An item reported that the German cruiser Leipzig (1) entered in the evening of the 12th San Francisco, USA to bunker coal. She was part of the German Chinese squadron and passed the Atlantic searching for British merchant ships. Her heaviest guns were of a 10,5cm calibre. The main guns of the Canadian cruiser Rainbow (2) were 2x15cm guns. Further more were two British submarines lying at Esquimault to act immediately if necessary and two warships of which the journalist did not wanted to supply more details were searching for the Leipzig.
Notes
1. A Bremen light cruiser laid down at the shipyard of A.G. Weser at Bremen in July 1904, launched a year later on 21 March and completed in March 1906 and which was destroyed on 8 December 1914 during the battle of the Falkland Islands. Her armour consisted of a deck armour with a thickness of 8-10 cm. With a displacement of 3.756 metric tons/3.697 long tons were her dimensions 110.6 (waterline)-111.1 x 13.3 x 5.61 metres or 362.9-364.5 x 43.6 x 17.4 feet. The two triple expansion engines provided 11.750 ihp allowing a speed of 23 knots. Her crew numbered 288 men. The armament consisted of 10x1-10.5cm guns and further more 2-45cm torpedo tubes.
2. An Apollo-class protected cruiser launched on 25 March 1891 at the shipyard of Palmers, Hebburn-on-Tyne, England for the British Royal navy as HMS Rainbow. With a displacement of 3.600 tons were her dimensions 97.5 x 13.3 x 5.3 metres or 314 x 43.5 x 15.5 feet. Her crew numbered between 273 and 300 men. Her speed was 19.75 knots. The armament consisted of 2-6” quick firing guns, 6-4.7” quick firing guns, 8-6pdrs and 2 or 4-14” torpedo tubes. On 4 August 1910 purchased by Canada, temporarily decommissioned in May 1917 was she a month later again decommissioned to serve as a depot ship. Three years later she was definitive decommissioned and sold to be broken up.
