The ''Hedwig von Wissmann'' was a German steamboat on

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...

, which became a feature in the story behind the film ''The African Queen''. She was sister vessel to the larger on

Lake Nyasa Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

, and like that vessel originally used as a gunboat against slavers. Hedwig von Wissmann was the wife of the German explorer and colonial administrator

Hermann von Wissmann Hermann von Wissmann may refer to: * Hermann Wissmann (1853–1905), German explorer and administrator in Africa ** ''Hermann von Wissmann'' (steamship), a German steamer ** Hermann von Wissmann (ship, 1940), became in 1950 the Belgian Kamina * He ...

who had raised funds for both boats. On 12 August 1914 she was drafted for guard service on Lake Tanganyika. She was sunk by an Anglo-Belgian flotilla of small boats under

Geoffrey Spicer-Simson Captain Geoffrey Basil Spicer-Simson DSO, RN (15 January 1876 – 29 January 1947) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the Mediterranean, Pacific and Home Fleets. He is most famous for his role as leader of a naval expedition to Lake Tanga ...

in on 9 February 1916 at 11h50 in the

Battle for Lake Tanganyika The Battle for Lake Tanganyika was a series of naval engagements that took place between elements of the Royal Navy, ''Force Publique'' and the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' between December 1915 and July 1916, during the East African Campaign (World Wa ...

including and . German casualties were engineer and two African stokers killed in the engine room; a warrant officer and some African crew members killed and a European stoker and an African seaman slightly wounded when two of the ships boats were hit by shells. Twelve Europeans, including the captain Job Odebrecht, and eight Africans were captured by the British.National Geographic October 1922 .pp.362-363
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References

{{February 1916 shipwrecks Steamships of Germany 1897 ships World War I auxiliary ships of Germany Lake Tanganyika Maritime incidents in 1916 World War I shipwrecks Shipwrecks of Africa