taken the 'Pegasus' was caught powerless there, soon after dawn, by the German light cruiser 'Königsberg' (1905). Outranged and outgunned she was very badly damaged and started to sink. Attempts were made to beach her but she sank with just her masts above the water. Sources differ concerning the casualties among her 234 crew: figures of 31 dead and 55 wounded are the most common but 45 killed and 59 dead are also quoted. Her eight 4-inch guns were salvaged and used in the land campaign against German East Africa. The wreck was demolished by explosives in 1955-56 and the shattered remains still lie in a corner of Zanzibar harbour. The inscription by Wyllie along the bottom appears to be a diary note not relevant to the drawing: 'Sunday 28th May / 2.45 St Marys Church Kingstone ....BP 1st July'.

Object Details

ID: PAE3457
Collection: Fine art
Type: Drawing
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Wyllie, William Lionel
Date made: circa 1914; circa 1914-15
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection
Measurements: 247 mm x 311 mm
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