| History | |
|---|---|
 German Empire | |
| Ordered | 1914 |
| Builder | Schichau-Werke,Elbing |
| Launched | 23 April 1915 |
| Commissioned | 15 August 1915 |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 1,074 t (1,057 long tons) |
| Length | 79.6 m (261 ft 2 in) |
| Beam | 8.36 m (27 ft 5 in) |
| Draft | 3.64 m (11 ft 11 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 34.0 knots (63.0 km/h; 39.1 mph) |
| Range | 1,270 nmi (2,350 km; 1,460 mi)at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Complement | 88 officers and sailors |
| Armament |
|
SMSS50 was aV25-classtorpedo boat of theImperial German Navy. Launched in 1915, she served through the rest of the war, taking part in theBattle of Jutland and operations in the Baltic. She wasscuttled atScapa Flow in 1919, but was later raised and scrapped.
Ordered fromSchichau-Werke on 6 August 1914 as part of the 1914 mobilisation order of 48 high-seas torpedo-boats,[1][2] she waslaunched from Schichau's Elbing (nowElbląg in Poland) on 24 April 1915 and commissioned on 15 August 1915.[3] The "S" inS50 denoted the shipbuilder who constructed her.[4]
S50 was 79.6 metres (261 ft 2 in)long overall and 79.0 metres (259 ft 2 in) at thewaterline, with abeam of 8.36 metres (27 ft 5 in) and adraught of 3.64 metres (11 ft 11 in).Displacement was 802 tonnes (789 long tons) normal and 1,074 tonnes (1,057 long tons) deep load.[5] Three oil-firedwater-tube boilers fed steam to 2 sets of direct-drivesteam turbines rated at 24,000 metric horsepower (24,000 shp; 18,000 kW), giving a speed of 34.0 knots (63.0 km/h; 39.1 mph). 252 tonnes (248 long tons) of fuel oil was carried, giving a range of 1,605 nautical miles (2,972 km; 1,847 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) and 1,270 nautical miles (2,350 km; 1,460 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).[1][5]
Armament originally consisted of three8.8 cm SK L/45 naval guns in single mounts, together with six 50 cm (19.7 in)torpedo tubes with two fixed single tubes forward and 2 twin mounts aft. Up to 24mines could be carried. In 1916 the 8.8 cm guns were replaced by three10.5 cm SK L/45 naval guns.[1][5] The ship had a complement of 85 officers and men.[1]
S50 first operated in theBaltic Sea after commissioning, and when on the night of 20 November 1915, seven Russian destroyers led byNovik attacked German patrol boats offWindau (nowVentspils inLatvia), sinking the auxiliary patrol boatNorburg,S50 was one of several German torpedo boats and cruisers that sortied in response, but the Russians escaped unscathed.[6][7]
On 10 February 1916,S50 took part in a sortie by 25 torpedo boats of the 2nd, 6th and 9th Torpedo-boat Flotillas into theNorth Sea. The sortie led toan encounter between several German torpedo boats and British minesweepers off theDogger Bank, which resulted in the British minesweeperArabis being torpedoed and sunk by ships of the 2nd Flotilla.[8][9][10]S50 took part in theBombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft on 24–25 April 1916, where she formed part of the escort for thebattlecruisers of theI Scouting Group.[11] At theBattle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916,S50 was part of the 12th Half-Flotilla, 6th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, again operating in support of the I Scouting Group.[12] The 12th Half Flotilla attempted a torpedo attack against the battlecruisers of the British3rd Battlecruiser Squadron at about 19:00CET (i.e. 18:00GMT), withS50 firing a single torpedo which circled rather than running straight. None of the four torpedoes launched by the Flotilla in this engagement found their target.[13] Later that evening,S50,V69 andV46 were sent to the rear of the retiring German fleet in order to carry out night torpedo attacks on the British fleet. They were fired on by the2nd Light Cruiser Squadron at about 21:52 CET and turned away, withS50 being hit by a British six-inch (152-mm) shell, which although it did not explode, knocked out one of her boilers and reduced her speed to 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph). She returned to the main German fleet whileV69 andV46 continued on their patrol.[14] At about 02:00 CET on 1 June,S50 was sailing in the vicinity of the battleshipGrosser Kurfürst when the British 12th Destroyer Flotilla launched a torpedo attack on the German battleships. The German battleships responded with heavy fire, and whenS50 turned towards the British ships, she was fired on by her own side, and a German shell hit one of her ventilators. Thepre-dreadnought battleshipPommern was sunk with the loss of all hands by a single torpedo from the British destroyerOnslaught in this attack.[15]
In January 1917, the 6th Flotilla was transferred toFlanders to reinforce the German torpedo boat forces based in the Belgian ports.[16] The Flotilla set out fromHelgoland for Flanders on 22 January, but decoding of German radio signals byRoom 40 warned the British of the German intentions, and theHarwich Force of cruisers and destroyers sent to intercept the German torpedo boats. The British set six light cruisers, twoflotilla leaders and sixteen destroyers to intercept the eleven German ships, deploying them in several groups to make sure that all possible routes were covered. At about 03:45 hrCET (02:45 hrGMT) on the night of 22/23 January, the 6th Flotilla encountered three British light cruisers (Aurora,Conquest andCentaur) east of the North Hinder light ship.V69, leader of the German flotilla, attempted a torpedo attack against the British cruisers, but was hit by British shells, jamming her rudder, which causedV69 to collide withG41, badly damaging both ships, although both survived. The flotilla managed to break contact under the cover ofsmoke screens, butS50 lost contact with the rest of the Flotilla. Her captain decided to proceed independently toZeebrugge, but ran into four British destroyers (Milne,Simoom,Starfish andSurprise) off the Schouwen Bank shortly after 05:00 CET. In an exchange of gunfire,S50 hitSimoom several times and was herself hit by British shells before torpedoing and badly damagingSimoom. The remaining British ships still blockedS50's course to Zeebrugge, andS50 retired to the east and returned to Germany.Simoom was scuttled byNimrod later that day.[17][18][19]
In October 1917, Germany launchedOperation Albion, an invasion of islands in theWest Estonian archipelago to secure the left flank of the German Army following the Germancapture of Riga. The Germans assembled a powerful naval force to support the operation, reinforced by forces detached from the High Seas Fleet, including the 6th Torpedo Boat Flotilla.[20][21]S50 carried out operations inTagga Bay in support of Operation Albion on 14 October.[22]
After the end of hostilities,S50 was interned atScapa Flow. On 21 June 1919, the German fleet at Scapa, includingS50, wasscuttled by its crews.S50 was raised in October 1924 and scrapped the next year atStranraer.[3]
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