![]() Wacht in 1899 | |
History | |
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Name | SMS Wacht |
Builder | AG Weser |
Laid down | August 1886 |
Launched | 27 August 1887 |
Commissioned | 9 August 1888 |
Fate | Sunk in collision 4 September 1901 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Wacht-class aviso |
Displacement | |
Length | 85.8 m (281 ft 6 in) o/a |
Beam | 9.66 m (31 ft 8 in) |
Draft | 3.74 m (12 ft 3 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | |
Speed | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
Range | 2,440 nmi (4,520 km; 2,810 mi) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Armor |
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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.
With the selection of General Leo von Caprivi to replace the former chief of the Kaiserliche Admiralität (Imperial Admiralty), Albrecht von Stosch, in 1883, the navy began to experiment more seriously with torpedo-armed warships along the lines of the Jeune École . Caprivi was a proponent of cheaper torpedo boats, and he directed that future avisos should forsake size and gun power in favor of higher speed and torpedo armament. The Wacht class was the first design prepared in accordance with Caprivi's directives, and it proved to be a failure, owing to poor seakeeping as a result of its smaller size, and a gun battery that was insufficient to allow them to engage comparable vessels in other fleets. [1] [2]
Wacht was 85.5 meters (281 ft) long overall and had a beam of 9.66 m (31.7 ft) and a maximum draft of 3.74 m (12.3 ft) forward. She displaced 1,246 metric tons (1,226 long tons ) as designed and up to 1,499 t (1,475 long tons) at full load. Her propulsion system consisted of two angled 3-cylinder triple expansion engines. Steam for the engines was provided by four coal-fired locomotive boilers. The ship's propulsion system was rated for 4,000 metric horsepower (3,900 ihp ) and provided a top speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) and a range of approximately 2,860 nautical miles (5,300 km; 3,290 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). Wacht had a crew of 7 officers and 134 enlisted men. [3]
As built, the ship was armed with three 10.5 cm (4.1 in) K L/35 guns placed in single pivot mounts. The guns were supplied with a total of 180 rounds of ammunition. Wacht also carried three 35 cm (13.8 in) torpedo tubes, one mounted submerged in the bow and the other two in deck-mounted launchers on the broadside. In 1891, four 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 guns in single mounts were installed in place of the 10.5 cm guns. The ship was the first German aviso to carry armor: a 10 mm (0.39 in) thick deck, along with 25 mm (0.98 in) of armor plating for the conning tower. [3] [4]
The keel for Wacht was laid down in August 1886 at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen. She was launched on 27 August 1887 and Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral) Alexander von Monts, the chief of the Marinestation der Nordsee (North Sea Naval Station) christened the ship. In early 1888, she was transferred to Wilhelmshaven, where her armament was installed, and she was commissioned on 9 August to begin sea trials. These concluded on 13 December in Wilhelmshaven. She was temporarily assigned to the newly created Reserve Division of the North Sea over the winter of 1888–1889 before being transferred to Kiel on 1 May to begin engine trials, after which she was assigned to the Maneuver Squadron. During training exercises with the squadron, Wacht suffered a burst boiler tube on 20 June that forced her to return to port for repairs. In early August, she joined the squadron for a visit to Britain, arriving back in Wilhelmshaven on 31 August. The fleet then conducted its annual large-scale maneuvers. After the maneuvers ended in September, Korvettenkapitän (KK—Corvette Captain) Friedrich von Baudissin took command of the vessel. [5]
Late in the year, Wacht joined a squadron of four old ironclads — Kaiser, Deutschland, Friedrich der Grosse, and Preussen that escorted Kaiser Wilhelm II and Kaiserin Augusta Victoria aboard their yacht Hohenzollern to Greece for the wedding of Princess Sophie, the Kaiser's sister, to Constantine, then the crown prince of the Kingdom of Greece. Prince Heinrich also cruised with the squadron aboard the protected cruiser Irene. During the cruise, the Germans visited numerous ports in the Mediterranean, including state visits to Italy, the Ottoman Empire, followed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. While in Trieste in Austria-Hungary, the squadron was present for a naval review for the Austro-Hungarian Kaiser Franz Joseph I in Muggia. Wacht developed boiler problems that necessitated repairs at the naval arsenal at Pola; she remained there until 29 January 1890, when she was able to get underway again. She met the rest of the squadron in Malta on 1 February, but left for home independently, arriving in Wilhelmshaven on 22 February, while the rest of the squadron remained in the Mediterranean until April. Wacht had in the meantime been decommissioned there on 6 March. [1] [6]
While out of service, the ship underwent a thorough overhaul and had her gun armament replaced. On 6 October 1891, she was recommissioned for sea trials that lasted until the end of February 1892; during this period, her commander was KK Hermann da Fonseca-Wollheim. She was assigned to II Division of the Maneuver Squadron on 8 March and KK Ludwig Borckenhagen relieved Fonseca-Wollheim, Wacht thereafter taking part in exercises in the North Sea off the coast of Norway. She was detached from the unit to escort Hohenzollern from 4 to 8 June while Wilhelm II visited Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Later in the year, the ship had a minor collision with the artillery training ship Mars. Borckenhagen left the ship in September and Wacht was decommissioned on 12 October. [5]
Wacht was recommissioned on 13 January 1893, initially serving as a training ship for engine and boiler room crews for torpedo boats. Kapitänleutnant (Captain Lieutenant) Alfred Ehrlich commanded the ship during the year. In early March, she was reassigned to serve as a flotilla leader for torpedo boats, and in mid-April, she was once again detached to escort Hohenzollern, though this was the new yacht of that name, while it was being taken from Swinemünde to Kiel. While on the way, the vessels encountered the Flensburg-flagged merchant ship SS Electra that had run aground and Wacht pulled her free and towed er to Kiel. Ten days later, the navy established I Torpedo-boat Flotilla, based in Kiel; Wacht served as the flotilla leader and flagship of KK Gustav Schmidt. The unit consisted of two divisions and included twelve torpedo boats in total. The vessels conducted training maneuvers over the next two months and in early July, Wacht cruised with the Maneuver Squadron in the North Sea. The annual fleet maneuvers were held from 20 August to 23 September in the North and Baltic Seas, and upon their conclusion, I Torpedo-boat Flotilla was dissolved for the year. On 27 September, Wacht accompanied Hohenzollern on her sea trials that included visits to Gothenburg, Karlskrona, and Christiansand in Sweden–Norway. Wacht then returned to Wilhelmshaven, where she was decommissioned on 11 October. [7]
In 1894, Wacht was assigned to II Division of the Maneuver Squadron; during this period, the ships conducted a lengthy cruise in the North Sea, visiting ports in Norway and the Shetland Islands from 3 April to late June. While steaming out of Kiel on 2 July, Wacht was accidentally rammed by the ironclad Deutschland. Wacht had to enter the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Kiel for repairs that lasted until 23 July. She took part in the annual fleet maneuvers from 19 August to 21 September, after which she traded assignments with the aviso Pfeil, which had been the aviso for I Division. At the same time, KK Eduard Holzhauer took command of the vessel. Wacht did not remain in service with the unit long, owing to the poor condition of her engines, and she was decommissioned in Wilhelmshaven on 8 December for repairs. [8]
The ship remained out of service until 18 March 1896, when she was recommissioned under the command of KK Carl Friedrich, being assigned to II Division eight days later; by this time, the Maneuver Squadron had been renamed I Squadron. The ships embarked on a cruise to the Netherlands and Norway that lasted until the end of the May. Squadron exercises followed in June and July and the fleet maneuvers were held from 9 August to 15 September. During these exercises on 5 September, Wacht damaged her screws in a collision with the torpedo boat D5, forcing her to return to Kiel for repairs, though she was able to take part in the final stage of the maneuvers in the North Sea. She thereafter cruised through the Kattegat in mid-December to return to Kiel, where Friedrich left the ship. [9]
On 1 January 1897, her crew was reduced, though it was replenished on 1 March to take the ship back to Wilhelmshaven in 1897, where on 4 May she was decommissioned again. During that brief period in commission, KK Otto Mandt commanded the vessel. While out of service, she was reclassified as a "Kleiner Kreuzer" (small cruiser) on 27 February 1899; she was recommissioned on 6 April to replace the aviso Greif in II Division. While on maneuvers at the end of the month, she damaged one of her screws. Squadron exercises followed in July and in August, the annual fleet maneuvers began. Wacht served as a fleet scout during the exercises until 12 September, when she suffered a boiler explosion that killed four men and injured another five. The ironclad Bayern towed her to Kiel for temporary repairs before she was transferred to Wilhelmshaven. There, she was decommissioned on 27 September. [9]
Wacht was recommissioned on 11 August 1901 under the command of KK Hugo von Cotzhausen and was assigned to I Scouting Group six days later. The unit operated with II Squadron in the North Sea in August, and on the last day of the month, the fleet maneuvers began in the Baltic. While the ships were steaming through Danzig Bay on 4 September, the fleet commander ordered Wacht and the small cruiser Hela to pass from the seaward side of the line to the other so that signals from the ships could be relayed to shore. Wacht attempted to pass between the ironclads Sachsen and Württemberg but Wacht's helmsman misjudged the distance and passed too closely in front of Sachsen. Sachsen immediately attempted to reverse course to avoid ramming the ship, but the two vessels collided. Sachsen's ram bow tore a large hole in Wacht's port side, which began to slowly sink. The battleship Weissenburg attempted to tow Wacht to shallow water, but several of Wacht's internal bulkheads collapsed under the strain and the ship quickly sank. Nevertheless, her crew was taken off safely; neither ship suffered any casualties. The navy later attempted to raise the ship, which had sunk at a depth of more than 40 m (130 ft), but the efforts proved fruitless. A court martial was held for Cotzhausen on 8 October, who was acquitted of any wrong-doing in the accident. [8] [10]
SMS Friedrich der Grosse was an ironclad turret ship built for the German Kaiserliche Marine. She was the second of three Preussen-class ironclads, in addition to her two sister-ships Preussen and Grosser Kurfürst. Named for Frederick the Great, she was laid down at the Imperial Dockyard in Kiel in 1871 and completed in 1877. Her main battery of four 26 cm (10 in) guns was mounted in a pair of twin gun turrets amidships.
SMS Siegfried was the lead ship of the six-member Siegfried class of coastal defense ships built for the German Imperial Navy. Her sister ships were Beowulf, Frithjof, Heimdall, Hildebrand, and Hagen. Siegfried was built by the Germaniawerft shipyard between 1888 and 1890, 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 1903 - 1904. She served in the VI Battle Squadron after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, but saw no action. Siegfried was demobilized in 1915 and used as a barracks ship thereafter. She was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1920.
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 Kaiser Friedrich III was the lead ship of the Kaiser Friedrich III class of pre-dreadnought battleships. She was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft in Wilhelmshaven in March 1895, launched in July 1896, and finished in October 1898. The ship was armed with a main battery of four 24-centimeter (9.4 in) guns in two twin gun turrets supported by a secondary battery of eighteen 15 cm (5.9 in) guns.
SMS Sachsen was the lead ship of her class of four ironclads of the German Kaiserliche Marine. Her sisterships were Bayern, Württemberg, and Baden. Sachsen was built in the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin. She was laid down in April 1875, launched on 21 July 1877, and commissioned on 21 October 1878. The ship was armed with a main battery of six 26 cm (10.2 in) guns in individual open mounts.
SMS Württemberg was one of four Sachsen-class armored frigates of the German Kaiserliche Marine. Her sister ships were Sachsen, Bayern, and Baden. Württemberg was built in the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin from 1876 to 1881. The ship was commissioned into the Imperial Navy in August 1881. She was armed with a main battery of six 26 cm (10.2 in) guns in two open barbettes.
SMS Bayern was one of four Sachsen-class armored frigates of the German Kaiserliche Marine. Her sister ships were Sachsen, Baden, and Württemberg. Named for Bavaria, Bayern was built by the Kaiserliche Werft in Kiel from 1874 to 1881. The ship was commissioned into the Imperial Navy in August 1881. She was armed with a main battery of six 26 cm (10.2 in) guns in two open barbettes.
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 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 Nymphe was the third 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 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 Greif was an aviso built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the mid-1880s, the only ship of her class. Designed at a time where torpedoes had become effective weapons and spurred the development of the Jeune École, Greif was intended to guard the capital ships of the fleet against torpedo boat attacks. For this role, she carried a battery of 10.5 cm (4.1 in) and 3.7 cm (1.5 in) guns, unlike other German avisos of the period, which also carried torpedo tubes. Greif was not a successful warship, however, and she spent much of her career laid up, out of service.
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.
The Wacht class was a pair of avisos built by the German Kaiserliche Marine in the late-1880s; the class comprised two ships, Wacht and Jagd. They were laid down in 1886 and 1887 and completed by 1888 and 1889, respectively. The ships were based on the previous aviso, SMS Greif, which had proved to be an unsuccessful design due to its lack of torpedo armament. As a result, the Wacht-class ships were equipped with three torpedo tubes to improve their combat power; they were also the first German avisos to carry armor protection.
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.
54°41′00″N13°31′00″E / 54.6833°N 13.5167°E