 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 German Empire | |
| Name | V3 |
| Ordered | 1911 |
| Builder | AG Vulcan Stettin,Germany |
| Launched | 14 November 1911 |
| Commissioned | 2 May 1912 |
| Fate | Stricken 18 November 1929 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 697 t (686 long tons) |
| Length | 71.1 m (233 ft 3 in)oa |
| Beam | 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in) |
| Draft | 3.11 m (10 ft 2 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 32 knots (59.3 km/h; 36.8 mph) |
| Range | 1,190 nmi (2,200 km; 1,370 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
| Complement | 74 officers and sailors |
| Armament |
|
SMSV3[a][b] was aV1-class torpedo boat of theImperial German Navy. The ship was built byAG Vulcan, completing in 1912. She served in theFirst World War with the GermanHigh Seas Fleet, taking part in theBattle of the Heligoland Bight in 1914 and theBattle of Jutland in 1916. She was retained by the post-war German Navy and was stricken in 1929 and scrapped.
In 1911, the Imperial German Navy placed orders for a flotilla of 12 torpedo boats as part of its shipbuilding programme for that year, with one half flotilla of six ordered fromAG Vulcan, and six fromGermaniawerft.[c] The 1911 torpedo boats were smaller than those ordered in recent years in order to be more manoeuvrable and so work better with the fleet, which resulted in the numbering series for torpedo boats being restarted. The reduction in size resulted in the ships' seaworthiness being adversely affected,[2] with the 1911 torpedo boats and the similar craft of the 1912 programme acquiring the disparaging nickname "Admiral Lans' cripples".[1][3]
V3,yard number 319, waslaunched from Vulcan'sStettin, Prussia (nowSzczecin in Poland) shipyard on 14 October 1911 and commissioned on 12 January 1912.[3]
The ship was 71.1 metres (233 ft 3 in)long overall and 70.2 metres (230 ft 4 in)at the waterline, with abeam of 7.6 metres (24 ft 11 in) and adraught of 3.11 metres (10 ft 2 in).Displacement was 569 tonnes (560 long tons) normal and 697 tonnes (686 long tons) deep load. Three coal-fired and one oil-firedwater-tube boilers fed steam to two direct-drivesteam turbines rated at 17,000 metric horsepower (17,000 shp; 13,000 kW), giving a design speed of 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph).[3] 107 tonnes (105 long tons) of coal and 78 tonnes (77 long tons) of oil were carried, giving a range of 1,190 nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,370 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) or 490 nautical miles (910 km; 560 mi) at 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph).[2]
Armament consisted of two8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 naval guns[d] in single mounts fore and aft, together with four 50 cm (19.7 in)torpedo tubes with one reload torpedo carried. Up to 18mines could be carried. In 1916 the L/30 guns were replaced by more powerful8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns.[2][3] In 1921 she was rearmed with two10.5 cm SK L/45 naval guns and two 50 cm torpedo tubes, and was fitted with new boilers.[3] The ship had a crew of 74 officers and other ranks.[2]
V3 ran aground in 1911, but was successfully refloated.[2] In May 1913V3 was a member of the 9th Half-Flotilla, 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla,[4] and remained part of the 9th Half-Flotilla in May 1914.[5]
On 28 August 1914, a British force of destroyers and cruisers supported by battlecruisers made a sortie into theHeligoland Bight in order to ambush German torpedo boats on patrol, which caused theBattle of Heligoland Bight. The 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, includingV3, were sent out fromHeligoland to investigate sightings of British submarines (which were deployed as bait to draw out German ships), and ran into several British destroyers. The Flotilla then turned away to try and escape the trap, but the torpedo boatV1, which along withS13 could not make full speed and lagged behind the rest of the flotilla, was hit by British shells before the arrival of the German cruiserStettin allowed the 5th Flotilla to escape.[6][7] In total, however, three German light cruisers (Ariadne,Cöln andMainz) and one torpedo boat of the German outer screen (V187) had been sunk.[8]
On 8 September 1915, the 5th and 9th Torpedo Boat Flotillas were on patrol north west of theHorns Reef when the torpedo boatG12, the leader of the 5th Flotilla, suffered a steering failure and rammedV1. Two ofV1's torpedoes exploded, wreckingV1's bow and sinkingG12, killing 35 ofV1's crew and 47 ofG12's.V3, assisted byV6 andG10, took the heavily damagedV1 under tow back to Wilhelmshaven.[2][9][10]
At theBattle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916,V3 was part of the 9th Half-Flotilla, 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, operating in support of the main German battle fleet.[11] From about 20:15CET (19:15GMT), the German torpedo boat flotillas launched a series of torpedo attacks against the British battle line in order to cover the German fleet's turn away from the British. First to attack were the 6th and 9th Flotillas, followed by the 3rd Flotilla. At 20:38, the 5th Flotilla started an attack run, but it was unable to find the British battle-line due to poor visibility caused by fog and smoke, and the attack was aborted.[12][13] During the night action, the 5th Flotilla was ordered to search for and attack the British fleet, but failed to encounter the British battleships.[14]V3, together withV1 andG11 was fired on by a German cruiser during the night, but escaped unharmed.[15] In the morning of 1 June, when the German battleshipOstfriesland stuck a mine,V3, along withV5 andG11, screened the damagedOstfriesland as she returned to port.[16]V3 was undamaged.[17]
V3 survived the war, and was one of the twelve destroyers that theReichsmarine was allowed to retain under theTreaty of Versailles.[18][e] In early 1923 she was serving in the North Sea.[19] By 1929, the Reichsmarine had taken delivery of twelveType 24 andType 25 torpedo boats, and therefore disposed of the least useful of its old torpedo boats in order to keep within Treaty limits.[20] She was stricken on 27 March 1929 and was broken up atWilhelmshaven.[3]
 German Imperial Navy |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Royal Hellenic Navy | |||||||