About the Emden



emden

S.M.S. Emden

Displacement 3650 tons. Length 387 feet. Breadth 44.5 feet Draught 15.75 feet.
Armament Ten 4.1 inch Q.F. Guns; two Machine Guns: two submerged Torpedo Tubes.
Engines, Reciprocating, 2 shafts. Fuel Capacity 777 tons (coal). Speed 24.5 knots.







The S.M.S Emden was a German Light Cruiser built in Danzig in 1907 and 1908 and named after the City of Emden, a port on the Ems River. She became part of the Imperial German Navy in 1910.

At the outbreak of the first World War in 1914, the Emden, under the command of Captain Karl von Müller and with a crew of 17 Officers and 361 men, operated as an independent raider, causing much havoc to Allied shipping in the sea lanes of the Indian Ocean.




Captain Karl von Müller

In a period of just under three months between the 2nd of August and 30th October she had sunk or captured 28 merchant ships, torpedoed and sunk a Russian Cruiser, sunk a French Destroyer with gunfire and shelled oil tanks at Madras.

The Emden was a master of disguise by being able to set a fake fourth funnel made out of canvas, giving her the appearance of a British cruiser.

Captain von Müller did not always sink the ships he captured. Those containing coal he kept for coaling the Emden, others he used for transporting captured crews and passengers to various ports. He gained international recognition for his excellent treatment of his captives.

On November the 9th, the Emden entered the harbour of Direction Island in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands with the intention of destroying the British Cable and Wireless Station on the island.

This proved to be a fatal mistake.


Return to Emden Page

| The Battle | Cocos (Keeling) Islands | Emden's War Exploits | Battle Map |
| Direction Island Revisited | Contact | Cable and Wireless Station |

| Memorabilia and Photos | The Ayesha |




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