Thus a third fight developed through the high speed attained by the Kent, which enabled her to catch up and force action on the Nürnberg. The following description has been largely compiled from a narrative written by an officer in the Kent, while from the particulars undernoted concerning the ships two important features stand out: the speed of the two ships was nearly equal, and the German was built five years later than her opponent, and therefore should have been able to maintain her speed with less difficulty.
| Name | Tonnage | Armament | Speed | Completion |
| Kent | 9,800 | 14—6" | 23.7 | 1903 |
| Nürnberg | 3,396 | 10—4.1" | 23.5 | 1908 |
| 8—2.1" | ||||
| "Brassey's Naval Annual." | ||||
In the course of the afternoon the weather became misty, so that it seemed imperative to get to close quarters as rapidly as possible. That this was fully realised and acted upon is shown by what was written by an officer in the Kent: "In the last hour of the chase, helped by a light ship and a clean bottom, by the most determined stoking, by unremitting attention to her no longer youthful boilers—in short, by the devotion of every officer and man in the engine and boiler rooms, the Kent achieved the remarkable speed of 25 knots."
Both ships were steering a south-easterly course at 5 P.M. when the Kent got within range of the Nürnberg, which opened fire with her stern guns. The chase had in all lasted nearly seven hours, so the sound of the enemy's guns proved doubly welcome, since it brought home the fact that the German was now trapped. The fall of the enemy's shot was awaited with that eagerness combined with anxiety which only those who have undergone the experience can fully realise. Accurate ranges were hard to take on account of the abnormal vibration caused by the speed at which the ship was travelling, but it was expected that the enemy's first salvoes would fall short. But not a sign was to be seen anywhere of these projectiles. Where, then, had they gone?
Officers glanced round the horizon to make quite certain that the enemy was not firing at another ship, but nothing else was in sight. A light, drizzling rain was falling, so that it was not till the third salvo that the splashes were discovered astern of the ship. This bore out the experience of the Cornwall and Glasgow, which had also been astonished at the long range of the German 4.1" gun, which is said to be sighted up to 12 kilometres (13,120 yards).
Nine minutes after (5.9) the Kent opened fire at 11,000 yards with her fore turret, but the shots fell short. Altering course slightly to port, she was able to bring her two foremost 6-inch on the starboard side to bear, making four guns in all. The light was poor, and both ships had difficulty in seeing well enough to correct the gun range at this distance. Thus this opening stage of the combat was not very fruitful of results as far as could be judged, though survivors subsequently stated that the Kent scored two effective hits, one of which penetrated the after steering flat below the waterline and killed all the men in it with one exception. On the other hand, the enemy (missing mainly for deflection) only got in one hit during the same period.
About 5.35 two boilers of the Nürnberg burst in quick succession, apparently from excess of pressure due to her strenuous efforts to escape. This reduced her speed to 19 knots, when all hope of averting disaster, even with the aid of several lucky shots, was shattered at one fell swoop. The Kent now gained very rapidly on her opponent, and all anxiety as to the chase being prolonged until dark was dispelled.
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