SMS ''Seeadler'' (
Ger:
sea eagle
A sea eagle or fish eagle (also called erne or ern, mostly in reference to the white-tailed eagle) is any of the birds of prey in the genus ''Haliaeetus'' in the bird of prey family Accipitridae.
Taxonomy and evolution
The genus ''Haliaeetus'' ...
) was a three-masted
steel-hulled sailing ship. She was one of the last fighting sailing ships to be used in war when she served as a
merchant raider
Merchant raiders are armed commerce raiding ships that disguise themselves as non-combatant merchant vessels.
History
Germany used several merchant raiders early in World War I (1914–1918), and again early in World War II (1939–1945). The cap ...
with
Imperial Germany
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Built as the British-flagged ''Pass of Balmaha'', she was captured by the German submarine , and in 1916 converted to a commerce raider. As ''Seeadler'' she had a successful raiding career, capturing and sinking 15 ships in 225 days until she was wrecked, in 2 August 1917, in French Polynesia.
''Pass of Balmaha''
The ship was launched as ''Pass of Balmaha'' by Robert Duncan & Company,
Port Glasgow,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, on 9 August 1888 as a steel-
hulled
Husk (or hull) in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective ...
ship-rigged
A full-rigged ship or fully rigged ship is a sailing vessel's sail plan with three or more masts, all of them square-rigged. A full-rigged ship is said to have a ship rig or be ship-rigged. Such vessels also have each mast stepped in three s ...
sailing vessel measuring .
She was long, in
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 ...
and with a depth of . Delivered in the following month to the ownership of David R. Clark, a partner in Gibson & Clark,
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, she was registered at that port with
Official Number
Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...
95087 and signal letters KTRP.
In February 1908, ''Pass of Balmaha'' was sold at
Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
by Gibson & Clark for £5,500 to The River Plate Shipping Company Ltd of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. Her port of registry remained Glasgow, but she was managed by American interests in
Boston, Massachusetts. By 1910, she had been transferred to the Ship Pass of Balmaha Company Ltd, Montreal, and under the management of George I Dewar,
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. Both of these companies were controlled by American shipping and lumber interests.
Soon after the outbreak of World War I in 1914 ''Pass of Balmaha'' was transferred to the neutral United States flag and registered at Boston in the ownership of the Harby Steamship Company Ltd of New York, part of the Harris-Irby Cotton Company.
Capture
''Pass of Balmaha'' was captured by in the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
in 1915 under somewhat peculiar circumstances. She departed from
New York Harbor in June 1915, bound for the Arctic port of
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies o ...
with a cargo of cotton for Russia. She was intercepted by the British
auxiliary cruiser
An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in ...
''Victorian'' off the coast of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. ''Victorian''s captain led a boarding party to inspect the cargo for contraband. The British captain found reason for suspicion, and ordered ''Pass of Balmaha'' to sail to
Kirkwall
Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland.
The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...
in the
Orkney Islands
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
for further inspection. A prize crew of an officer and six
marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
was left aboard to ensure compliance.
The British also ordered the neutral American colours struck and replaced with the British flag, against the will of ''Pass of Balmaha''s Captain Scott, who realised that this would mark the ship as a belligerent. Soon after, ''U-36'' intercepted ''Pass of Balmaha''. To avoid being impounded, Scott hid the British prize crew in the hold and replaced the
Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
with the
Stars and Stripes. The commander of ''U-36'', Captain Ernst Graeff, was not entirely convinced by this ruse and ordered ''Pass of Balmaha'' to sail for
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 ...
for inspection. Since U-36 was short of personnel, the German prize crew consisted of only one man, Steuermannsmaat (Mate) Lamm. A German ensign was left aboard. Scott and his crew, resentful of what they perceived as British meddling, kept the British marines locked in the hold.
''Pass of Balmaha'' reached Cuxhaven without major incident, and was boarded by a German inspection party. Captain Scott then revealed the British prize crew to the Germans, who took them prisoner. For their cooperation, the Americans were allowed free passage to a neutral country, but ''Pass of Balmaha'' became property of the German Navy.
[Pardoe, Blaine (2005) ''The Cruise of the Sea Eagle: The Amazing True Story of Germany's Gentleman Pirate'' Guilford, CT, The Lyons Press]
SMS ''Seeadler''
![SMSSeeadlerFront](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/SMSSeeadlerFront.PNG)
By 1916 the Allies had blockaded German warships in the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
, and any
commerce raider
Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than enga ...
s that succeeded in breaking out lacked foreign or colonial bases for resupply of
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
. This gave rise to the idea of equipping a sailing ship instead, since it would not require coaling.
''Seeadler'' was equipped with an auxiliary engine, hidden lounges, accommodation for additional crew and prisoners, two hidden
105 mm guns, mounted on either side of the forecastle, two hidden heavy
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
s, a pair of torpedo tubes for anti-cruiser purposes, and rifles for boarding parties. These weapons were rarely fired (the torpedo tubes never), and many of the 15 ships encountered by ''Seeadler'' were sunk with only one single accidental casualty on either side during the entire journey.
![Seeadler SLV Allen Green](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Seeadler_SLV_Allen_Green.jpg)
On 21 December 1916, she sailed under the command of ''
Kapitänleutnant
''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...
''
Felix von Luckner
Felix Nikolaus Alexander Georg Graf von Luckner (9 June 1881, Dresden – 13 April 1966, Malmö), sometimes called Count Luckner in English, was a German nobleman, naval officer, author, and sailor who earned the epithet ''Der Seeteufel'' (the ...
. The ship was disguised as a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
wood carrier and succeeded in crossing the British blockading line despite being boarded for an inspection. The crew had been handpicked partly for their ability to speak
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
. Over the next 225 days, she captured 15 ships in the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
and
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
and led the British and US Navies on a merry chase.
Her journey ended wrecked on a
reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...
at the island of
Mopelia from
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
in the
Society Islands
The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...
, part of
French Polynesia
)Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze")
, anthem =
, song_type = Regional anthem
, song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui"
, image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of Frenc ...
. The ship needed maintenance so that her hull could be scraped clean but she was too big for Mopelia's harbour and so had to lay anchor outside the reef. Disaster struck when on 2 August 1917 a
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
wave lifted the ship and smashed her on the reef, totally destroying the ship.
No prisoners or crew were killed. The ship was burned in an attempt to hide their presence from Allied ships.
Captured ships
![Auxiliary Cruiser Seeadler 1916-17](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Auxiliary_Cruiser_Seeadler_1916-17.png)
Sixteen ships, totalling 30,099 tons, were captured by ''Seeadler'' between 21 December 1916 and 8 September 1917. Unless otherwise noted, all vessels in the list were steamships.
Crew and POWs after the scuttling of SMS ''Seeadler''
Captain Felix von Luckner
![Crew after sinking of SMS Seeadler](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Crew_after_sinking_of_SMS_Seeadler.gif)
On 23 August 1917 Felix von Luckner and five of his crew sailed for
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
on one of ''Seeadler''s open boats. In Fiji, they were captured and imprisoned. Luckner spent his time as a prisoner of war (POW) on
Motuihe Island
Motuihe Island (official name: Motuihe Island / Te Motu-a-Ihenga) lies between Motutapu and Waiheke islands in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand, near Auckland. The island measures , of which around are remnants of coastal forest. The island is ...
which lies between
Motutapu
Motutapu Island (otherwise known as ''Motutapu'') is a island in the Hauraki Gulf to the northeast of the city of Auckland, New Zealand. The island is part of the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park. Its full name, rarely used, is ''Te Motutapu a Taikeh ...
and
Waiheke
Waiheke Island (; Māori: ) is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland.
It is the most po ...
islands in the
Hauraki Gulf
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,[New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...](_blank)
, near
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
. On 13 December 1917 he stole the prison commander's motor boat and seized the 90-ton scow Moa. Allied ships were able to guess his destination and arrested him on 21 December 1917.
Leutnant Kling and the remaining crew
On Mopelia, the remaining 58 crew of SMS ''Seeadler'' that were left behind by Luckner heard of his arrest on the ship's radio. A small French
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
''Lutece'', of 126 tons, anchored outside the reef, lured to the island by the idea of salvaging the wreckage of the ''Seeadler''. The Germans were able to board and seize the ship, its crew left with the other POWs on the island. On 5 September 1917, they set sail for South America after renaming the ship ''Fortuna''. They sailed to
Easter Island
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...
as ''Fortuna'', arriving on 4 October and running aground there, after which they were interned by the
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
an authorities.
POWs left behind
After being abandoned by Lt Kling when they sailed off on the Fortuna, the master of the 14th ship SMS ''Seeadler'' sank, the ''A. B. Johnson'', Captain Smith, then took the remaining open boat from ''Seeadler''. He set off from Mopelia with three other American seamen, and sailed to
Pago Pago
Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...
, arriving on 4 October 1917, where they were finally able to inform the authorities of the activities of ''Seeadler'' and arrange for the rescue of the other 44 sailors left stranded on Mopelia.
See also
* , a steam/sail ship used by the US Navy as a
Q-ship
Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open f ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Bibliography
Notes
References
* Allen, Oliver E. and the editors of Time-Life Books. 1978. Captain Sea Devil of the "Seeadler". ''The Windjammers'' pp. 120–143. (''The Seafarers'', vol. 6.) Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books.
*
- Total pages: 322
* Lowell, Thomas. 1929. "The Sea Devil" London: Heinemann.
*
Hoyt, Edwin P. 1969. "Count von Luckner : Knight of the Sea" (published in England in 1970 as "Sea Eagle") David McKay Co. Inc.
* Pardoe, Blaine. 2006. "The Cruise of the Sea Eagle: The Story of Imperial Germany's Gentleman Pirate" Crecy Publishing.
* Jefferson, Sam. 2017. "The Sea Devil: The Adventures of Count Felix von Luckner, the Last Raider under Sail" Osprey.
*
- Total pages: 340
*
External links
''Count Dohna and His SeaGull''(archived link)
* illustrated account of the wartime exploits of the ''Seeadler''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeadler, Sms
World War I commerce raiders
World War I shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean
World War I cruisers of Germany
Windjammers
Three-masted ships
Ships built on the River Clyde
1888 ships
Maritime incidents in 1917
Auxiliary cruisers of the Imperial German Navy