Capture of the gunboat Kingani

On 26 December 1915 on Lake Tanganyika came the first clash between the British flotilla and the German vessels that had ruled these waters since the start of the war. Only three days earlier two Royal Navy motor boats, Mimi and Toutou, had been launched at Kalemie, by the Belgian post of Lukuga. That morning, Boxing Day, which fell on a Sunday, lookouts spotted on the lake the German gunboat Kingani, steaming south along the Belgian shore. According to the report of the High Commissioner for South Africa it was about 9 a.m., according to the British official history 9.25 a.m.

Kingani was a small wooden steam launch, built in 1894 as a customs boat and carried in sections by rail from Dar es Salaam to the lake. She was about 17 metres long, made about 7 knots according to the British, and had a single light gun in the bows, of 37 mm calibre according to the British official history. Her previous commander, Job Rosenthal, had been taken prisoner at the beginning of December during a night reconnaissance near Lukuga. She was now commanded by Leutnant zur See Junge, who was to find out what was going on along the Belgian shore.

Lieutenant-Commander Geoffrey Spicer-Simson let Kingani pass the landing place, and at about 11.25 a.m. set out after her with Mimi and Toutou to cut off her way back to the German port of Kigoma. Behind them came a small Belgian motor boat with a supply of petrol in case of a long chase. Kingani’s gun could fire only forwards, so Spicer-Simson ordered both boats to attack from astern, from two sides. At 11.40 a.m. the Germans spotted the pursuit and turned east, into Tembwe Bay, but the motor boats were much faster. At 11.47 a.m. they opened fire at a range of about 1,800 metres. The Germans replied with their gun and rifles but scored no hits. As the range closed, Mimi switched to high-explosive shells. One of them pierced the gun shield and killed the commander and one of the gunners, the next killed a petty officer. At 11.58 a.m. the engineer, who had taken command, hauled down the ensign, showed a white handkerchief and stopped the engine.

According to the British official history of the operations in East Africa, Mimi scored 12 hits with 13 rounds, and both officers and three of the four German sailors aboard Kingani were killed. Other accounts give somewhat different numbers of dead and prisoners, among whom were also African crew members. The swell made boarding impossible, so Kingani steamed under escort to Kalemie, where she sank from the damage she had suffered. On the British side no one was killed or wounded.

Within three days Kingani was raised and repaired. She received a Belgian 12-pounder gun and, according to the British official history, on 15 January 1916 joined the Royal Navy as HMS Fifi. Spicer-Simson explained that the name, like Mimi and Toutou, came from French children’s language. Spicer-Simson himself was promoted to Commander, and King George V sent the expedition his congratulations. The German commander on the lake, Gustav Zimmer, long did not know what had become of Kingani. According to the British official history of the naval operations, the Germans attributed her loss to the fire of Belgian shore batteries and were unaware of the presence of the British boats.