Gazelle-class cruiser
 A 1902 lithograph of Gazelle
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | SMS Hela |
| Succeeded by | Bremen class |
| Built | 1897–1904 |
| In service | 1900–1954 |
| Completed | 10 |
| Lost | 4 |
| Scrapped | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Light cruiser |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 105 m (344 ft 6 in) |
| Beam | 12.20 to 12.40 m (40 ft 0 in to 40 ft 8 in) |
| Draft | 4.11 to 5.38 m (13 ft 6 in to 17 ft 8 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Range | 3,560 to 4,400 nmi (6,590 to 8,150 km; 4,100 to 5,060 mi) |
| Complement |
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| Armament |
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| Armor | Deck: 20 to 25 mm (0.79 to 0.98 in) |
The Gazelle class was a group of ten light cruisers built for the Imperial German Navy at the turn of the 20th century. They were the first modern light cruiser design of the Imperial Navy, and set the basic pattern for all future light cruisers in Imperial service. The design of the Gazelle class attempted to merge the fleet scout with the colonial cruiser. They were armed with a main battery of ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and a pair of torpedo tubes, and were capable of a speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph).
All ten ships served with the fleet when they were first commissioned, and several served on foreign stations in the decade before the outbreak of World War I. Most were used as coastal defense ships early in the war. Ariadne was sunk at the Battle of Heligoland Bight in August 1914, Undine was torpedoed in the Baltic by a British submarine in November 1915, and Frauenlob was sunk at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. The rest survived the war to see service with the Reichsmarine, with the exception of Gazelle, which was broken up in 1920.
Design
Through the 1870s and early 1880s,
In the early 1890s, naval officers began to consider a new type of cruiser that incorporated the speed of the avisos with the heavier armament and longer cruising radius of the unprotected cruisers. Then-Captain Alfred von Tirpitz, at the time the Chief of Staff of the Imperial Naval High Command (Oberkommando der Marine—OKM), wrote a summary of 1894 fleet maneuvers that included what he believed to be the necessary characteristics of a new small cruiser. These included a top speed of at least 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph), armament sufficient to permit them to engage enemy fleet scouts, and an armor deck to protect the ship's propulsion machinery.[3]
The General Department of the Imperial Naval Office (Reichsmarineamt—RMA) issued a call for proposals on 10 May 1895 for the next cruiser, provisionally titled "G". Records of the initial proposals have not survived, though the final design closely followed Tirpitz's specifications outlined in 1894. The caliber of the main battery had to be limited to 10.5 cm (4.1 in), despite his preference for larger weapons, to keep displacement within reasonable limits. Maximum speed was to be 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph), a margin of 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) over contemporary battleship designs. The design for the first vessel, which would become Gazelle, was prepared in 1895–1896 by the navy's chief designer, Alfred Dietrich. As additional members of the class were ordered, a series of improvements were incorporated in their designs over the course of 1897–1900.[4][5]
By 1897, when the second member of the class would be proposed to the Reichstag to be included in the next year's budget, developments in other vessels prompted the first of these changes. The latest Kaiser Friedrich III-class battleships would have a speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph), necessitating an increase in speed to maintain the 3-knot speed advantage. The RMA also considered increasing the caliber of main guns in line with Tirpitz's thinking, but Dietrich stated that the requested improvements could not be incorporated while retaining a displacement of not more than 3,000 metric tons (2,953 long tons). More problematically, the cost of the new ship would increase by around 26 percent, which the Reichstag would not likely approve. As a result, the next vessel would largely repeat Gazelle's design, though new machinery developed by the Germaniawerft shipyard secured the necessary increase of speed to 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph).[6]
The design was somewhat smaller than contemporary light cruisers, but the ships were nevertheless sturdy and powerfully armed for the period.[7] These characteristics evenly balanced the requirements for the two roles envisioned for the class.[8] According to the historian Eric Osborne, "[t]he light cruisers of the Gazelle-class established a trend for future ships of this general design...[they] carried little or no armor, the chief asset being speed."[9] Indeed, all future light cruisers built by the Imperial Navy through the Dresden class of 1906 generally followed the same pattern, with few fundamental changes.[10][11]
General characteristics
The ships of the Gazelle class were 104.10 to 104.40 m (341 ft 6 in to 342 ft 6 in)
All ten ships were
Machinery
Their propulsion system consisted of two
Armament and armor
The ships were armed with ten 10.5 cm SK L/40 guns in single mounts. Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle, six were located amidships, three on either side, and two were placed side by side aft. The guns could engage targets out to 12,200 m (13,300 yd). They were supplied with 1,000 rounds of ammunition, for 100 shells per gun, though the allotment for the last three ships increased to 1,500 rounds, or 150 per gun. They were also equipped with torpedo tubes. Gazelle had three 45 cm (17.7 in) tubes with eight torpedoes; one was submerged in the hull in the bow and two were mounted in deck launchers on the broadside. The rest of the class only had two 45 cm tubes with five torpedoes, and these were submerged in the ships' hulls, on the broadside.[13]
The ships were protected by an armored deck that was 20 to 25 mm (0.79 to 0.98 in) thick, with 50 mm (2.0 in) thick sloping armor on the side. The armor consisted of two layers of steel with a single layer of Krupp steel. The Gazelle-class cruisers were also equipped with cork cofferdams to increase buoyancy. The conning tower had 80 mm (3.1 in) thick sides, with a 20 mm thick roof. The guns were protected by 50 mm (2.0 in) thick shields.[5]
Construction
_Stapellauf.jpg)
The ten ships of the Gazelle class were built between 1897 and 1904, at various German dockyards, including private firms and government shipyards.[15]
| Name | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gazelle | Germaniawerft, Kiel
|
1897 | 31 March 1898 | 15 June 1901 |
| Niobe | AG Weser, Bremen | 1898 | 18 July 1899 | 25 June 1900 |
| Nymphe | Germaniawerft, Kiel | 1898 | 21 November 1899 | 20 September 1900 |
| Thetis | Kaiserliche Werft Danzig | 1899 | 3 July 1900 | 14 September 1901 |
| Ariadne | AG Weser, Bremen | 1899 | 10 August 1900 | 18 May 1901 |
| Amazone | Germaniawerft, Kiel | 1899 | 6 October 1900 | 15 November 1901 |
| Medusa | AG Weser, Bremen | 1900 | 5 December 1900 | 26 July 1901 |
| Frauenlob | AG Weser, Bremen | 1901 | 22 March 1902 | 17 February 1903 |
| Arcona | AG Weser, Bremen | 1901 | 22 April 1902 | 12 May 1903 |
| Undine | Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Kiel | 1901 | 11 December 1902 | 5 January 1904 |
Service history
The Gazelle-class cruisers served in various capacities after their commissioning. Most of them served with the fleet reconnaissance force, though several served on foreign stations as well. Gazelle served abroad in 1902–1904, Thetis in 1902–1906, Niobe in 1906–1909, and Arcona in 1907–1910. Nymphe was also used as a training ship for naval cadets in addition to her fleet scout role, and Undine served as a gunnery training ship.[16]
Due to their age, the Gazelles had been placed in reserve by 1914, but after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, they were mobilized for active service.[8] Most were initially used as coastal defense vessels in the Baltic, but Frauenlob and Ariadne remained in service with the fleet.[16] They both saw action at the Battle of Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914; Frauenlob engaged and badly damaged the British cruiser HMS Arethusa, while Ariadne was sunk by several battlecruisers.[17] Frauenlob soldiered on in the fleet reconnaissance forces until the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916, when she was torpedoed and sunk by HMS Southampton in a ferocious night battle, with the loss of almost her entire crew.[18] In the Baltic, Undine was torpedoed and sunk by the British submarine HMS E19 on 7 November 1915.[19]
,_jugoslawische_Schiffe.jpg)
The seven surviving ships were withdrawn from front-line service in 1916 and disarmed, with the exception of Medusa, which retained six of her guns, and Thetis, which was rearmed with nine 10.5 cm U-boat guns for use as a gunnery training ship. The remaining seven cruisers survived the war and went on to serve in the new Reichsmarine, except for Gazelle, which was broken up for scrap in 1920. The ships remained in service throughout the 1920s, but were all withdrawn by the early 1930s. Niobe was sold to Yugoslavia in 1925 and renamed Dalmacija, while Nymphe and Thetis were scrapped in the early 1930s. Arcona, Medusa, and Amazone were used as barracks hulks for the rest of the 1930s.[8][16]
After the outbreak of
Footnotes
- ^ Nottelmann, pp. 102–104.
- ^ Sondhaus, pp. 166–167.
- ^ Nottelmann, pp. 104–106.
- ^ Nottelmann, pp. 107–108.
- ^ a b Gröner, p. 99.
- ^ Nottelmann, pp. 108–110.
- ^ Lyon, p. 249.
- ^ a b c Campbell & Sieche, p. 143.
- ^ Osborne, p. 55.
- ^ Herwig, p. 28.
- ^ Nottelmann, p. 110.
- ^ Gröner, pp. 99–100.
- ^ a b Gröner, p. 100.
- ^ Gröner, pp. 99–101.
- ^ Gröner, pp. 99–102.
- ^ a b c d e Gröner, pp. 101–102.
- ^ Staff, pp. 8–9, 21–24.
- ^ Campbell, pp. 392–393.
- ^ Polmar & Noot, p. 45.
- ^ Rohwer, p. 294.
References
- Campbell, John (1998). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-1-55821-759-1.
- Campbell, N. J. M. & Sieche, Erwin (1986). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 134–189. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.
- ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- Herwig, Holger (1980). "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst: Humanity Books. ISBN 978-1-57392-286-9.
- Lyon, Hugh (1979). "Germany". In Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger; Kolesnik, Eugene M. (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-133-5.
- Nottelmann, Dirk (2020). "The Development of the Small Cruiser in the Imperial German Navy". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2020. Oxford: Osprey. pp. 102–118. ISBN 978-1-4728-4071-4.
- Osborne, Eric W. (2004). Cruisers and Battlecruisers. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-369-4.
- Polmar, Norman & Noot, Jurrien (1991). Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718–1990. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-570-4.
- ISBN 978-1-59114-119-8.
- Sondhaus, Lawrence (1997). Preparing for Weltpolitik: German Sea Power Before the Tirpitz Era. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-745-7.
- Staff, Gary (2011). Battle on the Seven Seas. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 978-1-84884-182-6.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-1-68247-745-8.
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