SMS Zieten

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Zieten in port
Class overview
Preceded byPommerania
Succeeded byBlitz class
History
German Empire
NameZieten
NamesakeHans Joachim von Zieten
Builder
Thames Iron Works, Blackwall, London
Laid down1875
Launched9 March 1876
Completed15 July 1876
Commissioned1 August 1876
Decommissioned5 July 1919
Stricken6 December 1919
FateSold for scrap, 18 April 1921
General characteristics (as built)
TypeAviso
Displacement
  • Design: 1,001 t (985 long tons; 1,103 short tons)
  • Full load
    : 1,170 t (1,150 long tons; 1,290 short tons)
Length79.4 m (260 ft 6 in) overall
Beam8.56 m (28 ft 1 in)
Draft3.8 m (12 ft 6 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
  • 2 ×
    screw propellers
  • 2 ×
    double-expansion steam engines
Speed16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range1,770 nmi (3,280 km; 2,040 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Complement
  • 6 officers
  • 88 enlisted
Armament2 × 38 cm (15 in) torpedo tubes

SMS Zieten was the first torpedo-armed aviso built for the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). She was built in Britain in 1875–1876, and was the last major warship built for Germany by a foreign shipyard. Ordered as a testbed for the new Whitehead torpedo, Zieten was armed with a pair of 38 cm (15 in) torpedo tubes, and was capable of a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph), making her the fastest ship in the German fleet at the time. Zieten was the first torpedo-armed vessel in a series of avisos that ultimately developed into the first light cruisers. In addition to her impact in German warship design, Zieten also influenced numerous other navies, who built dozens of similar avisos and torpedo vessels of their own.

Zieten served for the first two decades of her career with the torpedo boat flotilla. In 1878–1880, she was captained by

naval register
in December 1919. The ship was finally sold for scrapping in August 1921, after forty-five years of service.

Design

In 1869, the

Thames Iron Works, which was to be built to the firm's design. The new vessel, named Zieten after the 18th century cavalry commander Hans Joachim von Zieten,[2][3] was to be the last major warship purchased by the German navy from a foreign shipyard.[4]

In addition to the planned role as a tender for torpedo boats, she was also intended to serve as a test platform for the new self-propelled torpedo. Up to the mid-1870s, the German navy had only experimented with a handful of torpedo ships, all of which were equipped with the old spar torpedo.[5] Zieten spent much of her early career taking part in experiments with early torpedoes and as a tender for torpedo boats.[6] The ship's design provided the basis for both later German avisos—the Blitz class—and all subsequent light cruisers,[7] but also inspired numerous foreign designs, such as several classes of French, Italian, and Austrian avisos and torpedo craft.[8]

General characteristics

Zieten was 69.5 meters (228 ft)

watertight compartments. Initially, Zieten had only a small bridge forward, but in 1899, a new superstructure was built; it included a conning tower with a compass platform. A chart house was also added forward of the funnel.[9]

Zieten was a good sea boat with a gentle motion, but she was very

head sea. In bad weather, she took on considerable amounts of water and was very dangerous. The ship had a crew of 6 officers and 88 enlisted men, though later in her career the figure rose to 7 and 99, respectively. During her career as a fishery protection ship, the number of enlisted sailors rose further, to 104. Zieten carried a number of smaller boats: one picket boat, one cutter, two yawls, and one dinghy. Later in her career, the picket boat was removed and two barges were added.[9]

Machinery

The ship's propulsion system consisted of two horizontal 2-cylinder

amidships. The boilers were replaced with new models in 1891 during a refit at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Shipyard) in Kiel. As built, Zieten was fitted with a schooner rig with a sail area of 355 square meters (3,820 sq ft) to supplement her steam engines, but this was later reduced to only an auxiliary gaff sail.[6]

The engines were rated at 2,000

kilowatts (13 hp) at 67 volts, installed.[9]

Armament

Zieten's primary armament consisted of a pair of 38-centimeter (15 in) torpedo tubes. Both were submerged in the hull, one in the bow and one in the stern. They were supplied with a total of ten Whitehead torpedoes.[6] These powerful weapons, coupled with the ship's high speed and maneuverability, made her a formidable vessel for the period.[3] In 1878, the forward torpedo tube was relocated to a swivel launched mounted on the deck, and two 12 cm (4.7 in) guns were installed.[10] She was also equipped with six machine guns. Later in her career, the torpedo tubes were removed, due to their obsolescence, and she was rearmed with six 5 cm (1.97 in) SK L/40 guns, though two were later removed. The guns were supplied with a total of 864 rounds of ammunition, and could engage targets out to 6,200 m (6,800 yd). She was also equipped to lay naval mines, and she could carry 49 of them.[6]

Service history

Alfred von Tirpitz, who commanded Zieten from 1878 to 1880

Construction and torpedo testing

Zieten was built by the Thames Iron Works in London. She was laid down in 1875 and was launched on 9 March 1876. She was completed on 15 July 1876,

Friedrichsort in mid-September. She remained there until she was moved to Kiel to be decommissioned for the winter on 17 November. In March 1877, Diederichs returned to the ship and prepared her for service in the training season that year. The ship was ready for active duty by 11 June and thereafter conducted further sea trials and torpedo training.[2][12]

After Zieten entered service in June 1877, Diederichs was replaced by Kapitänleutnant (KL) Alfred von Tirpitz, who took over torpedo testing while he was assigned to the Torpedo School at Kiel. Diederichs meanwhile readied the old gunboat Scorpion as a tender for Zieten. On 18 September, Zieten and Scorpion participated in the first major test of the new Whitehead torpedoes in the German navy, which was observed by Stosch. During the exercises, Zieten scored three hits on a stationary target, one of which at a distance of 730 m (800 yd), which was deemed a great success. After the conclusion of the maneuvers, Zieten was placed in reserve on 2 October for the winter. The analysis of the testing showed that the bow-mounted torpedo tube was not satisfactory, and so Diederichs was tasked with redesigning her armament in January 1878. Diederichs moved the bow tube to a swivel mount on her deck, and added two 12 cm guns to improve her defense against small warships.[2][13] The refit work was completed by 16 April 1878, permitting Tirpitz to take command of the ship on 6 May.[10] He served as the ship's commander until August 1880.[14] Tirpitz, as the commander of Germany's torpedo boat flotilla, staunchly advocated the development of torpedo craft rather than a fleet of battleships.[15]

After the ship returned to service in May 1878, she carried out experiments in the area off Friedrichsort, and thereafter began training sailors in the use of torpedoes, which the navy intended to install aboard larger vessels. On 13 May, she was present at the launching of the new

screw corvette Blücher had recently been completed as a purpose-built torpedo training vessel, and she replaced Zieten in that role.[11]

Service with the fleet

Map of the North and Baltic Seas in 1911

Zieten underwent a major overhaul in 1881 and was recommissioned on 27 June under the command of KL

Kaiser Wilhelm I on 17 September, during which she hosted Generalfeldmarschall Helmuth von Moltke. On 1 October, she embarked a commission for a short trip to Alsen. She was again decommissioned on 20 October. She was recommissioned for another period of active service on 14 August 1882, now commanded by KK Carl Barandon.[17] Five days later, Zieten joined a cruising squadron that consisted of the screw corvettes Gneisenau and Nymphe, the steamer Loreley, and the gunboat Cyclop, for operations in the Mediterranean Sea. The ships were present during the British bombardment of Alexandria in August 1882; they sent men ashore to protect the German embassy, along with a German-run hospital. Zieten was at Alexandria on 30 September, where she was replaced by the gunboat Habicht, though Zieten remained in the area until 14 October, by which time the situation had calmed. She departed for Germany that day, but stopped in numerous Mediterranean ports on her way back, arriving in Kiel on 15 November. There, she was again decommissioned ten days later.[18][19]

The ship remained out of service for the following three years, and she was assigned as the aviso for the Reserve Division on 15 November 1885, though she remained out of commission at that time. She was reactivated on 30 July 1886 to take part in the fleet maneuvers that were carried out in the North and Baltic Seas, before being decommissioned again on 29 September. She spent much of 1887 in drydock to have her boilers replaced, and she carried out sea trials from late January 1888 to the end of February. In May, she returned to active service with the Ironclad Training Squadron, now under the command of KK

Kaiser Wilhelm II for a tour of Baltic ports, which included a visit to Tsar Alexander III of Russia.[21] Zieten was decommissioned again on 20 September. The ship was next recommissioned on 1 May 1889, and that year she joined the Training Squadron that escorted Wilhelm II on a visit to the United Kingdom. Her active service concluded after that year's fleet exercises, when she was decommissioned on 19 September. The 1890 service period lasted from 2 May to 1 October, during which she took part in routine training exercises with the rest of the fleet. These were interrupted from 9 to 26 July by another cruise in company with Wilhelm II, this time to Norway.[22]

Zieten was recommissioned on 1 May 1891 for another training cycle that lasted until 25 September. During this period, KK

Zoppot. Zieten was reactivated on 30 April 1892 under KK Emil Freiherr von Lyncker's command and was assigned to what was now I Division of the Maneuver Fleet. This service lasted until 30 September, when she was decommissioned once again; this ended her second major period of active service. She remained out of commission for the next five years, during which she was extensively modified again.[23]

Fishery protection duties

Zieten was next recommissioned on 16 March 1897 for service as a fishery protection vessel, replacing the aviso

regatta at the mouth of the Elbe. The ship thereafter visited Ostend, Belgium, for a conference with the commanders of fishery protection ships of several other countries that lasted from 30 June to 5 July. Included were the British HMS Hearty, the Belgian Ville D'Ostende, the Danish gunboat Groensund, the Dutch gunboat Bonaire, and the French Ibis. The chief topic of discussion was a standardized signaling system to be used by the vessels in question. On 22 September, Zieten anchored in Wilhelmshaven, remaining there until early October. At that time, the unprotected cruiser Pfeil joined Zieten on fishery patrol duties. Zieten was decommissioned for the winter on 29 November.[24]

In 1898, the navy planned a major cruise into the

coastal defense ships Beowulf and Frithjof,[26] though she remained out of service through the rest of the year. She was recommissioned in 16 March 1899 for another stint patrolling the fishing grounds in the North Sea and Atlantic. KK Hartwig von Dassel served as the ship's commander at this time. On 24 May, she stopped the British fishing vessel Prome, which was illegally fishing off Amrum. Zieten's crew arrested an officer and four men from the boat and took them to Wilhelmshaven, where they were handed over to the police. Zieten returned to Wilhelmshaven on 19 August to have her boilers overhauled, after which she joined the fleet maneuvers being carried out in the Baltic. She was thereafter decommissioned again in Wilhelmshaven on 30 November. The ship remained out of service through 1900 for another major reconstruction that significantly altered the vessel's appearance. She was recommissioned on 15 March 1901, and thereafter embarked on a survey off Iceland with a newly built fishing trawler to determine the best fishing grounds and times. Zieten's crew celebrated the ship's 25th anniversary of her first commissioning on 2 August. During large-scale maneuvers held in conjunction with the German Army, Zieten served as a convoy escort for a group of troopships carrying IX Corps to Amrun.[27]

Zieten continued in her typical fishery protection duties in 1902, and she was supported by the old gunboat

wireless telegraph, beginning on 10 April. She seized several British vessels illegally fishing in German waters in 1912, during which time the ship was commanded by KK Erich von Zeppelin. In May 1914, her crew boarded another British fishing boat.[29]

World War I and fate

Following the start of

marks and broken up in Wilhelmshaven.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Gottschall, p. 48.
  2. ^ a b c d e Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 130.
  3. ^ a b c Lyon, p. 256.
  4. ^ Dunlap, p. 957.
  5. ^ a b Sondhaus, p. 115.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Gröner, p. 89.
  7. ^ Lyon, p. 249.
  8. ^ Ropp, pp. 130–131, 136.
  9. ^ a b c Gröner, pp. 88–89.
  10. ^ a b Gottschall, p. 53.
  11. ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 129–130.
  12. ^ Gottschall, pp. 50–52.
  13. ^ Gottschall, pp. 52–53.
  14. ^ Kelly, pp. 50, 52.
  15. ^ Ropp, p. 134.
  16. ^ Sondhaus, p. 141.
  17. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 129–131.
  18. ^ Sondhaus, p. 143.
  19. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 131.
  20. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 129, 131.
  21. ^ Sondhaus, p. 177.
  22. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 132.
  23. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 129, 132.
  24. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 132–133.
  25. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 133.
  26. ^ Garbett 1898, p. 484.
  27. ^ a b Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 129, 133.
  28. ^ Garbett 1902, p. 1610.
  29. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, pp. 129, 133–134.
  30. ^ Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz, p. 134.

References

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SMS_Zieten&oldid=1217795601"