SMS Lübeck
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SMS Lübeck was a small cruiser of the Imperial Navy . She was the fourth ship in the Bremen class and one of the first German warships to be powered by steam turbines . The ship, intended to replace the small cruiser Meteor , was christened in the name of the Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck by Mayor Heinrich Klug , accompanied by Senator Friedrich Heinrich Bertling, at the request of Emperor Wilhelm II .
Use in peace
The Lübeck was laid down in 1903 at AG Vulcan Stettin with the construction number 260 and was launched on March 26, 1904. Since there were delays in the production of the drive turbines, the ship could not be put into service until April 26, 1905. This was followed by a long trial period in order to make comparisons with the piston engine drive. On October 30, 1905, the test drives were interrupted because of the revolutionary unrest in Russia. The cruiser went into the eastern Baltic Sea with seven torpedo boats . The torpedo boats kept the postal traffic with Saint Petersburg interrupted by a railroad strike , while the Lübeck crossed the Gulf of Finland in order to take the tsar's family on board at the emperor's request. After two weeks the situation had calmed down and the German ships were withdrawn. During the continued test drives, the Lübeck was used from March 31 to April 25, 1906 as a guide ship for the school and torpedo boat flotilla. Then she belonged to the Association of School and Test Ships until May 17, 1906.
On August 22, 1906, all trials were over. The ship was now included in the association of reconnaissance ships and took part in the usual voyages, exercises and maneuvers. It collided on June 10, 1908 in the Kiel Fjord with the three-masted schooner San Antonio , which sank in the process. Since Lübeck was to blame, the Imperial Navy had to order a replacement ship for the shipowner.
On April 19, 1909, the Lübeck sailed into the Mediterranean after unrest broke out in Anatolia . On June 2, 1909, she started her voyage home again and was reclassified into the association of reconnaissance ships on June 17 . On October 10, 1911, the ship was decommissioned and given reserve status.
War effort
With the beginning of the First World War , the Lübeck was put back into service on August 12, 1914. It was used in the Baltic Sea for coastal protection and for advances into the eastern Baltic Sea. She also took part in coastal bombardments. From June 30 to July 2, 1915, the Lübeck took part in an advance to Gotland , in which there was a battle with Russian cruisers and she scored eight hits on the armored cruiser Rurik without being hit.
On January 13, 1916, the Lübeck received a mine hit on the march from Libau to Kiel north of Rixhöft . The rudder and propellers were damaged. The foremast also broke and fell onto the navigating bridge. There were two dead and five injured, including the seriously injured commander, frigate captain Halm. About 240 tons of water entered the ship. The Lübeck was first towed by the torpedo boat V 189 and finally brought into Danzig -Neufahrwasser by the tug Vistula . On January 28, 1916, the ship was decommissioned and then moved to Stettin . The Lübeck was repaired and rebuilt at the same time in the Vulcan shipyard . The two 10.5 cm guns on the forecastle and one on the stern were replaced by a 15 cm cannon, the old ram post gave way to a modern bow and the bridge superstructures were adapted to the latest designs. Outwardly, Lübeck now deliberately resembled the new mining cruisers of the Brummer class . On 15./16. The test drives were carried out on December 1916, but the ship remained in reserve due to a lack of personnel.
In March 1917, the Lübeck was put back into service and converted into a submarine training and target ship. On March 8, 1918, the ship was decommissioned again. The crew switched to the small cruiser Stuttgart , which had been converted into an aircraft cruiser.
Final fate
After the end of the war, the ship was removed from the list of warships on November 5, 1919 and delivered to Great Britain on September 3, 1920. In the years 1922–1923, the small cruiser Lübeck was finally scrapped in Germany.
Known crew members
- Friedrich Ruge (1894–1985) was the first inspector of the Navy from 1956 to 1961
See also
Web links
Footnotes
- ↑ The launch of the cruiser "Lübeck". In: Vaterstädtische Blätter , year 1904, No. 14, edition of April 3, 1904, p. 56.