Camaeleon class
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The Camaeleon class was a class of eight steam cannon boats, 1st class, which was commissioned by the Prussian Navy and later also used by the Imperial Navy . It was created at the same time as the Jäger class , but was larger and had a more powerful propulsion system.
development
The Kingdom of Prussia was faced with growing foreign policy tensions, especially with Denmark , in 1858 . This led to the consideration of expanding the coastal defense. At that time the fleet was very small in number and hardly increased after 1849. The existing cannon sloops , which were equipped with oars, were both technically and militarily completely outdated and had to be replaced. For example, the new Chief of the General Staff , Helmuth von Moltke , demanded that 20 new steam-powered gunboats be built. With these the fleet should be modernized and expanded, whereby the wish of Prince Adalbert to create a seaworthy fleet was not taken into account.
Initially, ships with a size of approx. 250 t were considered, which should be armed with three guns. It was based on a British design that had proven itself in the Crimean War and in 1859 commissioned 15 ships of this type from various private shipyards. Since the cost estimate for these second class gunboats, later the Jäger class, remained below the estimated amount, in the same year four significantly enlarged first class gunboats equipped with a more powerful propulsion system were ordered from the Royal Shipyard Danzig , which can be used in a variety of ways should. The House of Representatives even went so far as to demand a deployment in the merchant navy for peacetime, but this was not possible due to the necessity of warship building. In 1860 four more ships were ordered from the private shipyard Lübke in Wolgast , but due to constitutional disputes between the government and the House of Representatives and the resulting financial bottlenecks, they could only be launched between 1862 and 1865.
technology
The gunboats were designed as wooden structures in traditional Kraweel construction and the hull was covered with copper plates. The design displacement was 353 t and the maximum displacement was 422 t. The ships were a total of 43.28 m long, with the length of the construction waterline was 41.02 m. The maximum width was 6.96 m. At maximum displacement, the draft was 2.35 m forward and 2.67 m aft.
The nominal strength of the crew included four officers and 67 men .
The ships of the class were considered to be relatively poor seagoing vessels. Although their sea characteristics were better than those of the smaller Jäger class, they still tended to roll and were very wet. Steaming or sailing at Gegensee was difficult; moreover, they were only mediocre in maneuvering and steering.
Propulsion system
The machine system consisted of two suitcase boilers that generated 2 atmospheric pressure and supplied two single-cylinder steam engines with live steam. The steam engines installed horizontally acted on a common shaft and drove a three-winged screw with a diameter of 1.9 m. The boiler and machines were housed in a common room. The machinery, which delivered 250 PSi in the first four ships and 320 PSi in the second delivery series, helped the ships to achieve a top speed of 9.1 and 9.3 knots respectively . Up to 52 tons of coal were carried as fuel.
In addition, the ships were equipped with schooner rigging , which had a sail area of around 350 m². Deviating from this, Delphin was rigged as a schooner bark and Cyclop as a pure barque .
Armament
The ships of the Camaeleon class were armed with three ring cannons , each with a 24-pounder, which corresponded to a caliber of 15 cm, and two 12-pounders with a 12 cm caliber. Only the kite was equipped with a 68 pounder (21 cm). The basilisk was for experimental purposes as one of the first ships of the Imperial Navy a deck torpedo tube 38.1 cm in diameter.
commitment
The gunboats were used during the German-Danish , German and German-French wars, but without playing a decisive role. They were also used to survey the Baltic and North Sea and as a station ship , especially in the Mediterranean region .
Camaeleon- class ships
- SMS Camaeleon : Launched on August 4, 1860. The ship was first used in the summer and autumn of 1861, then again during the German-Danish War until December 1865. In 1867 and 1868, the ship was put into service as a tender and station ship in Kiel . The Camaeleon was last usedduring the Franco-German War . Removed from the list of warships on March 19, 1872, the ship was used as a coal hulk in Kiel and was scrapped after 1878.
- SMS Comet : launched on September 1, 1860. The first use took place from August to October 1861. With the outbreak of the German-Danish War, the ship was reactivated and carried out surveying work in the Baltic and North Sea until December 1865 after the war. In 1868 and 1869 the Comet was used for fisheries protection and used to defend the jade during the Franco-Prussian War. Accepted into the Imperial Navy, the ship was usedto clear wreckage in1872/73 after the storm floods inthe Baltic Sea. From 1876 to 1879 the Comet was used as a station ship in the eastern Mediterranean. The last time it was put into service for fisheries protection was in the spring of 1881. On September 30, 1881, the Comet was deleted from the list of warships and was used upas the Hulk and after 1891 it was scrapped.
- SMS Cyclop : launched on September 8th, 1860. The first commissioning took place with the outbreak of the German-Danish War, during which the ship was involved in fighting with Danish ships. After the end of the war, the Cyclop served as a watch ship for the Eider Canal and took partin combat operationsduring the German War . From 1869 on, the gunboat was used as a station ship in Kiel and for surveying work. During the Franco-Prussian War it was used to defend the mouth of the Elbe and after the end of the war it served again as a station ship in Kiel. On March 19, 1872, the Cyclop was removed from the list of warships and was scrapped a short time later.
- SMS Delphin : launched on September 15, 1860. First put into service with the outbreak of the German-Danish War, the Delphin was used for surveying work after the end of the war. Used in the Mediterranean from August 1865 to April 1866, the ship was in the North Sea during the German War. From 1868 to 1870 and from 1871 to 1873 the Delphin was again active as a station ship in Constantinople . From 1874 to 1879 the gunboat was used as a survey ship each summer. In 1881 the Delphin was last put into service for fisheries protection. Removed from the list of warships on September 30, 1881, the ship was scrapped a short time later.
- SMS Basilisk : launched on August 20, 1862. The ship was put into service on June 13, 1863 and intended for use in the Mediterranean. Called back home before the outbreak of the German-Danish War, it took part in the naval battle near Heligoland on May 9, 1864. Further missions took place during the German and Franco-German Wars as well as in 1867 and 1868 for surveying work in the North Sea. In 1874 the Basilisk was the first vehicle of the Imperial Navy toreceivea torpedo tube for testing purposes. Removed from the list of warships on December 28, 1876, the gunboat was used up as a prahm and scrapped after 1900.
- SMS Blitz : launched on August 27, 1862. The ship was put into service on June 13, 1863 and intended for use in the Mediterranean. Called back home before the outbreak of the German-Danish War, it took part in the naval battle near Heligoland on May 9, 1864 and subsequently took part in the occupation of the North Frisian Islands . Another use took place in 1866 during the German War. In 1867/668 the Blitz was again in the Mediterranean and briefly in the Black Sea. The gunboat was used during the Franco-Prussian War and was used in 1871/72 for fishing protection and as a watch ship. In 1873 and 1874 it was used as a survey ship in the Baltic Sea. Struck off the list of warships on December 28, 1876, the Blitz was used up as a coal hulk and scrapped in 1878.
- SMS Meteor : launched on May 17, 1865. Due to financial difficulties, the ship could not be put into service until September 6, 1869. A deployment in the Caribbean followed . In connection with the Franco-German War, the Meteor fought off Havana on October 23, 1870with the French Aviso Bouvet . In 1872 and 1873 the ship was used for survey work. From October 1873to 1877, the Meteor stayed first in the western and later in the eastern Mediterranean. On November 21, 1877, the gunboat was removed from the list of warships and the hull used up as a coal hulk.
- SMS Drache : launched on August 3, 1865. Due to financial difficulties, the ship could not be put into service until April 22, 1869. The Drache was the only gunboat of the class tohave a 68-pounder instead of the 24-pounder gun. The ship was used during the Franco-Prussian War and served as a survey ship from 1872 to 1887. From 1881 on, the kite was also used for marine science tasks, and from 1883 on for fishery protection. On December 13, 1887, the gunboat was removed from the list of warships, used in 1888 as a target ship for torpedo attempts and then scrapped.
literature
- Gröner, Erich / Dieter Jung / Martin Maass: The German warships 1815-1945 . tape 1 : Armored ships, ships of the line, battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, gunboats . Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-7637-4800-8 , p. 161 f .
- Hildebrand, Hans H. / Albert Röhr / Hans-Otto Steinmetz: The German warships . Biographies - a mirror of naval history from 1815 to the present . 10 volumes. Mundus Verlag, Ratingen.
