Liberian gunboat Lark shot at German merchant ships according to the Dutch newspaper Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch-Indië dated 16 January 1909

An item dated London 15 January reported that the gunboat Lark belonging to the customs service of Liberia fired at a German steamships which apparently disobeyed the customs rules.(1) A German ship of the Cameroun coastguard departed towards Liberia. The Lark was commanded by a reserve officer of the British navy.

Note

1. Conway’s All the world’s Fighting Ships 1906-1921 mentioned a lark which was ordered in 1906 although not earlier handed over as two years later and which was the former Rothschild yacht Eros commissioned as the Lark. Already seven years decommissioned lacking money to pay the crew and later broken up.