SMS Danzig (1905)

Danzig

Ship data flag  German Empire Ship type Small cruiser class Bremen class Shipyard Imperial Shipyard , Danzig building-costs 4,828,000 marks Launch September 23, 1905 Commissioning December 1, 1907 Whereabouts Wrecked from 1921 to 1923

Ship dimensions and crew length 111.1 m ( Lüa ) 110.6 m ( KWL ) width 13.3 m Draft Max. 5.6 m displacement Construction: 3,278 t Maximum: 3,783 t   crew 288 to 301 men

Machine system machine 10 marine boilers, 2 3-cylinder compound machines Machine performance 12,022 hp (8,842 kW) Top speed 22.9 kn (42 km / h) propeller 2 × four-leaf, ø 3.9 m

Armament 10 × Sk 10.5 cm L / 40 (1,500 shots) 10 × Sk 5,3 cm L / 55 2 × torpedo tube ø 45.0 cm (5 shots) Armor Deck: 20-80 mm Coam: 100 mm Command tower: 20–100 mm Shields: 50 mm

SMS Danzig was a small cruiser of the Imperial Navy . It was the last ship of the Bremen class and was christened on September 23, 1905 by the mayor of Danzig , Ehlers. The commissioning on February 1, 1907 took place with parts of the crew of the small cruiser Arcona .

Peace operations

After all tests had been completed, the Danzig was assigned to the Association of Reconnaissance Ships and did normal fleet service. From June 5, 1910, it served as a training ship for the inspection of ship artillery. During the exercises there were several collisions with other units, such as B. on 16./17. October 1910 with the torpedo boat S 76 . At the end of July 1914, the ship was parked to secure the port of Kiel.

War missions

With the beginning of the war, the Danzig was first assigned to the II reconnaissance group and moved to the North Sea. On August 25, 1914, she joined the IV Reconnaissance Group. Three days later, the first naval battle between British and German units broke out near Heligoland . The Danzig could not intervene, but it managed to save 170 men from the sinking small cruiser Ariadne .

After various missions in the Baltic Sea, the Danzig was again active in the North Sea from May 1915. On May 18, 1915, she received a mine hit and was brought in by her sister ship Berlin . Since the repairs took longer than expected, the crew switched to the small cruiser Frauenlob . The Danzig was not ready for action again until November 13, 1915 . She went back to the Baltic Sea and operated from Libau . On November 25, 1915, she received another hit from a mine south of Gotland . The rudder was torn off and the shafts bent. The Kleine Kreuzer Berlin towed the maneuverable ship again. The repairs in the Imperial Shipyard Danzig took six months. During this time part of the crew again switched to praise for women .

In July 1916, the Danzig in Bremen was again thoroughly overhauled. From August 1916 she took over outpost services in the German Bight . On December 1, 1916, the ship was reassigned to the II reconnaissance group. After various mine operations, the Danzig was relocated to the Baltic Sea again in June 1917, where she served as a target ship . In autumn 1917 she took part in the occupation of the Baltic Islands ( Albion Company ). Subsequently assigned to the material reserve, it was again a target ship for submarines until it was decommissioned on March 25, 1918.

Whereabouts

The small cruiser Danzig , like so many other German units, was removed from the list of warships on November 5, 1919. It was delivered to Great Britain on September 15, 1920 as Ship R and was scrapped in Whitby from 1921 to 1923 .

literature

• Gerhard Koop, Klaus-Peter Schmolke: Small cruisers 1903-1918, Bremen to Cologne class, volume 12 ship classes and ship types of the German navy . Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-7637-6252-3 .