page_title: RMS Alcantara (1913)
section_title: Battle with Greif
hierarchical_section_title: RMS Alcantara (1913) / HMS Alcantara / Battle with Greif
caption_attribution_description: English: HMS Alcantara engages the German raider Grief on 29 February 1916, in the North Sea. Both ships sank.
context_page_description: SS Alcantara was an ocean liner that went into service just weeks before the start of World War I, was converted to an armed merchant cruiser in 1915, and was sunk in combat with the German armed merchant cruiser SMS Greif in 1916.
context_section_description: In January 1916 Alcantara embarked on the 10th Cruiser Squadron's G patrol. She was due to return to port on 1 March, but on the morning of 29 February 1916 she was north-east of Shetland en route to a rendezvous with Andes she intercepted the German merchant raider Greif disguised as the Norwegian merchant ship Rena out of Tønsberg, Norway. At 0915 hrs at a range of 6,000 yards Alcantara ordered Greif to stop for inspection, which she did. Alcantara's company went to Action Stations, she trained her guns on Greif, closed to 2,000 yards and slowed to lower a cutter to put an armed guard aboard the suspect ship.
  At 0940 hrs Greif increased speed and opened fire. One source claims she raised the Imperial German war ensign ("Kriegsflagge"). However, Alcantara's captain, Thomas Wardle, reported that after lowering the Norwegian ensign Greif fought under no flag. The first shell hit Alcantara's bridge, disabling her steering gear, engine order telegraph and all telephones and killing or wounding a number of men. Captain Wardle ordered full speed and open fire at a range of 2,000 yards. A messenger was sent aft and got her after emergency steering gear connected.
  Greif turned to starboard and closed range to 750 yards. Several German shells hit Alcantara near her waterline, entering her stokehold bunkers and engine room. Greif tried to torpedo Alcantara. Captain Wardle reported that evasive action at 1002 hrs allowed the torpedo to pass clear under Alcantara's stern, but another source states that a torpedo detonated amidships against Alcantara's port side. A shell from Alcantara's port after 6-inch (150 mm) gun hit and detonated the ready ammunition for  Greif's after gun, putting it out of action. By 1015 hrs Greif was badly afire by her bridge and seemed to have stopped. At 1022 hrs Alcantara saw boats leaving Greif and duly ceased fire.
  Greif then fired one more shot, and Alcantara duly returned fire. The one shot was later attributed to a shell left in the breech of an abandoned gun being fired by the heat of the fire now raging aboard Greif.
  By 1035 hrs Alcantara was reduced to about 3 knots (5.6 km/h) and her after steering gear was disabled. Her helm seemed to be jammed hard over to starboard but she was turning to starboard. Wardle ordered his company to cease fire, stop engines and go to boat stations. The order to stop engines was not received, but flooding in the engine room stopped them. Several of Alcantara's lifeboat falls had been damaged by enemy fire, so that attempts to launch some boats caused men to be dropped into the sea. Alcantara rolled, capsized and sank at 1102 hrs. At least 15 of her boats and a large liferaft floated clear.
  The C-class light cruiser HMS Comus and M-class destroyer HMS Munster then arrived. Comus proceeded to rendezvous with Andes about 8,000 yards away, while Munster started rescuing survivors. Greif was carrying a large amount of cork that at first kept her afloat. Andes and Comus reopened fire on Greif. Eventually a large explosion, possibly of ammunition, sank the German ship.
  The battle killed 230 men from Greif and 68 from Alcantara. 210 German survivors were rescued.
caption: An artist's impression of HMS Alcantara and SMS Greif engaging each other
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