History
German Empire
Ordered	1913
Builder	AG Vulcan,Stettin
Launched	18 August 1914
Commissioned	19 October 1914
Fate	Sunk at theBattle of Jutland, 31 May 1916
General characteristics
Displacement	975 t (960 long tons)
Length	78.5 m (257 ft 7 in)
Beam	8.33 m (27 ft 4 in)
Draft	3.63 m (11 ft 11 in)
Installed power	23,500 PS (23,200 shp; 17,300 kW)
Propulsion	3 ×water tube boilers 2 × AEG VulcanSteam Turbines
Speed	33.5 kn (62.0 km/h; 38.6 mph)
Range	1,950 nmi (3,610 km; 2,240 mi) at 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Complement	83 officers and sailors
Armament	3 ×8.8 cm (3.5 in) L/45 guns 6 × 500 mmtorpedo tubes 24mines

SMSV29^[a][b] was aV25-classtorpedo boat of theImperial German Navy that served during theFirst World War. The ship was built byAG Vulcan atStettin in Prussia (nowSzczecin in Poland), and was completed in September 1914. The ship took part in theBattle of Dogger Bank and theBattle of the Gulf of Riga in 1915, and was sunk at theBattle of Jutland on 31 May 1916.

In 1913, theImperial German Navy decided to build larger and more seaworthy torpedo boats in place of the smallerV1-classtorpedo boats that had been ordered in 1911 and 1912, which had not proved successful. The new, larger, designs would, as well as being more seaworthy, carry a heavier armament and would be oil-fueled only, rather than use the mix of oil- and coal-fueled boilers that German torpedo boats had used up to then. As was normal, orders were placed for a flotilla of 12 torpedo boats in the 1913 fiscal year, with 6 each ordered fromAG Vulcan (V25–V30) andSchichau-Werke (S31–S36). The two groups of torpedo boats were of basically similar layout but differed in detailed design.^[2]

V29 was 78.5 metres (257 ft 7 in) longoverall and 77.8 metres (255 ft 3 in)at the waterline, with abeam of 8.33 metres (27 ft 4 in) and adraft of 3.63 metres (11 ft 11 in).Displacement was 812 tonnes (799 long tons) normal and 975 tonnes (960 long tons) deep load.^[3] Three oil-firedwater-tube boilers fed steam to 2 sets of AEG-Vulcansteam turbines rated at 23,500 metric horsepower (23,200 shp; 17,300 kW), giving a speed of 33.5 knots (62.0 km/h; 38.6 mph). 225 tonnes (221 long tons) of fuel oil was carried, giving a range of 1,080 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,240 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).^[4]

Armament 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.^[4][3] The ship had a complement of 83 officers and men.^[4]

V29 waslaunched from AG Vulcan's Stettin shipyard on 18 August 1914 and commissioned on 19 October 1914.^[5]

On 15 December 1914 the Germanbattlecruiser squadron under the command ofFranz von Hipper set out on anattack on the British east coast towns ofScarborough,Hartlepool,West Hartlepool andWhitby, with the intent of drawing out parts of the BritishGrand Fleet where it could bedefeated in detail.V29 was part of the escort for Hipper's heavy ships, but after suffering from condenser problems, was ordered to turn back.^[6][7] On 23 January 1915, a German force ofbattlecruisers andlight cruisers, escorted by torpedo boats, and commanded by AdmiralFranz von Hipper, made a sortie to attack British fishing boats on theDogger Bank.^[8]V29, part of the 18th Torpedo Boat Half-Flotilla, formed part of the escort for Hipper's force.^[9] British Naval Intelligence was warned of the raid by radio messages decoded byRoom 40, and sent out the Battlecruiser Force fromRosyth, commanded by AdmiralBeatty aboardHMS Lion and theHarwich Force of light cruisers and destroyers, to intercept the German force.^[10] The British and German Forces met on the morning of 24 January in theBattle of Dogger Bank. On sighting the British, Hipper ordered his ships to head south-east to escape the British, who set off in pursuit.^[11] The armoured cruiserBlücher was disabled by British shells and was sunk, but the rest of the German force escaped, with the German battlecruiserSeydlitz badly damaged.^[12]

On 12 February 1915, five torpedo boats of the 9th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, includingV29, were deployed to screen minesweeping operations near theAmrum Bank in theNorth Sea. WhenV25 did not return from this operation, a search found wreckage north ofHelgoland. At the time it was believed that she had been sunk by a British submarine, withV29 andV27 claiming to have seen and avoided torpedoes, whileS33 claimed to have seen aperiscope. In fact, no British submarines were in the vicinity, andV25 had probably been sunk by a British mine. All 79 of her crew were lost.^{[4][5][13][14]}

In August 1915, German naval forces in theBaltic Sea, supported by theHigh Seas Fleet, carried out theBattle of the Gulf of Riga This was an attempt to enter the Gulf of Riga, destroy Russian naval forces in the Gulf and to mine the northern entrances to the Gulf in order to prevent Russian reinforcements.^[15]V29 was part of the forces taking part in the battle, sinking a small Russian steamer, theDagmar.^[16] The attempt failed with Germany losing the torpedo boatsS31 andV99 and the minesweeperT46, while failing to destroy any major Russian warships or lay the planned minefield.^[15]

V29 participated in theBattle of Jutland as part of the 18th Half Flotilla of the 9th Flotilla,^[17] in support of the German battlecruisers.^[18] The 9th Flotilla, includingV29, took part in a torpedo attack on British battlecruisers from about 17:26CET (16:26GMT). The attack was disrupted by British destroyers, andV29 was hit in thestern by a torpedo from the British destroyerPetard.V29'sbow remained afloat for 30 minutes before sinking, allowing her to launch four torpedoes at the British battle cruisers, while her crew were taken off by the torpedo boatsV26 andS35.^[19] Later in the day,S35 was sunk by shellfire from the British battleshipIron Duke while attempting another torpedo attack, with allS35's crew killed along with the survivors fromV29 who had been taken aboard earlier.^[20][c]

• Campbell, John (1998).Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 0-85177-750-3.
• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985).Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1983).Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815–1945: Band 2: Torpedoboote, Zerstörer, Schnellboote, Minensuchboote, Minenräumboote (in German). Koblenz: Bernard & Graef Verlag.ISBN 3-7637-4801-6.
• Groos, O. (1923).Der Krieg in der Nordsee: Dritter Band: Von Ende November 1914 bis Unfang Februar 1915. Der Krieg zur See: 1914–1918 (in German). Berlin: Verlag von E. S. Mittler und Sohn – via National Library of Estonia.
• Groos, O. (1924).Der Krieg in der Nordsee: Vierter Band: Von Anfang Februar bis Ende Dezember 1915. Der Krieg zur See: 1914–1918 (in German). Berlin: Verlag von E. S. Mittler und Sohn – via National Library of Estonia.
• Halpern, Paul G. (1994).A Naval History of World War I. London: UCL Press.ISBN 1-85728-498-4.
• Massie, Robert K. (2007).Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea. London: Vintage Books.ISBN 978-0-099-52378-9.
• Monograph No. 29: Home Waters—Part IV. From February to July 1915(PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XIII. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1925.
• Rollmann, Heinrich (1929).Der Krieg in der Ostsee: Zweiter Band: Das Kreigjahr 1915. Der Krieg zur See: 1914–1918 (in German). Berlin: Verlag von E. S. Mittler und Sohn.

• Torpedo boats of the Imperial German Navy
• World War I torpedo boats of Germany
• 1914 ships
• Ships built in Stettin
• Ships sunk at the Battle of Jutland
• Maritime incidents in 1916
• Warships lost in combat with all hands

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from May 2019
• Ship infoboxes without an image
• CS1 German-language sources (de)