Dwarf spent much of her career along the western and southern coasts of Africa and had already served in the Boer War. She was also among the Royal Navy's early radio-equipped ships. In 1914 she defeated an armed German steamer during the campaign against German West Africa, in one of the war's first ship-to-ship engagements. Her shallow draft remained useful enough that she survived periods in reserve and was not paid off until 1925.
Chapter · 45:40-47:17
HMS Dwarf fights one of World War I's first ship actions
Shallow draft, early radio equipment, and long experience on the African coast kept the 1898 gunboat Dwarf operational into World War I.