German torpedo boats in US after World War I. First ship on left is V-43 of the Großes Torpedoboot 1913 class] |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: | Kaiserliche Marine |
| Planned: | 71 |
| Completed: | 71 |
| Lost: | 62 |
| Scrapped: | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Torpedo Boat |
| Displacement: | 975 tonnes (960 long tons) |
| Length: | 84.65 m (277.7 ft) |
| Beam: | 8.33 m (27.3 ft) |
| Draught: | 3.40 m (11.2 ft) |
| Complement: | 87 |
| Armament: | 5 8.8 cm (3.5 in) guns |
| Aircraft carried: | Several floatplanes |
The Großes Torpedoboot 1913 class torpedo boat was a class of torpedo boat built for the Deutschen Kaiserliche Marine. It was the largest class ever built for the High Seas Fleet, consisting of 71 ships.[1] Of the class, 32 were sunk during World War I, 29 were scuttled at Scapa Flow, one was destroyed by a mine on the way there, four were given to Britain and were not scuttled while one was given to Italy and France.[2]
Contents |
The Großes Torpedoboot 1913 class was different from its predecessors, the Großes Torpedoboot 1911 class, in a number of ways. Firstly, the size of it was enlarged from 71.50 metres (234.6 ft) at the waterline and 72.50 metres (237.9 ft) length overall [3] to 83.70 metres (274.6 ft) at the waterline and 84.65 metres (277.7 ft) length overall.[4] The ships of the class were the first German torpedo boats to be powered purely by oil (whereas earlier ships used a mixture of oil and coal), which resulted in greatly increased performance.[5] The ships also were modified with an additional 8.8 centimetres (3.5 in) gun, along with double the number of torpedo tubes.[6] Some were modified to carry floatplanes.[6] The 8.8 centimetres (3.5 in) guns on the class could be depressed to -10° and raised to 25°.[7] At maximum elevation, the gun could fire 9 kilograms (20 lb) high explosive shells a distance of 10,964 metres (11,990 yd) at a muzzle velocity of 650 metres per second (2,100 ft/s) and at a rate of 15 rounds per minute. The ships each carried about 150 rounds per gun.[7] The ships also carried six 50 centimetres (20 in) torpedo tubes and 12-24 mines.[4]
The ships were manned by 83 to 87 crewmen. Each ship displaced 975 tonnes (960 long tons) had a beam of 8.33 metres (27.3 ft) and a draught of 3.40 metres (11.2 ft) to 3.96 metres (13.0 ft).[4]
The ships were numbered according to the yard which built them. There were minor differences between each yard series, so some references list each such series as a separate type.[5] Strictly speaking, the 1913 series consisted only of V25 to V30 and S31 to S36 ships, but the later ones listed here were quite similar, though increasing in displacement. The German practice in peacetime was to build one flotilla of similar ships per fiscal year, hence the name 1913 series. Later ships belonged to 1914 series and so on. During the war the armament of most of these ships was upgraded, with 8.8 cm guns replaced with 10.5 cm guns.[5]
Because of the British naval blockade, most of the ships did not see any service, although some participated in the Battle of Jutland.[2] V-43 was scuttled at Scapa Flow but raised and taken over by the US Navy and commissioned for a brief period in 1920, then sunk as target on 15 July 1921.[8]