SMS Mainz
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SMS Mainz was a small cruiser of the Imperial Navy that was used in the First World War . The Kolberg- class ship was launched in 1909 and wassunk by British warshipsin August 1914 in the first sea battle near Heligoland .
The Mainz was one of four Kolberg- class ships that had been equipped with various types of turbines for comparison purposes. The Mainz was doing two sets of AEG Curtiss turbines and only two screws with 3.45 m diameter.
History of the ship
Pre-war history
On January 23, 1909 the launch took place in the Stettiner Vulcan-Wert . The Mayor of Mainz at the time, Karl Göttelmann , gave the keynote address and named the ship Mainz . Afterwards, the first commandant and the mayor stayed in contact.
"The crew will always endeavor to live up to the name Mainz"
"Proud of their sponsored child, the city of Mainz will always keep the ship a friendly disposition and accompany it on all its journeys with the best of wishes"
Before the start of the war , on Easter Sunday 1914, a team from the cruiser played against the football club in the city that gave it its name. The selection lost 1: 3.
Commanders
| October 1909 to January 1910 | Frigate Captain Friedrich Tiesmeyer | 1869-19 ?? |
| January to February 1910 May 1910 |
Frigate Captain Hans von Abeken | 1867-19 ?? |
| February to May 1910 | Watch command (shipyard overhaul) | |
| June to September 1910 | Frigate Captain Wilhelm Timme | 1867-1942 |
| September 1910 to September 1912 | Frigate captain / sea captain Moritz von Egidy | 1870-1937 |
| October 1912 to January 1913, June to November 1913 |
Frigate Captain Heinrich Retzmann | 1872-1959 |
| January to June 1913 |
Kapitänleutnant / Korvettenkapitän Gustav Blockhuis (shipyard overhaul) |
1875-1918 |
| November 1913 to August 1914 | Frigate captain / sea captain Wilhelm Paschen | 1870-1914 |
War effort
When the war broke out, Mainz belonged to an association of small cruisers, which served to provide remote security for the German guards in front of Heligoland . The ships of this association were moored in the Ems , in Brunsbüttel and in Wilhelmshaven . The Mainz under captain zur See Paschen was stationed in the mouth of the Ems. In a daring night voyage, the Mainz mined the port of Kingston upon Hull .
On the morning of August 28, 1914, British units attacked the German chain of guards outside Heligoland. The Mainz received orders to depart for support and left the roadstead at Borkum at around 09:20 . At that time the German battle cruisers were lying behind the bar of the Inner Jade , and since the water level was still too low, they could only run out later and thus no longer intervene in the fighting.
Due to poor guidance, the German cruisers attacked the enemy ships individually. At 12:30 p.m., the Mainz sighted several British destroyers and opened fire. Two destroyers were hit by torpedoes. At 12:45 p.m., three Town-class cruisers suddenly came into view on port side , belonging to the 2nd light cruiser squadron of Commodore William Goodenough . The Mainz turned off immediately and ran at maximum speed to the southwest. Unfortunately, she got caught in the course of other British warships. This time it was the two light cruisers Arethusa and Fearless as well as 33 destroyers of the Harwich Force of the Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt .
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During the following battle three torpedoes hit the Mainz . Although they did not detonate, they burst the steam pipes and led to many failures. Since the controls of the German cruiser were damaged by a hit by the Fearless , the Mainz could no longer escape. The British stopped fire on the now incapacitated ship at 1:25 p.m. At this point in time, Captain Paschen, the ship's doctor and 89 seamen had already died. The destroyer Lurcher was able to save 348 survivors. Among them was the son of Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz , Lieutenant for the Sea, Wolfgang von Tirpitz . About 40 minutes later the Mainz capsized and sank to position 53 ° 58 ' N , 6 ° 42' E after the crew opened the flood valves so as not to let their ship fall into the hands of the British. The survivors were later transferred to the battlecruiser squadron, commanded by Admiral David Beatty . He greeted them with the signal: "I am proud to welcome such brave men on board my squadron" .
In the sponsored city of Mainz, initially only rumors circulated about what was happening off Heligoland. A message from the naval leadership did not bring certainty to the city council until September 17, 1914. On December 9 of that year, one on the beach was Borkum found lifebuoy of Mainz on the conference table of the Mainz city council. Thereafter, the Mayor of Mainz, Karl Göttelmann, kept his promise to take care of the occupation until the end of the war. Cash and tobacco were sent to prisoners of war in England. The proceeds from a charity concert in the garrison church of St. Peter went to the Reichsmarinestiftung.
The wreck of the Mainz was visited by Dutch hobby divers in 2015 and objects were removed. A complaint was made for disturbing the peace of the dead.
Monuments
A first war memorial for the fallen soldiers of SMS Mainz was erected in the middle barracks on Borkum.
On Sunday, August 27, 1939, a monument made of red sandstone was erected on the banks of the Rhine in Mainz to commemorate the Mainz and their work. Only from the quay wall on the Rhine can the writing "SEEFAHRT IST NOT" be recognized, from the novel Seafaring is not! of the writer Gorch Fock .
The captions in the gallery are the text on the memorial.
- Views with inscription texts
The fallen in memory - the living in recognition, future generations to emulate.
In the eternal memory of the heroic “cruiser Mainz” sponsored ship of our city / on August 28, 1914 with a waving flag, honorably sunk in front of the enemy in a naval battle off Heligoland / 163 comrades died the heroic death / Commander Captain of the Sea Wilh. Paschen // At the same time, the cruisers Köln + Ariadne and Torp.-Boot V187 sank
The godfather city Mainz / Germany's Navy / German cruiser spirit in honor.
For the protection of the law and Upholding the honor of the kingdom in all seas. Protect the peace of the world.
literature
- Michael Bermeitinger: sinking of the "SMS Mainz" . In: Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz . No. 199 (Volume 164), August 28, 2014, Verlagsgruppe Rhein Main , topic page on page 18
- N. Wolz: “And we're rusting in the harbor” - Germany, Great Britain and the war at sea 1914–1918 ; DTV 2013
- Otto Mielke : Small cruisers “Mainz” and “Ariadne” - August 28, 1914 ; in: SOS - Fates of German Ships , Issue No. 108; Pabel-Moewig publishing house
- Borkum - fortress in the sea, the interesting history of the Borkum sea fortress from its beginnings in 1902 to the closure of the Bundeswehr base in 1996. Self-published by Volker Apfeld Emden, 2nd edition 2008 (Fig. P. 23)
Web links
- Imperial fleet: SMS Mainz
- Martin Eich: A century ago the warship “SMS Mainz” was sunk near Helgoland. In: Allgemeine Zeitung , 23 August 2014, accessed on 4 May 2017.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Blind in the defeat , Martin Eich in Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz, Journal page 1, 23 August 2014
- ^ Martin Eich: Remembrance of the victims - relatives of a sailor of the SMS Mainz commemorate the ship disaster in 1914 ; in Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz , September 1, 2014; P. 10
- ↑ Location of the wreck on wrecksite.de with a slightly different representation of the sinking
- ↑ Welt.de, September 8, 2015
- ↑ Angelika Franz / hda / dpa: "Sunken cruiser" Mainz ": Federal police are investigating wreck looters" Spiegel.de from September 8, 2015