SMS Vineta (1863)

For other ships with the same name, see SMS Vineta.

Sketch of Vineta in 1864
History
Prussia
Name	SMS Vineta
Builder	Königliche Werft , Danzig
General characteristics
Class and type	Arcona-class frigate
Displacement	2,504  t (2,464 long tons)
Length	73.32 m (240 ft 7 in)
Beam	12.9 m (42 ft 4 in)
Draft	5.52 m (18 ft 1 in)
Installed power	4 × fire-tube boilers 1,580  PS (1,560  ihp)
Propulsion	1 × marine steam engine 1 × screw propeller
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Speed	11.7 knots (21.7 km/h; 13.5 mph)
Range	1,350  nmi (2,500 km; 1,550 mi) at 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement	35 officers 345 enlisted men
Armament	28 × 68-pounder guns

SMS Vineta was a member of the Arcona class of steam frigates built for the Prussian Navy in the late 1850s and early 1860s. The class comprised five ships, and were the first major steam-powered warships ordered for the Prussian Navy. The ships were ordered as part of a major construction program to strengthen the nascent Prussian fleet, under the direction of Prince Adalbert, and were intended to provide defense against the Royal Danish Navy. Vineta was armed with a battery of twenty-eight guns, and was capable of steaming at a speed of 11.7 knots (21.7 km/h; 13.5 mph).

Design

Main article: Arcona-class frigate

In the immediate aftermath of the First Schleswig War against Denmark, Prince Adalbert began drawing up plans for the future of the Prussian Navy; he also secured the Jade Treaty that saw the port of Wilhelmshaven transferred to Prussia from the Duchy of Oldenburg, and which provided the Prussian fleet with an outlet on the North Sea. Adalbert called for a force of three screw frigates and six screw corvettes to protect Prussian maritime trade in the event of another war with Denmark. Design work was carried out between 1854 and 1855, and the first two ships were authorized in November 1855; a further pair was ordered in June 1860, and the final member of the class was ordered in February 1866. ^{[1] [2]}

Vineta was 73.32 meters (240 ft 7 in) long overall and had a beam of 12.9 m (42 ft 4 in) and a draft of 5.52 m (18 ft 1 in) forward. She displaced 2,113 metric tons (2,080 long tons ) as designed and 2,504 t (2,464 long tons) at full load. The ship had short forecastle and sterncastle decks. Her superstructure consisted primarily of a small deckhouse aft. She had a crew of 35 officers and 345 enlisted men. ^[3]

Her propulsion system consisted of a single horizontal single-expansion steam engine driving a single screw propeller, with steam supplied by four coal-burning fire-tube boilers. Exhaust was vented through a single funnel located amidships. Vineta was rated to steam at a top speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph), but she significantly exceeded this speed, reaching 11.7 knots (21.7 km/h; 13.5 mph) from 1,580 metric horsepower (1,560 ihp). The ship had a cruising radius of about 1,350 nautical miles (2,500 km; 1,550 mi) at a speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). To supplement the steam engine on long voyages abroad, she carried a full-ship rig with a total surface area of 2,200 m² (24,000 sq ft). ^[3] The screw could be retracted while cruising under sail. ^[4]

Vineta was armed with a battery of twenty-eight 68-pounder guns. By 1869, she had been rearmed with a battery of seventeen 15 cm (5.9 in) RK L/22 guns and two 12.5 cm (4.9 in) K L/23 guns. ^[3]

Service history

Construction and the Second Schleswig War

The new ship was authorized on 28 June 1860, and the keel for Vineta was laid down at the Königliche Werft (Royal Dockyard) in Danzig on 17 September that year. Work on the ship proceeded slowly, primarily due to a shortage of wood timbers for her hull. She was eventually launched on 4 June 1863, and Crown Prince Frederick and his wife Victoria attended the ceremony, during which Victoria christened the ship. After the start of the Second Schleswig War in early 1864, Vineta was provisionally commissioned on 3 March for limited wartime service. Her first commander was Korvettenkapitän (KK—Corvette Captain) Heinrich Köhler. She was moored in the roadstead at Neufahrwasser as a guardship. Soon thereafter, the Danish frigate Jylland appeared off the coast, but she did not engage Vineta. The latter vessel embarked on a short sea trial and shooting practice on 7 and 8 April. ^[5]

Denmark announced the blockade of Danzig and Pillau on 19 April, and eleven days later, the ship of the line Skjold and several other warships appeared off Neufahrwasser. Vineta and Skjold engaged in a short and ineffective exchange of fire, but neither side was willing to engage more closely. The Danes refused to be drawn into range of the Prussian coastal artillery batteries, and the Prussians were unwilling to be lured out to confront the overwhelmingly superior Danish squadron. Köhler was criticized for his passive conduct in the engagement, but his ship was still incomplete and the crew was essentially untrained. Vineta nevertheless contributed to the defenses that prevented the Danes from mounting a close blockade of the port. On 12 May, the two sides agreed to an armistice to negotiate an end to the war, and at that time, Vineta sailed to Swinemünde. There, she participated in a fleet review conducted for the king, and the commander of the Prussian Navy, Prince Adalbert of Prussia, used Vineta as his flagship for the ceremony. The armistice broke down on 26 June and fighting resumed, but Vineta saw no further action. She and the rest of the Prussian frigate squadron cruised along the eastern coast of Schleswig and Holstein from mid-August to 18 September. ^[6]

Later operations

On 29 October, Vineta and the new screw corvette Victoria escorted the training ships Niobe, Rover, and Musquito on a visit to Portsmouth, United Kingdom. By 22 November, Vineta had arrived back in Kiel. ^[6]

The Flying Squadron in 1872; Vineta is at left

Notes

1. Nottelmann, pp. 110–113, 119, 124.
2. Sondhaus, p. 55.
3. Gröner, p. 42.
4. Lyon, p. 250.
5. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 35–36.
6. Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 36.

References

• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Vol. I: Major Surface Vessels. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   978-0-87021-790-6.
• Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart[The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 8. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag.
• Lyon, Hugh (1979). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905 . Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   978-0-85177-133-5.
• Nottelmann, Dirk (2022). Wright, Christopher C. (ed.). "From "Wooden Walls" to "New-Testament Ships": The Development of the German Armored Cruiser 1854–1918, Part I: "Humble Beginnings"". Warship International. LIX (2): 102–129. ISSN   0043-0374.
• Sondhaus, Lawrence (1997). Preparing for Weltpolitik: German Sea Power Before the Tirpitz Era. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   978-1-55750-745-7.