SMS Pillau

SMS Pillau was a German light cruiser in World War I. She and her sistership SMS Elbing were originally ordered from German shipyards by the Russian Navy, but were confiscated at the outbreak of war and taken over by the German Navy. Pillau was laid down as Muraviev Amurskyy (named after the eponymous count) at the Schichau-Werft in Danzig in 1913 and completed in December 1914.

Design

Pillau was ordered by the Russian Navy as Maraviev Amurskyy from the Schichau-Werke shipyard in Danzig. She was laid down in 1913, and was launched on 11 April 1914, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was requisitioned by the German Navy on 5 August 1914, and renamed Pillau. She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 14 December 1914.^[1] The ship was 135.3 meters (444 ft) long overall and had a beam of 13.6 m (45 ft) and a draft of 5.98 m (19.6 ft) forward. She displaced 5,252 t (5,169 long tons; 5,789 short tons) at full combat load.^[2] Her propulsion system consisted of two sets of Marine steam turbines driving two 3.5-meter (11 ft) propellers. They were designed to give 30,000 shaft horsepower (22,000 kW). These were powered by six coal-fired Yarrow water-tube boilers, and four oil-fired Yarrow boilers. These gave the ship a top speed of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph). Pillau carried 620 tonnes (610 long tons) of coal, and an additional 580 tonnes (570 long tons) of oil that gave her a range of approximately 4,300 nautical miles (8,000 km; 4,900 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Pillau had a crew of twenty-one officers and 421 enlisted men.^[1]

The ship was armed with eight 15 cm SK L/45 guns in single pedestal mounts. Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle, four were located amidships, two on either side, and two were side by side aft.^[3] She also carried four 5.2 cm SK L/55 anti-aircraft guns, though these were replaced with a pair of two 8.8 cm SK L/45 anti-aircraft guns She was also equipped with a pair of 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes mounted on the deck. She also could also carry 120 mines. The conning tower had 75 mm (3.0 in) thick sides, and the deck was covered with up to 80 mm (3.1 in) thick armor plate.^[4]

Service history

Pillau was assigned to the II Scouting Group in 1915. She served in the Baltic and North Seas and took part in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in August 1915. Pillau also participated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916. After the end of the battle, Pillau was dispatched to escort the severely damaged Seydlitz back to Germany. Seydlitz's navigation systems had failed, and needed Pillau to guide her back to German waters. ^[5] Her last action of the First World War, Pillau took part in the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight.

Italian service

Pillau briefly served in the newly reorganized Reichsmarine following the end of the war. She was stricken on 5 November 1919 and surrendered to the Allies in the French port of Cherbourg on 20 July 1920. She was ceded to Italy as a war prize under the name "U".^[2] She was renamed Bari and commissioned into the Regia Marina on 21 January 1924. The 8.8 cm anti-aircraft guns were replaced with 76 mm (3.0 in) /40 guns. On 19 July 1929, she was reclassified as a cruiser.^[6] In 1933–1934, Bari was refitted for colonial service and converted to oil-firing.^[7] The six coal-fired boilers were removed to allow for additional oil bunker space, and the forward funnel was removed and the remaining two were cut down. This reduced her power to 21,000 shaft horsepower (16,000 kW) and a top speed of 24.5 kn (45.4 km/h; 28.2 mph). Her cruising range was increased considerably, from 2,600 nmi (4,800 km; 3,000 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph) to 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at that speed.^[6]

By the outbreak of World War II in 1939, her armament and been increased by six 20 mm (0.79 in) guns and six 13.2 mm (0.52 in) machine guns.^[6] Her wartime career was in support of landings at Corfu in 1940 and Bastia in 1942 and anti-partisan bombardments off the Montenegrin coast in 1942.^[7] In early 1943, she was slated for conversion to an anti-aircraft ship. She was to be rearmed with six 90 mm (3.5 in) /50 guns, eight 37 mm (1.5 in) guns, and eight new model 20 mm /65 or /70 machine guns. On 28 June, however, American bombers badly damaged Bari and she sank in shallow water two days later.^[6] At the Italian armistice in September 1943, she was further damaged to render her useless to the German occupiers.^[7] The wreck was partially scrapped by the Germans in 1944. She was officially removed from the navy list on 27 February 1947, and raised on 13 January 1948 for scrapping.^[6]

Footnotes

References

• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906-1922. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-907-3. 
• Gröner, Erich (1990). German Warships: 1815–1945. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-790-9. 
• Staff, Gary (2006). German Battlecruisers: 1914–1918. Oxford, UK: Osprey Books. ISBN 978-1-84603-009-3. 
• Whitley, M J (1995). Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London, UK: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 1-85409-225-1.