SMS dragon (1865)
 The structurally identical SMS Basilisk
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The SMS Drache was the eighth and last ship of the Camaeleon -class , a class of steam gunboats 1st class of the Royal Prussian and Imperial Navy .
Construction and first term of service
The Drache was put on the pile by the Wolgast shipyard in Lübke on July 27, 1861 as the last ship of its class. Due to financial difficulties resulting from a conflict between the Prussian government and the House of Representatives , the ship was only launched on August 3, 1865, almost exactly five years after the type ship Camaeleon . Further expansion was delayed for the same reason, and only on April 22, 1869 more than seven years after the keel was laid, which could Dragon for the first time for the transfer to the Dänholm be put into service. As the only ship in its class, it was armed with a 68-pounder gun instead of the 24-pounder.
The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War was the reason for the renewed commissioning on July 24, 1870. The Drache joined the newly established Flotilla Division, which also included the flagship SMS Grille and the second class gunboat SMS Salamander and Blitz , a sister ship the dragon , belonged. The division was disbanded on September 10th. The kite remained in the Rügen area , but was ordered to the North Sea in December . Due to the ice conditions, however, Friedrichstadt had to be overwintered. In February 1871 the ship and the Blitz had to tow two cannon sloops to Wilhelmshaven , where it was decommissioned on April 6, 1871.
Service as a survey ship
On May 6, 1872 , after the 68-pounder had been removed and a deckhouse had been built in its place , the Drache was put back into service in order to operate as a survey ship from now on. Until October 22nd, the ship was busy off the east coast of Holstein under the direction of the chief of the Hydrographic Office of the Admiralty , Corvette Captain Eduard Knorr . In November, the dragon was called in to provide assistance as a result of the storm flood and was among other things on the move with Meteor and the transporter Rhein in the sea area between Holstein and Hiddensee to look for damaged ships. On December 12th, the ship was finally decommissioned in Wilhelmshaven.
On April 15, 1874, the Drache was put back into service to be active again as a survey ship. Previously, further modifications had been made to further adapt the ship to its task. The survey work extended to the North Sea area, including British and Norwegian ports, and lasted until November 23. On this day the ship was again taken out of service for the winter. A planned deployment to Spanish waters, where the protection of German citizens and economic interests had become necessary due to the unrest in connection with the Third Carlist War , was ultimately omitted due to the positive development of the situation.
In the following years the kite was always used in the summer months for the hydrographic survey of the North Sea, from 1875 to 1884 under the command of Heinrich Holzhauer. In 1876 the rigging was removed for reasons of stability and two years later the remaining 12-pounders were disembarked. During the winter of 1879/80 the boiler system was replaced, the upper deck was further rebuilt and new schooner bark rigging was installed. From 1881 the kite was used not only for surveying work but also for oceanographic tasks, and from 1883 also for fishery protection . In 1884 oceanographic surveys were carried out in the Skagerrak , and surveying activities were continued later. This finally ended after 15 years with the last decommissioning on September 30, 1887. The results of the work were of great importance for the German Navy, which was to become evident not least in the First World War .
Whereabouts
The dragon was struck off the list of warships on December 13, 1887 and its hull was initially used as a coal hulk in Wilhelmshaven . In 1888 he was towed to Kiel and prepared there for torpedo tests. In the presence of the chief of the naval station of the Baltic Sea , Vice Admiral von der Goltz , the torpedo boat SMS D 5 finally fired a torpedo at the Hulk and severely damaged it. The remains of the ship were eventually scrapped.
Commanders
| April 22-30, 1869 | Lieutenant Captain Philipp von Kall |
| July 24, 1870 to April 6, 1871 | Captain Rodenacker |
| May 6 to September 1872 | Kapitänleutnant Gustav stamp |
| October to December 14, 1872 | Lieutenant for the Sea Ernst Aschmann (deputy) |
| April 15 to November 23, 1874 | Lieutenant Hohnholz |
| April 15 to July 1875 | Lieutenant Hohnholz |
| July 4th to November 4th 1875 | Lieutenant to the sea Julius Köthner |
| April 1 to September 22, 1876 | Captain Heinrich Holzhauer |
| April 4 to October 13, 1877 | Captain Heinrich Holzhauer |
| April 1 to October 5, 1878 | Lieutenant / Corvette Captain Heinrich Holzhauer |
| April 1 to November 6, 1879 | Corvette Captain Heinrich Holzhauer |
| April 1 to October 14, 1880 | Corvette Captain Heinrich Holzhauer |
| May 15 to September 30, 1881 | Corvette Captain Heinrich Holzhauer |
| April 28 to September 29, 1882 | Corvette Captain Heinrich Holzhauer |
| March 24 to October 15, 1883 | Corvette Captain Heinrich Holzhauer |
| April 1 to October 11, 1884 | Corvette Captain Heinrich Holzhauer |
| April 14 to October 6, 1885 | Lieutenant Captain von Rosen |
| April 8 to October 12, 1886 | Lieutenant Captain von Rosen |
| April 13 to September 30, 1887 | Lieutenant Captain / Corvette Captain Burich |
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 . tape 2 : Ship biographies from Baden to Eber . Mundus Verlag, Ratingen, S. 266 f .
Remarks
- ↑ The designation of the lower officer ranks was set or changed in the years 1849, 1854 and 1864. On January 1, 1900, the names Fähnrich zur See, Leutnant zur See, Oberleutnant zur See and Kapitänleutnant, which are still in use today, were introduced.
- ↑ a b The rank corresponds to a first lieutenant at sea.
