![]() SMS Nymphe circa 1901 | |
History | |
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Name | Nymphe |
Laid down | November 1898 |
Launched | 21 November 1899 |
Commissioned | 20 September 1900 |
Stricken | 31 August 1931 |
Fate | Scrapped, 1932 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Gazelle-class light cruiser |
Displacement | |
Length | 105.1 m (344.8 ft) loa |
Beam | 12.2 m (40 ft) |
Draft | 4.11 m (13.5 ft) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph) |
Range | 3,570 nmi (6,610 km; 4,110 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Armor |
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SMS Nymphe was the third member of the ten-ship Gazelle class of light cruisers that were built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The Gazelle class was the culmination of earlier unprotected cruiser 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 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and a top speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph).
The ship spent the majority of her prewar career serving as a training ship, first with the Torpedo Inspectorate and then with the Naval Artillery Inspectorate. During this period, she also frequently escorted Kaiser Wilhelm II during cruises aboard his yacht, Hohenzollern to visit foreign countries. She was decommissioned in 1909 and remained out of service until August 1914, when World War I led to her reactivation to support coastal defense forces in the mouth of the Elbe river through late 1915. She was used as a barracks ship and stationary training ship for the rest of the war.
Nymphe was one of the six cruisers Germany was allowed to keep in service by the Treaty of Versailles, and she was modernized in the early 1920s before being recommissioned in 1924. She served as the flagship of the fleet's light forces in the Baltic Sea through the 1920s, during which time she made two major training cruises into the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. The ship was decommissioned in 1929 and employed as a barracks ship until 1931, when she was struck from the naval register and sold to ship breakers. She was dismantled in 1932 in Hamburg.
Following the construction of the unprotected cruisers of the Bussard class and the aviso Hela for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy), the Construction Department of the Reichsmarineamt (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 resulting Gazelle design provided the basis for all of the light cruisers built by the German fleet to the last official designs prepared in 1914. Nymphe, the third member of the class, dispensed with the wood and copper sheathing of the hull that the first two vessels had carried. All subsequent vessels copied that change. [1] [2]
Nymphe was 105.1 meters (344 ft 10 in) long overall and had a beam of 12.2 m (40 ft) and a draft of 4.11 m (13 ft 6 in) forward. She displaced 2,659 t (2,617 long tons ) normally and up to 3,017 t (2,969 long tons) at full combat load. The ship had a minimal superstructure, which consisted of a small conning tower and bridge structure. Her hull had a raised forecastle and quarterdeck, along with a pronounced ram bow. She was fitted with two pole masts. She had a crew of 14 officers and 243 enlisted men. [3]
Her propulsion system consisted of two triple-expansion steam engines manufactured by Germaniawerft, driving a pair of screw propellers. The engines were powered by ten coal-fired Marine-type water-tube boilers that were vented through a pair of funnels. They were designed to give 8,000 metric horsepower (7,900 ihp ), for a top speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph). Nymphe carried 500 t (490 long tons) of coal, which gave her a range of 3,570 nautical miles (6,610 km; 4,110 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). [3]
The ship was armed with ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/40 guns in single pivot mounts. Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle; six were located on the broadside in sponsons; and two were placed side by side aft. The guns could engage targets out to 12,200 m (13,300 yd). They were supplied with 1,000 rounds of ammunition, for 100 shells per gun. She was also equipped with two 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes with five torpedoes. They were submerged in the hull on the broadside. [4]
The ship was protected by an armored deck that was 20 to 25 mm (0.79 to 0.98 in) thick. The deck sloped downward at the sides of the ship to provide a measure of protection against incoming fire. The conning tower had 80 mm (3.1 in) thick sides, and the guns were protected by 50 mm (2 in) thick gun shields. [5]
Nymphe was ordered under the contract name "A" and was laid down at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel in November 1898. She was launched on 21 November 1899, and the Bürgermeister (Mayor) of Lübeck gave a speech. After fitting-out work was completed, she was commissioned for sea trials on 20 September 1900. Her first commander was Kapitän zur See (KzS—Captain at Sea) Hugo Zeye. Her initial testing was interrupted in January 1901 when she was sent to escort Hohenzollern , the yacht of Kaiser Wilhelm II, during Wilhelm's visit to Britain for the funeral of his grandmother, Queen Victoria. Nymphe lay off Portsmouth from 26 January to 5 February, thereafter visiting Sheerness, Britain, and then Vlissingen, Netherlands. She arrived back in German waters on 8 February and resumed trials, which were completed the following month. She was then assigned to the Torpedo Inspectorate, which used her as a torpedo testing ship, a role Nymphe filled for the next four years. At the same time, Korvettenkapitän (KK—Corvette Captain) Georg Scheibel replaced Zeye. In June 1901, Nymphe again escorted Hohenzollern during the Kiel Week sailing regatta. She took part in the annual fleet training maneuvers held in August and September, which concluded with a naval review held while Tsar Nicholas II of Russia visited Germany. In October, KK Günther von Krosigk relieved Scheibel as the ship's commander. [3] [6]
The year 1902 saw the ship escort Hohenzollern three times in addition to her torpedo testing duties: the first to Kiel Week in June, followed by a cruise to Norway in July; the second in August during a visit to Reval for another meeting with Nicholas, during which Nymphe and other German vessels took part in combined fleet maneuvers with elements of the Russian Baltic Fleet; the third on November for a visit to Britain for Wilhelm to visit his uncle, King Edward VII. Between the last two trips, Nymphe took part in the fleet maneuvers held in late August and early September, and Kapitänleutnant (KL—Captain Lieutenant) Albertus Petruschky briefly took command of the ship from September to October, followed by KK Voit. At the end of the year, her crew was temporarily reduced for periodic maintenance over the winter months. [6] [7]
KL Wilibald Grauer briefly commanded the vessel from January to February, when he was replaced by Voit. Nymphe once again accompanied Hohenzollern that year during the Kaiser's visit to Copenhagen, Denmark, from 2 to 6 April to visit King Christian IX, again for that year's Kiel Week in June, and for Wilhelm's cruise to Norway in July. Nymphe arrived back in Swinemünde on 11 August and she then joined the fleet for the annual maneuvers held later that month and into September. As in the previous year, she spent the winter with a reduced crew undergoing repairs, now under KK Wilhelm Sthamer's command. In December, he was replaced by Grauer. After recommissioning in 1904, she embarked on a training cruise to Norwegian waters with the torpedo testing ship Neptun (the former armored frigate Friedrich Carl) that lasted from 16 March to 3 April and included torpedo test firings. Nymphe took part in that year's fleet maneuvers as well, and in September, KK Leberecht Maass became the ship's captain. [6]
On 11 January 1905, Nymphe was replaced as the primary torpedo testing ship by the new pre-dreadnought battleship Schwaben, and on 30 March, Nymphe in turn relieved the old screw corvette Olga. At the same time, KK Karl Behm became the ship's commander, serving until September that year. Nymphe was accordingly transferred from the Torpedo Inspectorate to the Naval Artillery Inspectorate, where she served for the next two years. She took part in her first set of exercises in the new unit in May 1905. She was present for the high seas regatta held between the island of Helgoland and Dover, Britain. From 1 to 7 August, she cruised with her sister ship Undine and three old torpedo boats filled with cork for use as torpedo targets. [8]
In January 1906, Behm returned to the ship. Nymphe operated with the training vessels of the German fleet, now organized as the School and Testing Ships Unit, in April and May 1906. She reprised her participation in the Dover–Helgoland regatta that June. KK Heinrich Trendtel replaced now- Fregattenkapitän (FK—Frigate Captain) Behm. During exercises in the western Baltic Sea on 17 November, Undine collided with and sank the torpedo boat S126; Nymphe assisted with the rescue effort for the torpedo boat's crew. Nymphe continued in her gunnery training duties, which included fleet shooting practice in April 1907 in the German Bight for the first time; up to that point, her training operations had been confined to the Baltic. She may have also taken part in fleet maneuvers in the area at that time. [8]
In May and June, she was dry-docked in the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Wilhelmshaven to be rearmed. She retained six of her 10.5 cm guns, but the four on her starboard side were replaced with four 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns and two 5.2 cm (2 in) guns to diversify the types of guns available for training. She was thereafter designated the "training ship for automatic weapons". The ship was recommissioned on 2 July; during the fleet maneuvers in August, she served with the temporarily created III (Maneuver) Squadron. While engaged in the maneuvers on 31 August, the coastal defense ship Frithjof accidentally rammed Nymphe aft on her port side; Nymphe was forced to go to Kiel, where she was decommissioned on 19 September for repairs. After the work was completed, Nymphe was moved to Danzig without being recommissioned. Medusa, which had replaced Nymphe, was due for scheduled maintenance by early 1908, so Nymphe was recommissioned on 23 May to take her place, serving until February 1909. During this period, she was based at Sonderburg, until she was relieved by the newer cruiser Stuttgart. The ship was then decommissioned and placed in reserve, where she remained for the next five years. [9]
Following the start of World War I in July 1914, Nymphe was recommissioned on 8 August to serve as the flagship of the harbor flotilla that guarded the mouth of the Elbe. Whether she received her original battery of ten 10.5 cm guns or retained her gunnery training ship armament is not known. The commander of the flotilla was FK Ernst Ewers, who also served as Nymphe's captain. In January 1915, Ewers was replaced in both roles by FK Erich von Zeppelin. The ship saw little activity during this period, and in August 1915, Zeppelin left the ship, which was then removed from front-line service on 1 September. She thereafter was assigned to the Torpedo Inspectorate, reverting to her original role as a torpedo training ship. She served in this capacity until 1 November 1916, when she was decommissioned and then disarmed. She remained assigned to the Torpedo Inspectorate, which used her as a barracks ship and as a stationary training vessel. [4] [10]
Nymphe was among the six light cruisers that Germany was permitted to retain under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles that ended the war. She was taken to Wilhelmshaven on 4 November 1920, where from November 1922 to early 1924 she was modernized at the Deutsche Werke shipyard. Her original ram bow was replaced with a modern clipper bow, which increased her overall length to 108.7 m (357 ft). She also received a new mast, along with a new battery of 10.5 cm SK L/45 guns in U-boat mountings. A pair of 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes in deck-mounted launchers were also installed. She was recommissioned on 30 November 1924 for sea trials, with KzS Ernst Bindseil as her first commander in the new Reichsmarine (Navy of the Realm). She was then assigned to serve as the flagship of light Naval Forces of the Baltic Sea on 18 December, under the command of Konteradmiral (KAdm—Rear Admiral) Iwan Oldekop. FK Georg Kleine relieved Bindseil as the ship's commander in January 1925. In addition to routine training exercises that year, the ship visited Merok, Norway, from 25 to 30 June. KAdm Franz Wieting replaced Oldekop as the unit commander on 25 September. [4] [10] [11]
In 1926, Nymphe took part in a major training cruise into the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea, during which she made several stops in Spain, including Cadiz from 20 to 24 May, Mahón, Menorca, from 27 to 29 May, Málaga from 1 to 8 June, and Vigo from 12 to 13 June. After returning to Germany, she took part in the fleet maneuvers held in August. From 4 to 5 September, she visited Skagen, Denmark, after which FK Fritz Conrad replaced Kleine as the ship's captain. KzS Wilfried von Loewenfeld replaced Wieting on 16 March 1927. The ship made more foreign visits that year, and while in the Bay of Biscay, she was damaged in severe weather that saw wind strength in the range of 10–12 on the Beaufort scale. She stopped in El Ferrol from 2 to 14 April, Santa Cruz from 17 to 20 April, La Luz in Málaga from 24 April to 2 May, Lanzarote in the Canary Islands from 3 to 9 May, Horta and Ponta Delgada in the Azores from 14 to 23 May and from 24 to 29 May, respectively, Seville from 3 to 7 June, and Cadiz from 7 to 8 June. She once again took part in fleet maneuvers upon her return to Germany. [12]
Nymphe participated in a fleet cruise to Norway in July 1928, which included stops in Bergen and Ulvik. Following the fleet's return to Germany, it conducted another set of training exercises, and in September, FK Wolf von Trotha relieved Conrad, serving as the ship's last commander. On 15 October, KAdm Walter Gladisch replaced Loewenfeld, though Nymphe remained the flagship for just six months, being decommissioned on 16 April 1929 in Kiel; her role was taken by the new light cruiser Königsberg. Nymphe was briefly retained as a barracks ship until 31 March 1931, when she was struck from the naval register. She was sold on 29 August and then broken up the following year in Hamburg. [4] [13]
SMS Ägir was the second and final member of the Odin class of coastal defense ships built for the Imperial German Navy. She had one sister ship, Odin. Ägir was named for the norse god, and was built by the Kaiserliche Werft in Danzig between 1893 and 1896. She was armed with a main battery of three 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns. She served in the German fleet throughout the 1890s and was rebuilt in 1901–1903. She served in the VI Battle Squadron after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, but saw no action. Ägir was demobilized in 1915 and used as a tender thereafter. After the war, she was rebuilt as a merchant ship and served in this capacity until December 1929, when she was wrecked on the island of Gotland.
SMS Hela was an aviso built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the mid-1890s, the last vessel of that type to be built by the German Empire. As the culmination of the type in German service, she represented significant improvements over earlier vessels, particularly the Wacht and Meteor classes, which had been disappointments in service. She was intended to serve as a fleet scout and as a flotilla leader for torpedo boats. Hela marked a step toward the development of the light cruiser. Armed with a battery of four 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns and three 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, the ship proved to be too weakly-armed for front-line combat.
SMS Arcona was the ninth member of the ten-ship Gazelle class of light cruisers that were built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The Gazelle class was the culmination of earlier unprotected cruiser 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 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and a top speed of 21.5 knots. Arcona was a modified version of the basic Gazelle design, with improved armor and additional coal storage for a longer cruising range.
SMS Undine was the last member of the ten-ship Gazelle class of light cruisers that were built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The Gazelle class was the culmination of earlier unprotected cruiser 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 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and had a top speed of 21.5 knots. Undine was a modified version of the basic Gazelle design, with improved armor and additional coal storage for a longer cruising range.
SMS Friedrich Carl was a German armored cruiser built in the early 1900s for the German Kaiserliche Marine. She was the second and final member of the Prinz Adalbert class, which was built to provide scouts for the German fleet and station ships in Germany's colonial empire. Friedrich Carl was built by the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg. She was laid down in August 1901, launched in June 1902, and commissioned in December 1903. She was armed with a main battery of four 21 cm (8.3 in) guns and could reach a top speed of 20 knots.
SMS Beowulf was the second vessel of the six-member Siegfried class of coastal defense ships built for the German Imperial Navy. Her sister ships were Siegfried, Frithjof, Heimdall, Hildebrand, and Hagen. Beowulf was built by the AG Weser shipyard between 1890 and 1892, and was armed with a main battery of three 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns. She served in the German fleet throughout the 1890s and was rebuilt in 1900 – 1902. She served in the VI Battle Squadron after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, but saw no action. Beowulf was demobilized in 1915 and used as a target ship for U-boats thereafter. She was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1921.
SMS Frithjof was the third vessel of the six-member Siegfried class of coastal defense ships built for the German Imperial Navy. Her sister ships were Siegfried, Beowulf, Heimdall, Hildebrand, and Hagen. Frithjof was built by the AG Weser shipyard between 1890 and 1893, and was armed with a main battery of three 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns. She served in the German fleet throughout the 1890s and was rebuilt in 1900 - 1902. She served in the VI Battle Squadron after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, but saw no action. Frithjof was demobilized in 1915 and used as a barracks ship thereafter. She was rebuilt as a merchant ship in 1923 and served in this capacity until she was broken up for scrap in 1930.
SMS Hildebrand was the fifth vessel of the six-member Siegfried class of coastal defense ships built for the German Imperial Navy. Her sister ships were Siegfried, Beowulf, Frithjof, Heimdall, and Hagen. Hildebrand was built by the Kaiserliche Werft at Kiel between 1890 and 1893, and was armed with a main battery of three 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns. She served in the German fleet throughout the 1890s and was rebuilt in 1900–1902. She served in the VI Battle Squadron after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, but saw no action. Hildebrand was demobilized in 1915 and used as a barracks ship thereafter. She ran aground while en route to the Netherlands for scrapping in 1919, and was eventually broken up in situ in 1933.
SMS Medusa was a member of the ten-ship Gazelle class of light cruisers that were built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The Gazelle class was the culmination of earlier unprotected cruiser 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 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and a top speed of 21.5 knots. Medusa served in all three German navies—the Kaiserliche Marine, the Reichsmarine of Weimar Germany, and the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany—over the span of over forty years.
SMS Amazone was the sixth member of the ten-ship Gazelle class of light cruisers that were built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The Gazelle class was the culmination of earlier unprotected cruiser 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 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and a top speed of 21.5 knots.
SMS Hamburg was the second member of the seven-vessel Bremen class of light cruisers, built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the early 1900s. She and her sister ships were ordered under the 1898 Naval Law that required new cruisers be built to replace obsolete vessels in the fleet. The design for the Bremen class was derived from the preceding Gazelle class, utilizing a larger hull that allowed for additional boilers that increased speed. Named for the city of Hamburg, the ship was armed with a main battery of ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and had a top speed of 22 knots.
SMS Berlin was the second member of the seven-vessel Bremen class of light cruisers, built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the early 1900s. She and her sister ships were ordered under the 1898 Naval Law that required new cruisers be built to replace obsolete vessels in the fleet. The design for the Bremen class was derived from the preceding Gazelle class, utilizing a larger hull that allowed for additional boilers that increased speed. Named for the German capital of Berlin, the ship was armed with a main battery of ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and had a top speed of 22 knots.
SMS Baden was one of four Sachsen-class armored frigates of the German Kaiserliche Marine. Her sister ships were Sachsen, Bayern, and Württemberg. Baden was built in the Kaiserliche Marine in Kiel from 1876 to 1883. The ship was commissioned into the Imperial Navy in September 1883. She was armed with a main battery of six 26 cm (10.2 in) guns in two open barbettes.
SMS Zieten was the first torpedo-armed aviso built for the Imperial German Navy. She was built in Britain in 1875–1876, and was the last major warship built for Germany by a foreign shipyard. Ordered as a testbed for the new Whitehead torpedo, Zieten was armed with a pair of 38 cm (15 in) torpedo tubes, and was capable of a top speed of 16 knots, making her the fastest ship in the German fleet at the time. Zieten was the first torpedo-armed vessel in a series of avisos that ultimately developed into the first light cruisers. In addition to her impact in German warship design, Zieten also influenced numerous other navies, who built dozens of similar avisos and torpedo vessels of their own.
SMS Blitz was an aviso of the German Kaiserliche Marine built in the early 1880s. She was the lead ship of her class, which included one other vessel, SMS Pfeil. Her primary offensive armament consisted of a bow-mounted torpedo tube, and she was armed with a battery of light guns to defend herself against torpedo boats, a sign of the growing importance of torpedoes as effective weapons in the period. The Blitz class featured a number of innovations in German warship design: they were the first steel hulled warships and the first cruiser-type ships to discard traditional sailing rigs.
SMS Pfeil was an aviso of the Imperial German Navy, the second and final member of the Blitz class. Her primary offensive armament consisted of a bow-mounted torpedo tube, and she was armed with a battery of light guns to defend herself against torpedo boats, a sign of the growing importance of torpedoes as effective weapons in the period. The Blitz class featured a number of innovations in German warship design: they were the first steel hulled warships and the first cruiser-type ships to discard traditional sailing rigs.
SMS Meteor was an aviso of the German Kaiserliche Marine built in the late 1880s and early 1890s, the lead ship of her class that include one other vessel, Comet. Intended to screen the main fleet against attacking torpedo boats, Meteor was armed with a battery of four 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns. Her design suffered from several defects, including excessive vibration and poor handling in heavy seas, both of which could not be corrected. These problems limited the ship's career. She served briefly as a guard ship in Kiel in 1892, as an aviso with the main fleet in 1893–1894, and as a fishery protection ship in 1895–1896. Out of service by the end of 1896, Meteor was later used as a harbor defense vessel in 1904 and then as a barracks ship from 1911 to 1919, when she was sold to ship breakers and dismantled.
SMS Wacht was an aviso of the Imperial German Navy, the lead ship of her class. She had one sister ship, Jagd. Wacht was built by the AG Weser shipyard; she was laid down in 1886, launched in August 1887, and commissioned in August 1888. She served in the active fleet through the 1890s and participated in numerous training exercises. Her career was cut short on 4 September 1901, when she collided with the old ironclad SMS Sachsen. The latter's ram bow holed Wacht under the waterline and caused her to rapidly sink. Her crew was safely rescued, however, and there were no casualties.
SMS Jagd was an aviso of the Imperial German Navy, the second and final member of the Wacht class. She had one sister ship, Wacht. Jagd was laid down in 1887 at the AG Weser shipyard, launched in July 1888, and commissioned in June 1889. She served in the German fleet for the next fifteen years, until she was withdrawn from active duty in 1904. Thereafter, she was used as a harbor ship. In 1910, she was stricken from the naval register and hulked. She was later used as a torpedo training platform until 1920, when she was sold for scrapping.
SMS Grille was an aviso of the Prussian Navy built in France in the mid-1850s as part of a naval expansion program directed by Prince Adalbert of Prussia, who saw the need for a stronger fleet. She was authorized in 1855 in the aftermath of the First Schleswig War, which had demonstrated the weakness of the Prussian fleet. Grille was the first screw propeller-driven steamship to be built for Prussia; all earlier steam-powered vessels had been paddle steamers.