SMS G7
History | |
---|---|
German Empire | |
Name | SMS G7 |
Builder | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
Launched | 7 November 1911 |
Completed | 30 April 1912 |
Fate | To Soviet Union 1945 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | V1-class torpedo boat |
Displacement | 573 t (564 long tons) design |
Length | 71.5 m (234 ft 7 in) o/a |
Beam | 7.6 m (24 ft 11 in) |
Draught | 3.0 m (9 ft 10 in) |
Installed power | 16,000 PS (16,000 shp; 12,000 kW) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 32 kn (37 mph; 59 km/h) |
Complement | 74 |
Armament |
|
SMS G7
She served throughout the
Post war, G7 served in the
Design and construction
In the first decade of the 20th century, the
Germaniawerft's design was 71.5 metres (234 ft 7 in)
Three coal-fired and one oil-fired water-tube boiler fed steam at a pressure of 18 standard atmospheres (260 psi) to two sets of direct-drive steam turbines. The ship's machinery was rated at 16,000 PS (16,000 shp; 12,000 kW) giving a design speed of 32 knots (37 mph; 59 km/h).[4] 110 tons of coal and 80 tons of oil fuel were carried, giving an endurance of 1,150 nautical miles (1,320 mi; 2,130 km) at 17 knots (20 mph; 31 km/h).[5]
The ship was armed with two
G7 was
Modifications
In 1916, G7 had her guns replaced by 8.8 cm SK L/45 naval guns.[4] In 1921 the 8.8 cm guns were replaced by two 10.5 cm L/45 guns and the ship's forecastle lengthened.[7] From 1928 to 1931, the remaining Germaniawerft-built ships of the class (i.e. G7, G8, G10 and G11) were rebuilt at Wilhelmshaven. They were lengthened to 76.1 metres (249 ft 8 in) overall and 75.7 metres (248 ft 4 in) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 7.58 metres (24 ft 10 in) and a draught of 3.13 metres (10 ft 3 in). Three oil-fired boilers replaced the existing boilers, with speed dropping to 30 knots (35 mph; 56 km/h), but range increasing to 1,900 nautical miles (2,200 mi; 3,500 km) at 17 knots. Displacement increased to 772 tonnes (760 long tons) design and 884 tonnes (870 long tons) full load.[4] On conversion to a training role from 1936, the ship's forward gun was removed and her bridge enlarged.[8] By 1944, armament was a single 10.5 cm gun mounted aft, with two 20 mm anti-aircraft guns.[4]
Service
On commissioning, G7 joined the 10th Half Flotilla of V Torpedo Flotilla, and remained in that flotilla in 1914.[9][10]
First World War
G7 was a member of the 10th Half Flotilla of V torpedo boat flotilla of the German High Seas Fleet on the outbreak of war.[11] On 28 August 1914, the British Harwich Force, supported by light cruisers and battlecruisers of the Grand Fleet, carried out a raid towards Heligoland with the intention of destroying patrolling German torpedo boats.[12] The German defensive patrols around Heligoland consisted of one flotilla (I Torpedo Flotilla) of 12 modern torpedo boats forming an outer patrol line about 25 nautical miles (29 mi; 46 km) North and West of Heligoland, with an inner line of older torpedo boats of the 3rd Minesweeping Division at about 12 nautical miles (14 mi; 22 km). V Torpedo boat flotilla, including G7, together with four German light cruisers waited near Heligoland.[13]
At about 06:00 on 28 August, the torpedo boat
On 23 January 1915, the German 1st Scouting group under Admiral Franz von Hipper made a sortie to attack British fishing boats on the Dogger Bank. G7 sailed with V Flotilla as part of the German force. British Naval Intelligence was warned of the raid by radio messages decoded by Room 40, and sent out the Battlecruiser Force from Rosyth and the Harwich Force to intercept the German force.[20][21][22] The British and German Forces met on the morning of 24 January in the Battle of Dogger Bank. On sighting the British, Hipper ordered his ships to head south-east to escape the British, who set off in pursuit.[23] The German light cruisers and torpedo boats steamed out ahead of the heavier ships, where they were not exposed to British fire, but the armoured cruiser Blücher, the oldest and slowest of Hipper's big ships, was disabled and fell back. Hipper considered sending his torpedo boats on a high risk daylight torpedo attack against the British, but an emergency turn by the British flagship, the battlecruiser Lion to avoid a non-existent German submarine, and misinterpretation of signals caused the British battlecruisers to concentrate on Blücher, already badly damaged and trailing well behind the other German ships, and allowing the rest of Hipper's fleet to escape, and causing Hipper to cancel the torpedo attack. Blücher was overwhelmed by British torpedoes and shellfire and sank.[24]
G7 was part of the 10th half-flotilla of V Flotilla, which sailed in support of the German High Seas Fleet, at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916.[25] From about 20:15 CET (19:15 GMT), 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 VI Flotilla and IX Flotilla, followed by III Flotilla. At 20:38, V Flotilla started an attack run, but it was unable to find the British battleline due to poor visibility caused by fog and smoke, and the attack was aborted.[26][27] During the night action, V Flotilla was ordered to search for and attack the British fleet, but failed to encounter the British battleships.[28] G7 was undamaged.[29]
Between the wars
After the end of the First World War, the
Second World War
The outbreak of the
Post-war
Following the end of the war, G7 was transferred to the Soviet Union as a war prize, and was renamed Porashayushtshiy (Поражающий).[33][37][d] She joined the Soviet Baltic Fleet, where she served until 28 November 1950. The ship was then disarmed and converted into an immobile training ship, being renamed Kazanka (Казaнка) on 22 December 1950. She was stricken on 12 March 1957 and then scrapped.[38][37]
Notes
- Seiner Majestät Schiff" (transl. His Majesty's Ship)
- ^ The "G" in G7 denoted the shipbuilder who constructed the ship, in this case Germaniawerft.[1]
- ^ Although treated as destroyers under the Versailles Treaty, these ships were always considered as Torpedo Boats by the Germans.[33]
- ^ Poraschayuschy according to Lenton.[36]
References
- ^ Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 164
- ^ Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 164
- ^ Gardiner & Gray 1985, pp. 164, 167
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Gröner, Jung & Maass 1983, p. 51
- ^ a b c Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 167
- ^ Moore 1990, p. 117
- ^ Gröner, Jung & Maass 1983, pp. 51–52
- ^ Dodson 2019, p. 143
- ^ Rangelist der Kaiserlich Deutschen Marine für Das Jahr 1913 (in German). Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler und Sohn. 1913. p. 62 – via Heinrich Hein Universität Düsseldorf.
- ^ Rangelist der Kaiserlich Deutschen Marine für Das Jahr 1914 (in German). Berlin: Ernst Siegfried Mittler und Sohn. 1914. p. 64 – via Heinrich Hein Universität Düsseldorf.
- ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, p. 163
- ^ Massie 2007, pp. 97–101
- ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, pp. 119, 122, 162
- ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, p. 123
- ^ Massie 2007, pp. 102–103
- ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, pp. 123–125
- ^ Massie 2007, pp. 104–113
- ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, p. 166
- ^ Groos 1922, p. 252
- ^ Massie 2007, pp. 375–380
- ^ Naval Staff Monograph No. 12 1921, p. 224
- ^ Massie 2007, p. 385
- ^ Massie 2007, pp. 384, 402–403, 405–407
- ^ Campbell 1998, pp. 14, 25
- ^ Massie 2007, pp. 627, 629
- ^ Campbell 1998, pp. 210–215
- ^ Campbell 1998, pp. 261–263, 277, 283–284
- ^ Campbell 1998, pp. 338–341
- ^ Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 139
- ^ Koop & Schmolke 2014, p. 9
- ^ Lenton 1975, pp. 13–14
- ^ a b Gardiner & Chesneau 1980, p. 223
- ^ Whitley 2000, p. 56
- ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992, p. 3
- ^ a b Lenton 1975, p. 99
- ^ a b Berezhnoy 1994, pp. 20–21
- ^ Dodson 2019, pp. 142–144
Bibliography
- Berezhnoy, Sergey (1994). Трофеи и репарации ВМФ СССР [Trophies and reparations of the Soviet Navy] (in Russian). Yakutsk: Sakhapoligrafizdat. OCLC 33334505.
- Campbell, John (1998). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-750-3.
- Corbett, Julian S. (1921). Naval Operations: Vol II. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
- Dodson, Aidan (2019). "Beyond the Kaiser: The IGN's Destroyers and Torpedo Boats After 1918". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2019. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. pp. 129–144. ISBN 978-1-4728-3595-6.
- Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Robert, eds. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- 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. (1922). Der krieg in der Nordsee: Zweiter Band: Von Anfang September bis November 1914. Der krieg zur See 1914–1918 (in German). Berlin: Verlag von E. S. Mittler & Sohn. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- Koop, Gerhard; Schmolke, Klaus-Peter (2014). German Destroyers of World War II. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-193-9.
- Lenton, H. T. (1975). German Warships of the Second World War. London: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 0-356-04661-3.
- 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.
- Moore, John (1990). Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I. London: Studio. ISBN 1-85170-378-0.
- Monograph No. 11: The Battle of the Heligoland Bight, August 28th, 1914 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. III. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1921. pp. 108–166.
- Monograph No. 12: The Action of Dogger Bank, January 24th, 1915 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. III. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1921. pp. 209–226.
- Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-117-7.
- Whitley, M. J. (2000). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.