 Lithograph ofHela in 1902 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators |  Imperial German Navy |
| Preceded by | Meteor class |
| Succeeded by | Gazelle class |
| Completed | 1 |
| Lost | 1 |
| History | |
 German Empire | |
| Name | Hela |
| Builder | AG Weser,Bremen |
| Laid down | December 1893 |
| Launched | 28 March 1895 |
| Commissioned | 3 May 1896 |
| Fate | Sunk, 13 September 1914 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type | Aviso |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 105 m (344 ft 6 in) overall |
| Beam | 11 m (36 ft 1 in) |
| Draft | 4.64 m (15 ft 3 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed | 20knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Range | 3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
| Armor |
|
SMSHela was anaviso built for the GermanKaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the mid-1890s, the last vessel of that type to be built by theGerman Empire. As the culmination of the type in German service, she represented significant improvements over earlier vessels, particularly theWacht andMeteor classes, which had been disappointments in service. She was intended to serve as a fleet scout and as aflotilla leader fortorpedo boats.Hela marked a step toward the development of thelight cruiser. Armed with a battery of four8.8 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.
Hela had a relatively short active career; engine damage duringsea trials shortly after her completion in 1896 delayed the start of her service with the fleet until 1898. She served as a scout forI Squadron from then until 1900, when she was deployed as part of an expeditionary force to help suppress theBoxer Uprising inQing China.Hela saw little action during the deployment, instead frequently patrolling the coast of China and theYangtze river. After returning to Germany in mid-1901, she served withI Scouting Group and the main fleet until late 1902, when she was reduced to a gunnerytraining ship, thoughboiler problems forced a more thorough reconstruction that lasted from 1903 to 1910.
The ship was used as atender for the fleet from October 1910 through mid-1914, with few events of note forHela during this period. Following the outbreak ofWorld War I in July 1914,Hela was deployed to the patrol line guarding theGerman Bight. She was present at, but was not engaged in, theBattle of Helgoland Bight in August. The next month, while conducting training offHelgoland, she was torpedoed and sunk by the BritishsubmarineHMS E9. Despite the fact thatHela sank in less than half an hour, all of her crew, save two men, were rescued by a GermanU-boat and patrol boat.
Hela, named for theschoonerHela of 1852-vintage, was the culmination in the development of theaviso type in the German fleet. The avisos were developed from earliertorpedo boats and were intended for use in home waters with the fleet, both asflotilla leaders to direct groups of torpedo boats and as scouts for the fleet'scapital ships. The first aviso,Zieten, was purchased from a British shipbuilder in 1875; seven more ships were built in German yards by the early 1890s. Of these, the last four vessels, comprising theWacht andMeteor classes, had proved to be significant disappointments in service, owing to their poorseaworthiness and insufficient speed. In 1893, the naval construction staff prepared a design for a new vessel, provisionally designated "H", which remedied the problems of the earlier vessels, in part through a significant increase in size. This ship becameHela.[1][2]
The aviso type culminated in what would later be referred to as thelight cruiser. German designers incorporated the best aspects ofHela's design—primarily a high top speed and an armor deck—with those of their contemporaryunprotected cruisers of theBussard class—namely, a heavy armament and long cruising radius. This combination resulted in theGazelle-class cruisers, which were the first true light cruisers built in Germany.[3]
Hela was 104.6 meters (343 ft 2 in)long at the waterline and 105 m (344 ft 6 in)overall. She had abeam of 11 m (36 ft 1 in) and adraft of 4.46 m (14 ft 8 in) forward and 4.64 m (15 ft 3 in) aft. She was designed todisplace 2,027 t (1,995 long tons), and atfull load the displacement increased to 2,082 t (2,049 long tons). Herhull was constructed with transverse and longitudinal steel frames, which contained twenty-twowatertight compartments above the armoreddeck and ten below. Adouble bottom ran for thirty-five percent of the length of the hull, which had a pronouncedram bow. The ship had a minimalsuperstructure, with a smallconning tower. A raisedforecastle deck extended from thestem to thefunnel. She was fitted with a pair of light polemasts fitted withspotting tops.[4]
Hela's crew consisted of 7 officers and 171 enlisted men as completed and later increased to 8 officers and 187 enlisted men. She carried a number of small boats, including onebarge, oneyawl, and threedinghies. Later in her career, the barge was exchanged for apicket boat.Hela was veryseaworthy, but she rolled badly (having ametacentric height of 0.775 m (2 ft 6.5 in)) and tended to ship a significant amount of water in ahead sea because she was slightlybow-heavy. Steering was controlled by a singlerudder; she had average maneuverability.[4]
The ship was powered by two 3-cylindertriple-expansion steam engines; each drove ascrew propeller that was 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in) in diameter. Each engine had its own separateengine room. The engines were supplied with steam by sixlocomotive boilers split into twoboiler rooms, which were ducted into a single funnelamidships. The engines were rated at 6,000metric horsepower (5,900 ihp) and a top speed of 20knots (37 km/h; 23 mph), though on trials they reached a half knot better. Coal storage amounted to 340 long tons (350 t); range figures for the ship in her original configuration have not survived.Hela was equipped with three electrical generators that produced 36 kilowatts at 67 volts.[4]
Hela was armed with amain battery of four8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30[a] quick-firing guns in individual mountings. They were carried in MPL C/89 mounts with an elevation range of −10 to 20 degrees; at maximum elevation, the guns could reach targets at 7,300 m (24,000 ft). The guns fired 7 kg (15 lb) projectiles at amuzzle velocity of 590 m/s (1,900 ft/s). These guns were provided with a total of 800 rounds, for 200 per gun.[4][5] Rate of fire was theoretically fourteen shots per minute, but in practice it was limited to ten rounds per minute.[6]
She was also equipped with six5 cm (2 in) SK L/40 quick-firing guns, each mounted in individualTorpedobootslafette (Torpedo Boat Mount) C/92. These guns fired 1.7 kg (3.8 lb) shells at a muzzle velocity of 2,152 ft/s (656 m/s). Maximum elevation for the guns was twenty degrees, which provided a range of 6,180 m (6,760 yd). Shell storage amounted to 1,500 rounds, or 300 per gun.[4][7] Her armament was completed with three 45 cm (17.7 in)torpedo tubes. Two were placed on the deck on thebroadside and the third was submerged in the bow of the ship. These were supplied with a total of eight torpedoes,[4] which carried a 87.5 kg (193 lb) warhead. Their maximum range at 32 knots was 500 m (1,600 ft); when set to 26 kn (48 km/h; 30 mph), their range increased to 800 m (2,600 ft).[8]
Hela was lightly armored. She was protected by an armor deck that was 20 mm (0.79 in) thick and composed of steel. The deck sloped on the sides, and was slightly increased in thickness to 25 mm (0.98 in) to provide a measure of protection against direct fire. An armoredcoaming that was 40 mm (1.6 in) thick protected the uptakes from the boilers. Her conning tower was armored with 30 mm (1.2 in) thick steel on the sides. She was equipped with corkcofferdams to reduce the ingress of water in the event of hull damage.[4]
Hela was modernized in 1903–1910 at theKaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) inDanzig. The vessel's internal subdivision was improved with eight additional watertight compartments above the waterline and an extension of the double bottom to cover thirty-nine percent of the hull. As part of the modifications to her hull, both of the broadside torpedo tubes were moved to torpedo rooms below the waterline. She also received eight Marine-typewater-tube boilers in place of her old models, and a second funnel was added. The new boilers produced 5,982 metric horsepower (5,900 ihp) on trials, propelling the ship to the same top speed. Coal storage was increased to 412 long tons (419 t), which permitted a cruising radius of 3,000nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Both of her stern 8.8 cm guns were removed and their ammunition allotment was reduced to 156 shells per gun. Her aft superstructure was enlarged to provide additional accommodation space. The ship also received a largerbridge.[4][9]
Hela waslaid down in December 1893 at theAG Weser shipyard inBremen under the provisional name "H".[b] She waslaunched on 28 March 1895 and at the ceremony,Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral)Victor Valois, the chief of theMarinestation der Nordsee (North Sea Naval Station) christened the ship. She was moved to the {{lang|de|Kaiserliche Werft}} (Imperial Shipyard) inWilhelmshaven for finalfitting out in January 1896. The ship wascommissioned forsea trials on 3 May, initially under the command ofKorvettenkapitän (KK—Corvette Captain)Johannes Stein, though he was replaced byKapitänleutnant (KL—Captain Lieutenant)Carl Schönfelder in August. Her initial testing was interrupted by damage to her engines, which necessitated her decommissioning on 19 September for repairs. She spent the next year and a half out of service.[2]
Hela was recommissioned on 10 March 1898, under the command ofKKFritz Sommerwerck, and was assigned toI Squadron to serve as its aviso. These duties were interrupted beginning on 14 June whenHela was chosen to escortKaiser Wilhelm II aboard hisyachtHohenzollern for sailingregattas in Germany and then a cruise to Norwegian waters in July that included a stop inHardangerfjord. On 31 July,Hela returned to I Squadron before being detached again on 17 September following the conclusion of the annual fleet maneuvers. She again escortedHohenzollern with Wilhelm II and his wifeAugusta Victoria aboard, along with theprotected cruiserHertha, for a voyage to the easternMediterranean Sea. She returned to her unit on 8 December, after whichKKPaul Rampold relieved Sommerwerck.[2]
In early 1899,Hela and the rest of I Squadron embarked on a training cruise into the Atlantic. While passing through theEnglish Channel, the ships stopped inDover, Great Britain, to represent Germany at a celebration forQueen Victoria's 80th birthday on 1 May. In June and July,Hela again escortedHohenzollern for his summer cruise to Norway; during the fleet maneuvers in August, she operated with the fleet's scouting unit. During the exercises in theBaltic Sea on 28 August,Hela struck themole outsideNeufahrwassar and damaged herstarboard propeller. She steamed toKiel for repairs that were completed by 4 September, allowing her to return to the unit for the rest of the maneuvers. In mid-September, she accompaniedHohenzollern for a cruise to Sweden, and she and thepre-dreadnought battleshipKaiser Friedrich III escorted the Kaiser's yacht on a visit to Britain that lasted from 17 to 30 November.Hela concluded the year with a training cruise with I Squadron in theSkagerrak in December.[11]
Hela spent the first half of 1900 as she had previous years, conducting training exercises with the fleet. Her routine was interrupted by events inQing China, where on 20 June, during theBoxer Uprising, the German ambassador,Clemens von Ketteler, was murdered by Chinese nationalists. The widespread violence against Westerners in China led to a creation of an alliance between Germany and seven other Great Powers, the so-calledEight-Nation Alliance: the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungary, the United States, France, and Japan. Those soldiers who were in China at the time were too few in number to defeat the Boxers; in Beijing there was a force of slightly more than 400 officers and infantry from the armies of the eight European powers. At the time, the primary German military force in China was theEast Asia Squadron, which consisted of the protected cruisersKaiserin Augusta,Hansa,Hertha, andIrene, the unprotected cruiserGefion, and thegunboatsJaguar andIltis. There was also a German 500-man detachment in Taku; combined with the other nations' units the force numbered some 2,100 men. These men, led by the British AdmiralEdward Seymour, attempted to reach Beijing but were stopped in theBattle of Tientsin.[12][13][14]
As a result, the Kaiser determined an expeditionary force would be sent to China to reinforce the East Asia Squadron.Hela was assigned to the naval expedition on 4 July, which included the fourBrandenburg-class battleships, sent to China to reinforce the German squadron there. The ships departed Kiel five days later and arrived off the coast of China in late August.Hela entered the mouth of theYangtze and then patrolled theYellow Sea through the end of September. She contributed a landing party consisting of four officers and seventy-four men to participate in the assault on Chinese fortifications at theShanhai Pass. The aviso spent November anchored in theWusongroadstead, remaining there until mid-December when she returned to the Yangtze. At the end of the month, she was sent toShanghai.Hela then returned to the Yangtze in January 1901, stopping inZhenjiang, before returning to Shanghai in February and remaining there into March. At that time,KKMaximilian von Spee arrived to take command of the vessel from Rampold. She later visited the German concession atQingdao before returning to Shanghai at the end of May. While there, she received orders to return to Germany, andKKJoachim von Bredow took command of the vessel for the voyage home. On 1 June she and the rest of the expeditionary force departed to return home, arriving in Wilhelmshaven on 11 August.[2]
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After returning from China,Hela immediately participated in the annual fleet maneuvers, serving for the duration withI Scouting Group from 26 August to 19 September. She joined the unit again for a voyage toOslo, Norway in mid-December, arriving back in Wilhelmshaven on the 16th.Hela returned to service with the main fleet in 1902, and while on a cruise in the Atlantic in May, she was detached to escort the light cruiserAmazone, which had been damaged off theSevenstones Lightship. By this time, the German naval command had decided thatHela was too weakly-armed to be useful as a fleet scout, and so she was sent to theKaiserliche Werft in Kiel on 16 October to be modernized for use as atraining ship for light guns. While in the shipyard,Hela passed from Bredow's command toKKKarl Zimmerman's. The work was completed on 21 December and she was recommissioned for this duty on 31 January 1903, but the poor condition of the ship's boilers required further modifications, which were carried out at theKaiserliche Werft in Danzig beginning on 25 April. The avisoBlitz replacedHela in her intended role.[15]
Some ship location reports in the German archives in theBundesarchiv-Militärarchiv (German Federal Military Archive) indicate thatHela was in service with I Scouting Group from June to September 1903, but the naval historians Hans Hildebrand, Albert Röhr, and Hans-Otto Steinmetz have been unable to locate any official records of her commissioning or decommissioning during this period, nor of who commanded the vessel during this time. Nologbook exists in the archives either. According to the location reports, the vessel was to have ended this period in Wilhelmshaven, but no records follow for the transfer to Danzig, where it is definitively known that the ship was reconstructed. Hildebrand, Röhr, and Steinmetz have nevertheless been unable to determine how the mistake continued for several months, or what ship is actually represented in the reports.[9]
Hela remained in the shipyard in Danzig until 1910, where she underwent a significant reconstruction. She was recommissioned on 1 October and conducted a brief set of sea trials from 14 to 18 October. The ship was thereafter employed as a fleettender. While on maneuvers on the night of 29–30 March 1911, the torpedo boatS121 inadvertently crossed too closely in front ofHela, which struck the torpedo boat with her bow. Neither vessel was seriously damaged in the collision. In April,KKTheodor Püllen became the ship's captain, serving until October. After that year's fleet maneuvers in August and September, the navy conducted afleet review for the visit of theAustro-HungarianMarinekommandant (Naval Commander), AdmiralRudolf Montecuccoli.Hela then carried Montecuccoli to visit Wilhelmshaven and the island ofHelgoland. The next two years passed uneventfully; she was transferred to Kiel on 1 April 1912. In September,KKCarl-Wilhelm Weniger took command of the ship. In mid-1913, the Italian Vice AdmiralPrince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi visited Germany, and on 31 May, she carried him for a visit to Helgoland, where the fleet was anchored. In September,KKPaul Wolfram relieved Weniger; Wolfram was to be the vessel's last commander.[16]
Following the start ofWorld War I in July 1914,Hela was brought back to active duty and assigned toIV Scouting Group. The unit was tasked with supporting the German torpedo boats that formed the outer ring of coastal scouting patrols in theGerman Bight. She was modified slightly between 13 and 16 August, having a third 8.8 cm gun installed.Hela was stationed to the northeast of Helgoland, along with the cruiserStettin.[9][17]
On 28 August, British cruisers and destroyers from theHarwich Force surprised and attacked the German patrol line, resulting in theBattle of Helgoland Bight.Hela's commander received reports of the fighting and turned east to reinforce the vessels engaged in the action. While en route, the ship received a contradictory report that stated that the British vessels were retreating, leading nowFregattenkapitän (Frigate Captain) Wolfram to reverse course and return to his assigned location. As a result, she was not engaged in the action. Later that night, she regrouped with the cruisersKolberg andMünchen to provide cover for the remaining torpedo boats and reestablish the Bight patrol line.[18][19]
Two weeks later, on the morning of 13 September,Hela was attacked 6nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi) southwest of Helgoland by the BritishsubmarineHMS E9 under command of the future AdmiralMax Horton.[20]Hela was conducting a training exercise at the time; the area around Helgoland was presumed safe from British submarines.[21] After surfacing,E9 spotted the German cruiser and immediately re-submerged to fire two of her torpedoes, one of which struckHela's stern. After 15 minutes,E9 rose to periscope depth to inspect the scene. The British submarine foundHela sinking. Within another 15 minutes,Hela had slipped beneath the waves.[9][22] Despite the speed with which the ship sank, her entire crew, with the exception of two sailors, were rescued from the sea by theU-boatU-18 and one of the coastal patrol vessels.[4][9]
Hela was the first German ship sunk by a British submarine in the war.[23] As a result of her loss, all German ships conducting training exercises were moved to the Baltic Sea to prevent further such sinkings.[21] One of her 8.8 cm guns was retrieved from the wreck and is now preserved atFort Kugelbake inCuxhaven.[24]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in September 1914 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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