Finding Königsberg in the Rufiji Delta

A hired civilian pilot and his Curtiss seaplane confirmed Königsberg's position when German fire revealed the concealed cruiser. Sopwith aircraft sent to continue the search deteriorated as their wooden structures and glue failed in tropical heat. Short seaplanes survived long enough to photograph the ship, but the environment remained a more persistent enemy than German fire. The Royal Navy eventually built a local air base and kept adding ships so reconnaissance could be sustained over the delta. The Indian Ocean's strongest naval power was still not uncontested there: German raiders could disrupt British control even when they could not match the force deployed against them.