SMS S13 (1911)

SMS S13[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] was a V1-class torpedo boat of the Imperial German Navy. The ship was built by Schichau-Werke, at their Elbing shipyard, completing in 1912. She served in the First World War with the German High Seas Fleet, taking part in the Battle of the Heligoland Bight in 1914. She was sunk by an accidental explosion on 6 November 1914.

History
German Empire
Name:	S13
Builder:	Schichau-Werke, Elbing
Launched:	7 December 1911
Commissioned:	2 July 1912
Fate:	Sunk 6 November 1914
General characteristics
Displacement:	697 t (686 long tons)
Length:	71.1 m (233 ft 3 in) oa
Beam:	7.6 m (24 ft 11 in)
Draft:	3.11 m (10 ft 2 in)
Propulsion:	4× water-tube boilers 2× steam turbines 17,000 metric horsepower (17,000 shp; 13,000 kW)
Speed:	32 knots (59.3 km/h; 36.8 mph)
Range:	1,190 nmi (2,200 km; 1,370 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)
Complement:	74 officers and sailors
Armament:	2 x 8.8 cm (3.5 in)/30 guns 4 x 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes

Construction and design

In 1911, the Imperial German Navy decided to break the pattern of each year's orders of torpedo boats being a development of the previous year's designs, as it felt that they were getting too big to work for the fleet, and instead the 12 torpedo boats (six each ordered from AG Vulcan and Germaniawerft[lower-alpha 3]) (the V1-class) were smaller than those ordered in recent years in order to be more manoeuvrable and so work better with the fleet. This change resulted in the numbering series for torpedo boats being restarted. The 1912 programme placed orders for a flotilla of 12 torpedo boats of similar design (S13 to S24) with Schichau-Werke.[2] The reduction in size resulted in the ships' seaworthiness being adversely affected, however,[2] with the 1911 and 1912 torpedo boats acquiring the disparaging nickname "Admiral Lans' cripples".[1][3]

The Schichau boats were 71.5 m (234 ft 7 in) long overall and 71.0 m (232 ft 11 in) at the waterline, with a beam of 7.43 m (24 ft 5 in) and a draught of 2.77 m (9 ft 1 in). Displacement was 568 tonnes (559 long tons) normal and 695 tonnes (684 long tons) deep load. Three coal-fired and one oil-fired water-tube boilers fed steam to two direct-drive steam turbines rated at 15,700 metric horsepower (15,500 shp; 11,500 kW), giving a design speed of 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph).[3] 108 tonnes (106 long tons) of coal and 72 tonnes (71 long tons) of oil were carried, giving a range of 1,050 nautical miles (1,940 km; 1,210 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph) or 600 nautical miles (1,100 km; 690 mi) at 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph).[2]

S13's armament consisted of two 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 naval guns[lower-alpha 4] in single mounts fore and aft, together with four 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes with one reload torpedo carried. Up to 18 mines could be carried.[2][3] The ship had a crew of 74 officers and other ranks.[2]

Construction and service

S13, yard number 864, was launched at Schichau's shipyard in Elbing, East Prussia (now Elbląg in Poland) on 7 December 1911 and was commissioned on 2 July 1912.[4]

First World War

On 28 August 1914, a British force of destroyers and cruisers supported by battlecruisers made a sortie into the Heligoland Bight in order to ambush German torpedo boats on patrol, which caused the Battle of Heligoland Bight. The German 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, including S13, were sent out from Heligoland to investigate sightings of British submarines (which were deployed as bait to draw out German ships), and ran into several British destroyers. The flotilla then turned away to try and escape the trap, but S13 and the torpedo boat V2 could not make full speed and lagged behind the rest of the flotilla, V2, which was closer to the British ships than S13, attracted most of the fire of the British destroyers, and was hit twice by British shells before the arrival of the German cruiser Stettin allowed the 5th Flotilla to escape. S13 was undamaged, and later assisted the badly damaged D8, leader of the 3rd Minesweeping Flotilla.[5][6][7] In total, however, three German light cruisers (Ariadne, Cöln and Mainz) and one torpedo boat of the German outer screen (V187) had been sunk.[8]

On 6 November 1914 S13 was sunk in the North Sea when one of her own torpedoes exploded. Nine of S13's crew were killed.[2][4]

Notes

1. "SMS" stands for "Seiner Majestät Schiff" (German: His Majesty's Ship)
2. The "S" in S13 denotes the shipyard at which she was built, in this case Schichau-Werke.[1]
3. The Imperial German Navy's practice was to split a year's orders into half-flotillas of six torpedo boats from different builders, to differing detailed design.[1]
4. In Imperial German Navy gun nomenclature, the L/30 denotes the length of the gun. In this case, the L/30 gun is 30 caliber, meaning that the gun is 30 times as long as it is in diameter.

References

1. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 164
2. Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 167
3. Gröner 1983, p. 51
4. Gröner 1983, p. 52
5. Massie 2007, pp. 98–99, 102–104
6. Naval Staff Monograph No. 11 1921, pp. 122–123, 162
7. Groos 1920, pp. 147–148, 151, 167
8. Massie 2007, pp. 111–115

Bibliography

• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Gröner, Erich (1983). Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815–1945: Band 2: Torpedoboote, Zerstörer, Schnelleboote, Minensuchboote, Minenräumboote (in German). Koblenz, Germany: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN 3-7637-4801-6.
• Groos, O. (1920). Der Krieg in der Nordsee: Erster Band: Von Kreigsbeginn bis Anfang September 1914. Der Krieg zur See: 1914–1918 (in German). Berlin: Verlag von E. S. Mittler und Sohn – via National Library of Estonia.
• Massie, Robert K. (2007). Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea. London: Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-099-52378-9.
• Monograph No. 11: Heligoland Bight—The Action of August 28, 1914 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). III. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1921. pp. 110–166. OCLC 220734221.