 When war was declared in August 1914 , Good Hope was ordered to reinforce the 4th Cruiser Squadron and became the flagship of Rear Admiral Christopher Cradock . Cradock moved the available ships of his squadron later that month to the coast of South America to search for German commerce raiders . He was then ordered further south to the Strait of Magellan to block any attempt of the German East Asia Squadron to penetrate into the South Atlantic . He found the German squadron on 1 November off the coast of Chile . The German squadron outnumbered Cradock 's force and were individually more powerful ; they sank Cradock 's two armoured cruisers in the Battle of Coronel . Good Hope was lost with all hands . 
