SMS Roon
Kaiser Wilhelm Canal , c. 1910
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 German Empire | |
| Name | Roon |
| Namesake | Albrecht von Roon |
| Builder | Kaiserliche Werft, Kiel |
| Laid down | 1 August 1902 |
| Launched | 27 June 1903 |
| Commissioned | 5 April 1906 |
| Decommissioned | 22 September 1911 |
| Commissioned | 2 August 1914 |
| Decommissioned | 4 February 1916 |
| Stricken | 25 November 1920 |
| Fate | Scrapped 1921 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Roon-class armored cruiser |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 127.8 m (419 ft 3 in) |
| Beam | 20.2 m (66 ft 3 in) |
| Draft | 7.76 m (25 ft 6 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 21.1 knots (39.1 km/h; 24.3 mph) |
| Range | 4,200 nmi (7,800 km; 4,800 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Crew |
|
| Armament |
|
| Armor | |
SMS Roon
Roon served in I Scouting Group, the reconnaissance force of the High Seas Fleet, for the duration of her peacetime career, including several stints as the flagship of the group's deputy commander. During this period, the ship was occupied with training exercises and made several cruises in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1907, she visited the United States to represent Germany during the Jamestown Exposition. In September 1911 she was decommissioned and placed in reserve.
Three years later, the ship was
Design
The two Roon-class cruisers were ordered in 1902 as part of the fleet expansion program specified by the
Roon was 127.8 m (419 ft 3 in)
She was armed with four 21 cm (8.3 in) SK L/40 guns arranged in two twin-gun turrets,[b] one on either end of the superstructure. Her secondary armament consisted of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/40 guns; four were in single-gun turrets on the upper deck and the remaining six were in casemates in a main-deck battery. For close-range defense against torpedo boats, she carried fourteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/35 guns, all in individual mounts in the superstructure and in the hull, either in casemates or open pivot mounts with gun shields. She also had four 45 cm (17.7 in) underwater torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one in the stern, and one on each broadside.[3]
The ship was protected with
Service history
Roon was ordered under the provisional name
She spent the following years participating in training exercises and cruises with the ships of I Scouting Group as well as the entire High Seas Fleet. This routine was interrupted in early 1907 when the ship was sent to the United States to participate in the Jamestown Exposition, which commemorated the 300th anniversary of the arrival of colonists in Chesapeake Bay. Kalau von Hofe returned to Roon to lead the German delegation, which also included the light cruiser Bremen; the two cruisers left Kiel on 8 April and crossed the Atlantic to Hampton Roads, Virginia, arriving on 24 April. Two days later, the international fleet, which also included contingents from Great Britain, Japan, Austria-Hungary, France, Italy, and several other nations, held a naval review as part of the exposition. Following the ceremonies, Bremen was detached to remain on station in the Americas while Roon returned to Germany, arriving back in Kiel on 17 May. On her return, Kalau von Hofe shifted back to Friedrich Carl.[7][8]
From 11 September to 28 October, Roon briefly resumed her role as deputy flagship; Friedrich Carl was at that time serving as the group flagship while Roon's sister Yorck was being overhauled. Also in October, FK Friedrich Schrader took command of the ship.[6] The ship went on a major cruise into the Atlantic Ocean from 7 to 28 February 1908 with the other ships of the scouting group. During the cruise, the ships conducted tactical exercises and experimented with using their wireless telegraphy equipment at long distances. They stopped in Vigo, Spain, to replenish their coal for the voyage home.[9] On 5 March, Roon returned to flagship duty, with now Konteradmiral (KAdm—Rear Admiral) Kalau von Hofe back aboard the ship.[7]
Another Atlantic cruise followed in July and August; this time, the cruise was made in company with the battleship squadrons of the High Seas Fleet.
The year 1909 saw two more cruises in the Atlantic, the first in February with just the ships of I Scouting Group and the second in July and August with the rest of the fleet. On the way back to Germany, the fleet stopped in
World War I
Following the outbreak of
The group was stationed in the North Sea from 6 September to guard the German coast, interrupted by a short deployment to the Danish straits from 25 to 26 September after false reports of British warships attempting to pass through prompted the German command to send the cruisers on a patrol there. During their period in the North Sea, the cruisers were sent to escort the minelaying cruisers Nautilus and Albatross and the auxiliary minelayer Kaiser as they laid the "Alpha" defensive minefield in the North Sea. The ships then escorted the main body of the High Seas Fleet during the raid on Yarmouth on 2–3 November.[13]
A month later, on 15–16 December, she participated in the
Operations in the Baltic
The German naval command decided that because Roon and the other armored cruisers of the III Scouting Group were slow and lacked thick enough armor, they were unsuitable for service in the North Sea where they would risk contact with the powerful British Grand Fleet.[16] Therefore, on 15 April 1915, Roon and the rest of III Scouting Group were transferred to the Baltic, where they would face the significantly weaker Russian Baltic Fleet. The unit was dissolved and Roon and the other vessels were assigned to the Reconnaissance Forces of the Baltic, under the command of KAdm Albert Hopman. At the same time, FK Hans Gygas replaced Karpf, who in turn became the deputy commander of the unit and made Roon his flagship. On 30 April, the ship went into drydock in Kiel for an overhaul, returning to service for the attack on Libau on 7 May. On 11 May, the British submarine E9 spotted Roon and several other ships en route to Libau, which had been recently captured by the German army. E9 fired five torpedoes at the German flotilla, all of which missed; two passed closely astern of Roon.[17] Roon thereafter took part in a series of sorties into the central Baltic as far north as Gotska Sandön on 13–16 May, 23–26 May, 2–6 June, 11–13 June, and 20–22 June.[18]
Karpf transferred to the light cruiser Lübeck while Hopman relocated to Roon since the latter's flagship, the armored cruiser Prinz Adalbert, was under repairs for a torpedo hit. Roon and Lübeck covered a minelaying operation with Albatross on 30 June that lasted through 2 July and resulted in the Battle of Åland Islands.[19] The light cruiser Augsburg and three destroyers were escorting Albatross when they were attacked by the armored cruisers Bayan, Admiral Makarov, and the light cruisers Bogatyr and Oleg. Augsburg escaped while the destroyers covered the retreat of Albatross, which was severely damaged and forced to seek refuge in neutral Swedish waters.[20] Roon joined Lübeck to relieve the beleaguered German destroyers. Upon arriving at the scene, Roon engaged Bayan, and Lübeck opened fire on Oleg.[20] Shortly thereafter, the Russian cruiser Rurik, along with a destroyer, arrived to reinforce the Russian flotilla. In the following artillery duel, Roon was hit several times, and the German ships were forced to retreat.[21]
Later in July, as the German Army began to push further north from Libau, the naval command reinforced the naval forces in the Baltic to support the advance. The
On 9 September, Hopman returned to Prinz Adalbert, allowing Roon to return to Kiel for an overhaul. Work was completed by mid-October and the ship returned to Libau on 18 October. Two days later, Hopman made her his flagship once again. The loss of Prinz Adalbert three days later to a British submarine convinced the German command that the threat of underwater weapons was too serious to continue to operate older vessels with insufficient protection, including Roon. Accordingly, on 15 January 1916, Hopman hauled down his flag, and two days later the ship left Libau to return to Kiel, where she was decommissioned on 4 February.[19]
Fate
In November 1916, Roon was disarmed and converted into a
Notes
Footnotes
- Seiner Majestät Schiff" (German: His Majesty's Ship).
- ^ In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, "SK" (Schnelladekanone) denotes that the gun is quick loading, while the L/40 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/40 gun is 40 calibers, meaning that the gun is 40 times as long as it is in bore diameter.[5]
Citations
- ^ Dodson, pp. 59, 65–66.
- ^ Herwig, p. 57.
- ^ a b c d Gröner, p. 51.
- ^ Dodson, p. 66.
- ^ Grießmer, p. 177.
- ^ a b c d Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 7, pp. 80–81.
- ^ a b c Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 7, p. 81.
- ^ Schroeder, pp. 302–303.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, p. 122.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, pp. 122–123.
- ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 2, p. 238.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 8, p. 123.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 7, pp. 37, 81.
- ^ Scheer, p. 69.
- ^ Massie, pp. 340–343.
- ^ Scheer, p. 135.
- ^ Polmar & Noot, p. 40.
- ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 7, pp. 80–82.
- ^ a b c Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz Vol. 7, p. 82.
- ^ a b Pavlovich, p. 145.
- ^ Hart, p. 365.
- ^ Halpern, pp. 197–198.
- ^ Tucker, pp. 293–294.
- ^ a b Gröner, p. 52.
- ^ Greger, p. 88.
- ^ Campbell & Sieche, p. 142.
References
- 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 978-1-84832-229-5.
- Greger, Rene (1964). "German Seaplane and Aircraft Carriers in Both World Wars". Warship International. I (1–12). Toledo: Naval Records Club, Inc.: 87–91. OCLC 29828398.
- Grießmer, Axel (1999). Die Linienschiffe der Kaiserlichen Marine: 1906–1918; Konstruktionen zwischen Rüstungskonkurrenz und Flottengesetz [The Battleships of the Imperial Navy: 1906–1918; Constructions between Arms Competition and Fleet Laws] (in German). Bonn: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7637-5985-9.
- ISBN 978-0-87021-790-6.
- Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-352-7.
- Hart, Albert Bushnell (1920). Harper's Pictorial Library of the World War. New York: Harper. OCLC 1180489.
- Herwig, Holger (1998) [1980]. "Luxury" Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888–1918. Amherst: Humanity Books. ISBN 978-1-57392-286-9.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 2. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0210-7.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 7. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7822-0267-1.
- Hildebrand, Hans H.; Röhr, Albert & Steinmetz, Hans-Otto (1993). Die Deutschen Kriegsschiffe: Biographien – ein Spiegel der Marinegeschichte von 1815 bis zur Gegenwart [The German Warships: Biographies − A Reflection of Naval History from 1815 to the Present] (in German). Vol. 8. Ratingen: Mundus Verlag. ASIN B003VHSRKE.
- ISBN 978-0-345-40878-5.
- Pavlovich, Nikolaĭ Bronislavovich (1979). The Fleet in the First World War: Operations of the Russian Fleet. New Delhi: Amerind Pub. Co. OCLC 500109775.
- Polmar, Norman & Noot, Jurrien (1991). Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718–1990: 1718–1990. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-570-4.
- OCLC 503878430.
- Schroeder, Seaton (1922). A Half Century of Naval Service. New York: D. Appleton and Company. OCLC 1056139473.
- Tucker, Spencer E. (2005). The Encyclopedia of World War I. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-420-2.