Loss By 16 March Leopard was in the Norwegian Sea, where at 1145 hrs the armoured cruiser and armed boarding steamer sighted her. At 1400 hrs Achilles overtook Leopard, ordered her to stop, and sent Dundee to inspect her. Dundee lowered a boat, in which she sent a boarding party of an officer and five ratings to inspect Leopard. Leopard kept trying to turn broadside-on to Dundee, ready to bring her concealed guns to bear. Dundee kept trying to keep astern of Leopard to prevent this. Dundees commander suspected that Leopard had twin screws, and was using them to turn the ship. However, this was not the case. At 1540 or 1545 hrs Leopard opened her port gun ports, revealing her guns. Dundee immediately opened fire at a range of about . The British ship's two 4-inch guns immediately hit Leopards gun deck and engine room, while her one 3-pounder gun aimed at her bridge. Achilles opened fire at a range of . Dundee fired 44 4-inch shells and 25 3-pounder shells before the German ship fired her first shot. Leopard then fired three salvoes at Dundee. The first two fell short, and the third overshot. Thereafter, Leopards guns fired only singly. None of the shots hit Dundee, except with fragments of shrapnel. Leopard also fired three torpedoes at Dundee, but all missed. At 1615 hrs Dundee ran out of ammunition. Achilles continued firing. Leopard was on fire throughout, but one of her guns kept firing. At 1633 or 1635 hrs Leopard listed to port and sank with all hands: 319 officers and men. The six Dundees boarding party were reported missing; presumed captured by Leopard and killed either in the British bombardment or when the German raider sank. Aftermath Soon after the action a bottle was found, containing a message purporting to be from a member of Leopards crew who had thrown it overboard during the engagement. It bore the time and place and read "In action with British cruiser. Fighting for the glory and honour of Germany. A last greeting to our relatives." After Leopard was sunk, only days into her first patrol, Germany ceased trying to send surface raiders to attack Allied shipping. The German Navy had resumed unrestricted submarine warfare on 1 February, and after Möwe returned to port on 22 March, Germany relied on U-boats alone to sink Allied shipping. References Bibliography 1912 ships Auxiliary