Most of her crew were asleep when the torpedo struck and
damaged the engine room so much that no lights could be turned
on. In the darkness they hurried to the deck, which was slanting
from her list. In obedience to orders issued by the admiralty after
the sinking of the _Cressy_ and the ships with her, the rest of
the fleet immediately sailed away from the scene, so that no more
of them would be hit. Only a light cruiser stood by the sinking
_Formidable_. A second torpedo struck her and this had the effect
of letting water into her hold on the side which was slowly coming
out of the water. She took a position with even keel after that,
and this fact enabled most of her crew to get off safely before
she sank.
Once more the Germans were to attempt a raid on the coast cities
of England. The date of this third attempt was January 24, 1915.
This time the British were a bit better prepared, for a squadron
of battle cruisers, consisting of the _Lion, Tiger, Princess Royal,
New Zealand_, and _Indomitable_, put out from a port in the north
of England at about the same time that the Germans left their base.
All of these ships, with the exception of the last named, were
quite fast, having speeds of from 25 to 28.5 knots; they were at
the same time carrying heavy armament--13.5-inch guns in the main
batteries. In company with them went four cruisers of what is known in
England as the "town class"; these were the _Nottingham, Birmingham,
Lowestoft_, and _Southampton_, together with the three light cruisers
_Arethusa, Aurora_, and _Undaunted_, and a squadron of destroyers.
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