SMS was the lead ship of the ten-vessel of light cruisers that were built for the German (Imperial Navy) in the late 1890s. The class was the culmination of earlier

unprotected cruiser An unprotected cruiser was a type of naval warship in use during the early 1870s Victorian or pre-dreadnought era (about 1880 to 1905). The name was meant to distinguish these ships from “protected cruisers”, which had become accepted in ...

and aviso designs, combining the best aspects of both types in what became the progenitor of all future light cruisers of the Imperial fleet. Built to be able to serve with the main German fleet and as a colonial cruiser, she was armed with a battery of ten guns and a top speed of . Her

Niclausse boiler A Field-tube boiler (also known as a bayonet tube) is a form of water-tube boiler where the water tubes are single-ended. The tubes are closed at one end, and they contain a concentric inner tube. Flow is thus separated into the colder inner flow ...

s proved to be troublesome in service, and these were later replaced in the mid-1900s. initially operated with the main fleet in home waters, during which time she made a major cruise to Spain to greet the German expeditionary force that had been sent to suppress the

Boxer Uprising The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

. In 1902, she was sent overseas; slated to join the

East Asia Squadron The German East Asia Squadron (german: Kreuzergeschwader / Ostasiengeschwader) was an Imperial German Navy cruiser Squadron (naval), squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the mid-1890s until 1914, when it was destroyed at th ...

, she instead was diverted to Venezuela in response to rising tensions that ultimately produced the

Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903 The Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903 was a naval blockade imposed against Venezuela by Great Britain, German Empire, Germany, and Kingdom of Italy, Italy from December 1902 to February 1903, after President of Venezuela, President Cipriano Cast ...

. During the crisis, she operated with British and Italian warships in a blockade of the country and her crew seized the gunboat , pressing her into German service. Following the settlement of the dispute, cruised in North and Central American waters, visiting numerous ports in the region. She was recalled to Germany in 1904, decommissioned, and overhauled, thereafter remaining out of service for the next decade. The ship was recommissioned after the start of World War I in 1914, serving in the Baltic Sea as part of the Coastal Defense Division, then the Detached Division, before returning to the former in late 1914. After being damaged by Russian naval mines in January 1915, she was deemed not worth repairing and was instead converted into a mine storage

hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

, a role she filled for the rest of the war. She was ultimately struck from the

naval register A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

in 1920 and broken up.

Design

Following the construction of the

s of the and the aviso for the German (Imperial Navy), the Construction Department of the (Imperial Navy Office) prepared a design for a new small cruiser that combined the best attributes of both types of vessels. The designers had to design a small cruiser with armor protection that had an optimal combination of speed, armament, and stability necessary for fleet operations, along with the endurance to operate on foreign stations in the

German colonial empire The German colonial empire (german: Deutsches Kolonialreich) constituted the overseas colonies, dependencies and territories of the German Empire. Unified in the early 1870s, the chancellor of this time period was Otto von Bismarck. Short-li ...

. The resulting design provided the basis for all of the light cruisers built by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

fleet to the last official designs prepared in 1914. was

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and ...

and had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draft of forward. She displaced normally and up to at full combat load. The ship had a minimal

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

, which consisted of a small

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...

and bridge structure. She was fitted with two pole masts. Her

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

had a raised forecastle and

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

, along with a pronounced ram bow. She had a crew of 14 officers and 243 enlisted men. Her propulsion system consisted of two triple-expansion steam engines manufactured by Germaniawerft, driving a pair of screw propellers. The engines were powered by eight coal-fired

s that were vented through a pair of

funnels A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construc ...

. They were designed to give , for a top speed of . carried of coal, which gave her a range of at . s armament consisted of ten SK L/40 guns in single pivot mounts. Two were placed side-by-side forward on the forecastle; six were located on the

broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...

in sponsons; and two were placed side-by-side aft. The guns could engage targets out to . They were supplied with 1,000 rounds of ammunition, for 100 shells per gun. She was also equipped with three torpedo tubes with eight torpedoes. One was submerged in the hull in the bow and two were mounted in deck launchers on the

. The ship was protected by an armored deck that was thick. The deck sloped downward at the sides of the ship to provide a measure of protection against incoming fire. The conning tower had thick sides, and the guns were protected by thick

gun shield A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, or artillery piece ...

Service history

was ordered under the contract name "G" and was laid down at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel in April 1897. She was launched on 31 March 1898 in the presence of Victoria, the widow of the late Kaiser Friedrich III, and her daughter-in-law, Princess Irene. (Rear Admiral) Alfred von Tirpitz christened the ship at her launching, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned for sea trials on 23 November, which revealed problems with her French-designed Niclausse boilers that necessitated decommissioning for modifications on 6 April 1899. She was recommissioned on 6 October 1900, but her boilers continued to prove troublesome and she was decommissioned again on 14 November. She was finally commissioned for active service on 15 June 1901, assigned to I Squadron. The ships of I Squadron conducted unit exercises in the North Sea until 22 July, when they were sent to visit Spain and Portugal. While there, on 1 August, the ships rendezvoused with the four s and their escorts in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, Portugal, which were returning from their deployment to help suppress the

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu people, Manchu-led Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin (1616–1636), La ...

. While on the way back to Germany, was detached to visit

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Britain on 9 August, returning to Kiel three days later. She participated in the annual fleet training maneuvers that lasted from 22 August to 15 September. During the exercises, she operated with II Scouting Group, part of the reconnaissance force for the main German fleet. During the maneuvers, the fleet held a naval review for

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

Nicholas II of Russia, who was visiting Germany at the time.

East America station

was ordered to join the

in early October 1901, but the order was rescinded in favor of sending her sister instead. remained in Germany until January 1902, when she was slated to join her sister in East Asian waters. She was redirected to the Caribbean Sea, as tensions rose with Venezuela. officially remained assigned to the East Asia Squadron until late 1902, though joined the East American Cruiser Division on arrival in the Caribbean on 3 February. The unit was created to respond to the dispute with Venezuela, and at that time also included the protected cruiser and the unprotected cruiser . stopped in

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

, where she met , before proceeding to Venezuela, stopping in Charlotte Amalie from 24 May to 10 June. The two ships assisted in the evacuation of German and French nationals from La Guaira and

Carúpano Carúpano is a city in the eastern Venezuelan state of Sucre. It is located on the Venezuelan Caribbean coast at the opening of two valleys, some 120 km east of the capital of Sucre, Cumaná.Saint Thomas in the

Dutch Virgin Islands Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

. She then departed to visit the Antilles. During the

, Germany and Great Britain, joined later by the Kingdom of Italy, issued demands for reparations following internal unrest in Venezuela; Venezuelan refusal led to the imposition of a blockade by the three powers. and the were the German contribution to the blockading squadron; they joined four British cruisers and three smaller vessels in enforcing the blockade. The Venezuelan gunboat was seized during the blockade; she had been moored in

Guanta Guanta is the capital and largest city of Guanta Municipality. Together with Barcelona, Puerto La Cruz and Lechería it forms a conurbation of around 1.2m inhabitants. The town is named for the cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; fe ...

when arrived there on 11 December. The Germans ordered the Venezuelan gunboat to strike her flag and disembark the crew and ten minutes later they complied with the German demands. sent a steam pinnace and two

cutters Cutter may refer to: Tools * Bolt cutter * Box cutter, aka Stanley knife, a form of utility knife * Cigar cutter * Cookie cutter * Glass cutter * Meat cutter * Milling cutter * Paper cutter * Side cutter * Cutter, a type of hydraulic rescue to ...

to board the vessel. was then pressed into German service, under the command of (Captain Lieutenant) Titus Türk, along with a crew of three other officers, a machine operator, and fifty men from . The gunboat, in poor condition owing to neglect from her former crew, required repairs before she could join the German vessels. On 13 December, departed for Trinidad, where she was drydocked to have her hull cleaned. She also had boiler repairs done that were completed on 10 January 1903. She then returned to Venezuelan waters, where she joined the three-power blockade squadron, initially off Puerto Cabello. On 14 January, she shifted to

Tucacas Tucacas is a northern coastal town of Venezuela. It is located in the States of Venezuela, state of Falcón. Geography Tucacas is surrounded by two rivers making access from the interior of Venezuela difficult. It is at an elevation of 1m. H ...

and she suffered a machinery breakdown that day, though her crew was able to repair her engines while at sea. The ship returned to Puerto Cabello on 19 January. During this time, operated on the blockade line, and on 4 January, she stopped a Venezuelan merchant ship and seized her, taking her to Trinidad. The blockade ended on 23 February with a negotiated settlement, and Türk handed back to the Venezuelan Navy in a condition better than when the Germans had seized the vessel. was detached from the division on 17 March, for repairs at Newport News in the United States that lasted from 31 March to 14 June. then joined for a cruise in North American waters that included a stop in Halifax, Nova Scotia; the ships then entered the Saint Lawrence River, steaming as far inland as Montreal, Canada. arrived back in the Caribbean on 27 October, stopping in Saint Thomas. By the end of the year, lay off Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic; she had sent a landing party ashore to protect the German consulate owing to unrest in the country. She then moved to

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

to send a detachment ashore there as well. moved to Veracruz, Mexico in January 1904, where her commander made an official visit to the President of Mexico,

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...

. The ship visited Belize in British Honduras and several islands in the area. She next returned to Newport News for maintenance, where she was visited by Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States. On 19 June, she was recalled to Germany, arriving back in Kiel on 18 July. She was decommissioned in Danzig on 3 August and taken into the (Imperial Shipyard) there for an overhaul. During the overhaul, her troublesome Niclausse boilers were replaced with navy-built models.

World War I and fate

remained

laid up A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

, out of service, for more than a decade until the outbreak of World War I in July 1914. She was reactivated on 18 August and assigned to the Coastal Defense Division of the Baltic Sea. Shortly thereafter, she was transferred to the Detached Division for offensive operations against Russian forces in the eastern Baltic. She joined IV Battle Squadron for a sweep into the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

that lasted from 24 to 29 August, during which she cruised on a patrol line between

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

and

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...

. The Germans failed to locate any Russian warships, and on the 29th, was detached to bombard the

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

at Steinort to deny it as a navigational marker to Russian vessels. She participated in an operation in the Bothnian Sea that lasted from 4 to 9 September, though engine problems prevented her from taking part in the first stage. After completing repairs in Danzig, she steamed as far north as the Sea of Åland and then joined a demonstration off

Windau Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see #Other names, other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population ...

. She escorted transports during an operation in the eastern Baltic by IV Battle Squadron from 19 to 24 September. The ship thereafter returned to the Coastal Defense Division, temporarily serving as its

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

. During this period, she operated in the western Baltic, patrolling the Danish straits to prevent British

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s from penetrating into the Baltic. While cruising in the area on 17 November, was attacked by the British submarine . The submarine fired a pair of torpedoes at the cruiser, but both missed. On the night of 25–26 January 1915, she struck Russian naval mines to the north of Cape Arkona. The mine explosion tore off both of her screws and she had to be towed to Swinemünde by the torpedo boats and . On 22 February, the German Navy decided the old cruiser was not worth repairing, and so she was placed out of service, with her crew being used to man more modern vessels. She was converted into a

for minelayers, first at Danzig and then at

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...

. In 1918, she was moved to Wilhelmshaven. After the end of the war, was formally stricken from the

on 28 August 1920 and broken up for scrap in Wilhelmshaven.

Footnotes

References