SS ''Königin Luise'' was a German steam ferry. She operated between

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, before being taken over by the

Kaiserliche Marine {{italic title The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term wa ...

on the outbreak of the

First World War 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 ...

. She was used as an auxiliary

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing control ...

before being sunk on 5 August 1914.Details on the ''Königin Luise''
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Construction and early career

''Königin Luise'' was laid down at

AG Vulcan Stettin Aktien-Gesellschaft Vulcan Stettin (short AG Vulcan Stettin) was a German shipbuilding and locomotive building company. Founded in 1851, it was located near the former eastern German city of Stettin, today Polish Szczecin. Because of the limited ...

in 1913, and launched on 8 May 1913 for service with the

Hamburg America Line The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent citi ...

. After serving for some time as a ferry, she was requisitioned by the Kaiserliche Marine on 3 August 1914 to serve as an auxiliary minelayer, carrying 200 naval mines. She was fitted with two revolver cannons, and there were plans to fit her with two 88 mm guns, but the British entry to the war on 4 August led to the navy pressing ''Königin Luise'' into immediate action. She was disguised in the black, buff, and yellow colours of the steamers of the Great Eastern Railway that sailed between Harwich and the

Hook of Holland Hook of Holland ( nl, Hoek van Holland, ) is a town in the southwestern corner of Holland, hence the name; ''hoek'' means "corner" and was the word in use before the word ''kaap'' – "cape", from Portuguese ''cabo'' – became Dutch. The English t ...

, and sailed from Emden on the night of 4 August. Her captain, Commander Biermann, had orders to lay mines off the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

.Loss of HMS ''Amphion''

Minelaying and encounter with the British

''Königin Luise'' was able to lay a number of mines off the coast during the night, but was sighted by a number of fishing vessels. The

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...

of the

Harwich Force The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war. History After the outbreak of the First World War, a ...

and a number of destroyers of the 3rd Flotilla sailed early in the morning of 5 August and headed towards

Heligoland Bight The Heligoland Bight, also known as Helgoland Bight, (german: Helgoländer Bucht) is a bay which forms the southern part of the German Bight, itself a bay of the North Sea, located at the mouth of the Elbe river. The Heligoland Bight extends f ...

. On the way they encountered a fishing boat, whose occupants informed the British force that they had seen an unknown ship "throwing things over the side" about 20 miles north of the Outer Gabbard. ''Amphion'' and the destroyers set off to investigate. The taskforce spotted ''Königin Luise'' at 10:25, and the destroyers and moved to investigate. ''Königin Luise'' fled at her top speed, moving into a rain squall, where she proceeded to lay more mines. ''Lance'' and ''Landrail'' gave chase, signalling to the rest of the force that they were engaging. ''Lance'' opened fire, one of the first British shots of the war. ''Amphion'' soon closed and also began to fire on the fleeing ''Königin Luise''. The German ship attempted to escape to neutral waters to the south-east, while leading the pursuing British through her minefield, but under heavy and accurate fire, Commander Biermann ordered the scuttling of the ship. The surviving crew abandoned ship, and ''Königin Luise'' rolled over to

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

and sank at 12:22. 46 of the 100 crew were rescued by the British ships. She was the first German naval loss of the war.

Loss of ''Amphion''

The British ships continued their patrol, before heading back to port that evening. Their course took them through the minefield ''Königin Luise'' had previously laid, and at 06:45 on the morning of 6 August ''Amphion'' struck one of the mines. Heavily damaged, she was abandoned, with her crew being taken off by the escorting destroyers. ''Amphion'' drifted back into the minefield, struck another mine at 07:03 and sank, becoming the first British naval war loss, with those killed being the first British casualties of the war. 19 of the 21 German POWs died on the ''Amphion'' when it sank plus 1 German POW killed on ''HMS Lark'' also lost by misadventure because of an ''Amphion'' shell.HMS Amphion\
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Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konigin Luise Minelayers of the Imperial German Navy Steamships of Germany World War I minelayers of Germany World War I shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean 1913 ships Maritime incidents in August 1914 Ships built in Stettin