Ships of the Samoa Advance Party

This photo shows some of the ships that transported and escorted the Samoa Advance Party at anchor in Apia Harbour in 1914, shortly after the capture of German Samoa.

The three warships in the image – HMS Philomel closest to shore, HMS Psyche behind her and HMS Pyramus to the right of centre – formed the initial escort of New Zealand's troopships (one of which is seen on the far right). These outdated warships were no match for the modern ships of the German East Asia Squadron, the location of which was unknown to Allied forces at the beginning of the war. Had the convoy been discovered by the enemy, it is unlikely that German Samoa would have been captured with such ease.

This image Appears In 2 Articles:

Capture of German Samoa
HMS Philomel

Keywords

hms philomel

german samoa occupation

samoa

royal navy

Credit

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: PA1-q-107-29-1
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

How to cite this page

'Ships of the Samoa Advance Party', URL: https://nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/ships-samoa-advance-party, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 3-Jul-2014