CORONEL, BATTLE OF

On November 1, 1914, Rear-admiral Cradock, with a British naval squadron comprising the armored cruisers Good Hope (flagship) and Mon mouth, the light cruiser Glasgow, and the armed liner Otranto, encountered a powerful Ger. squadron under Admiral von Spee, composed of the armored cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the light cruisers Niirnberg, Leipzig, and Dresden, off Coronel on the coast of Chile (36° 25’ §8., 73° 45’ W.). The action opened at 7 p.m. at a range of 12,000 yds. in a rough sea, and took the form of a running fight to the south. By 7.35, when the range was 5,500 yds., Good Hope was burning fiercely; a great explosion took place shortly afterwards and the ve el began to settle down. Mon mouth was also on fire, and turned to the westward, followed by Ntirnberg. The Brit. ship refused to surrender and went down with her flag flying. The Ger. squadron bore down upon Glasgow, which, however, effected a miraculous escape, Otranto having made off at an earlier stage. They succeeded in joining Canopus on the following day.