July 6:
New York: Frank Holt (Eric Muenter) commits suicide by climbing the railing of the second floor outside his jail cell and diving head-first to the concrete floor below.
North Sea: Rudolf Schneider, commanding U-24, stops and sinks the Danish schooner Ellen, 169 tons, Heading from Třnsberg to Liverpool with a load of timber. Schneider now has 16 ships and 48,890 tons.
German East Africa:
0410 HMS Mersey and Severn weigh anchor and head toward Rufiji Delta.
0500 General Quarters sounded aboard Mersey and Severn.
05?? About this time Kapitanleutnant Paul M. Koohl, in charge of German shore forces at Kikmiguni, sees the British force approaching and calls Captain Looff on the shore telephone.
0516 HMS Laconia weighs anchor.
0525 Aeroplane flown by F/C Harold E.M. Watkins takes off from Mafia Island with six bombs.
0530 German shore forces at Kikmiguni Point open fire on monitors with field guns.
0532 HMS Hyacinth weighs anchor and proceeds to the mouth of the Rufiji Delta.
0535 Admiral King-Hall transfers his flag to HMS Weymouth, which has a shallower draft than Hyacinth.
0540 Severn returns fire with light weapons. Second aeroplane, F/C John T. Cull and Sub-Lieutenant Harwood J. Arnold, takes off to act as spotter for monitors.
0545 Mersey returns fire with smaller weapons, silencing rifle and machine gun fire.
0550 Mersey and Severn enter Rufiji River.
0600 F/C Watkins drops his six bombs on Königsberg. No serious damage.
0614 Mersey sinks a German cutter seen in a nearby creek.
0617 S/L Arnold signals Severn that he is ready to begin spotting.
0620 Severn anchors in position for firing.
0624 Laconia takes up station off Rufiji River mouth.
0625 Mersey anchors in position for firing. HMS Pioneer sinks a boat at the mouth of the Simba Uranga channel.
0630 Weymouth runs aground crossing the bar into the Rufiji Delta.
0635 Weymouth is free and proceeds into mouth of Rufiji River to lend fire support to the monitors, in company with whalers Echo, Fly, Childers, and Pyramus.
0648 Severn opens fire on Königsberg, directed by spotting aeroplane.
0657 Königsberg opens fire with five of her 10.5cm guns.
0705 S/L Arnold reports Severn's first hit on Königsberg. This shell penetrates the officers' galley, killing one.
0710 Hyacinth records hearing the monitors open fire.
0735 Königsberg salvoes falling dangerously close to Mersey.
0737 Near miss by Königsberg destroys one of Mersey's motor boats.
0740 Mersey hit by 10.5cm shell on forward 6" gunshield. Four killed and five wounded. Mersey weighs anchor and moves position.
0745 Lt. Blackburn and Assistant Paymaster Badger show up in second aeroplane to take over spotting duties.
0755 Mersey drops anchor in new position.
0800 Weymouth, Pyramus and smaller craft proceed to the mouth of the Kikunja channel.
0815 Weymouth opens fire on shore positions.
0820 Severn records Königsberg's fire very accurate.
0840 Lt. Cull takes his spotting aeroplane back to Mafia Island to refuel.
0843 Severn ceases fire.
0850 Mersey opens fire again. Severn weighs anchor and moves position.
0930 S/L Arnold rides with Major Robert Gordon in a third aeroplane to take over spotting again.
0946 Severn anchors in new position. At this time a German spotting party is seen up a tree on a small island half a mile away. Apparently they are signalling the telephone station on Pemba, which in turn calls Königsberg with the information. Severn's 3pdr guns open fire.
0957 Severn opens fire again.
1000 Severn records Königsberg's fire diminishing. This is likely because the lookouts at Pemba cannot see the monitors in their new location.
1017 Blackburn and Badger take their aeroplane home to refuel.
1100 Königsberg ceases firing. This coincides with a hit from Severn which penetrates the German cruiser's hull below the waterline, starting a fire which lasts seven hours.
1117 Blackburn and Badger again take over spotting duties.
1130 Mersey shifts positions again to reduce range, notes spotting plane wireless signals not being recieved. Weymouth records seeing Caudron aeroplane passing overhead. All support ships move out to sea and anchor.
1134 Severn weighs anchor and shifts positions again.
1205 Gordon and Arnold return home to refuel.
1213 Severn opens fire again.
1235 Blackburn's aeroplane suffers engine troubles and heads for home.
1300 Severn ceases fire again.
1330 Lts. Cull and Arnold return in their Caudron to resume spotting duties.
1339 Severn shifts positions again.
1345 Severn delays re-mooring due to sighting floating object, at first thougt to be a possible mine.
1430 Severn opens fire again.
1445 Königsberg opens fire again. Admiral King-Hall transfers back to Hyacinth.
1525 Mersey ceases fire.
1527 Severn ceases fire.
1530 Mersey and Severn weigh anchor and head down-river.
1545 Severn loses one of her anchors overboard.
1550 Cull and Arnold head for home.
1605 Mersey hit by field-gun fire from Kikmiguni Point.
1650 Monitors come out of Kikunja into open sea.
1706 Laconia weighs anchor and proceeds to sea.
1750 Severn and Mersey tie up alongside Trent.
1759 Laconia anchors off Mafia Island.
1815 Duplex and whalers move to night stations.
1830 Mersey proceeds to deep water for funeral services.
Captain Loof has lost four men killed and thirty-five wounded.
__________________
“Never do anything you can't take back.”
—Rocky Russo
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