SMS V48
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 1914 Peacetime order |
| Builder: | AG Vulcan Stettin, Germany |
| Launched: | 06 August 1915 |
| Commissioned: | 10 December 1915 |
| Honours and awards: | none |
| Fate: | Sunk at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,051 tonnes |
| Length: | 79.5 metres (261 ft) |
| Beam: | 8.33 metres (27.3 ft) |
| Draft: | 3.74 metres (12.3 ft) (fwd); 3.45 metres (11.3 ft) (aft) |
| Speed: | 34.5 knots (63.9 km/h) |
| Range: | 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Complement: | 83 officers and sailors |
| Armament: | • 3 × 88 mm (3.5 in) guns • 6 × 500 mm (20 in) torpedo tubes • 24 mines |
SMS V48 was a Großes Torpedoboot 1913 class torpedo boat of the Deutschen Kaiserliche Marine during World War I, and the 24th ship of her class.
Construction
Built by AG Vulcan Stettin shipyard, Germany, she was launched in August 1915. The "V" in V48 denotes the shipyard at which she was built.
Service
V48 was assigned to the 3rd Flotilla, 6th Half-Flotilla when she participated in the Battle of Jutland.[1] In this action, the 3rd Flotilla launched an unsuccessful torpedo attack against British Battlecruisers, and after turning away the German destroyers exchanged fire with the damaged destroyer HMS Shark, with V48 receiving damage from the impact of one or two 4-inch (100 mm) shells, which disabled the German destroyer's machinery, forcing V48 to stop. An attempt by the German destroyer G42 to take V48 in tow was abandoned because of heavy fire from the British battleline.[2] The battleship HMS Valiant later fired a 6-inch (150 mm) shell into her. She was eventually sunk by a 4-inch (100 mm) shell fired from an unidentified ship of the British 12th Destroyer Flotilla, and lost with 90 men killed in action.[3]
The sole survivor was Hans Robert Tietje who spent 14 hours in the water before being picked up by a Danish fishing boat.
References
- Campbell, John (1998). Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-750-3.
- Technical specs of the Großes Torpedoboot 1913 class
- A New York Times article describing the aftermath of the Battle of Jutland in which V48 is mentioned.