Germany - SMS Ariadne

DG_Alpha

Posted: June 29th, 2020, 9:35 am

Posts: 762
Joined: January 1st, 2012, 7:01 pm
Location: Germany

As announced somewhere else, here is SMS Ariadne, one of the Gazelle-class light cruisers.

From Wikipedia:
Ariadne was ordered under the contract name "D" and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen on 14 December 1899. She was launched on 10 August 1900 and the director of the Kaiserliche Werft in Wilhelmshaven, Konteradmiral Hugo von Schuckmann gave a speech at the ceremony, after which fitting-out work commenced. She was commissioned for sea trials on 18 May 1901. While on trials on 11 July, her first port side boiler exploded; three were killed and another three were injured in the accident. The ship was finally pronounced ready for service on 22 October 1902, when she was assigned to I Squadron, based in Kiel. Korvettenkapitän Adolf Josephi took command of the ship at that time. She joined the battleships of the squadron for a cruise to Norway, followed by training exercises in the North Sea. On 1 March 1903, Thetis was assigned to I Scouting Group, the fleet's primary reconnaissance unit, commanded by KAdm Ludwig Borckenhagen.

The unit embarked on a training cruise to Spain in early 1903, during which Ariadne stopped in Brest, France on 14 May to pick up mail for the squadron. In July, the bulk of the fleet, including Adriadne, made another visit to Norwegian waters. The fleet's annual autumn training maneuvers were held in September and October, taking place in both the North and Baltic Seas. The ship took part in fleet exercises in May 1904, followed by a naval review for British King Edward VII during his visit to Kiel. The fleet then made a visit to Britain, and Ariadne later escorted Kaiser Wilhelm II's yacht Hohenzollern on a cruise from 3 to 10 September. KK Alfred Schirmer replaced Josephi at that time. In 1905, the ship took part in the year's program of training exercises, which were interrupted in March when the battleship Mecklenburg ran aground in the Great Belt; Ariadne was among the vessels sent to pull her free. In February 1906, Ariadne escorted the new battleship Preussen, which represented Germany at the coronation ceremonies for the Danish King Frederick VIII in Copenhagen. After returning to Germany, Ariadne was decommissioned in Wilhelmshaven on 22 September and placed in reserve, where she remained for the next eight years.

[ img ]

After the outbreak of World War I in July 1914, Ariadne was recommissioned on 2 August for use as a flotilla leader for the coastal defense torpedo boat flotillas that guarded the mouths of the Jade and Weser rivers. The ships were tasked with protecting these important waterways from attacks by enemy warships. Her commander was Kapitän zur See Hans Seebohm.

On 23 August, several British commanders submitted a plan to attack the patrol line along the German coast with the light cruisers and destroyers of the Harwich Force, commanded by Commodore Reginald Tyrwhitt. These ships would be supported by submarines and Vice Admiral David Beatty's battlecruisers and associated light forces. The plan was approved and set for 28 August. The British forces began to leave port on the evening of 26 August, beginning with the submarines assigned to the operation. Most of the surface forces went to sea early on the following morning; the 7th Cruiser Squadron, which had been added to provide further support to the Harwich Force, left port later in the day.

On the morning of 28 August, Ariadne had been rotated out of the front patrol line and laid at anchor in the entrance of the Weser River in support of the cruisers and torpedo boats on patrol. After receiving reports of the British attack on the morning of the 28th, Ariadne and several other cruisers got up steam and rushed to support the German patrols. She met Stettin in heavy fog at around 13:40, but less than twenty minutes thereafter, Beatty's battlecruisers, chasing Cöln, arrived and began firing on Ariadne as well. She turned to starboard and attempted to flee. She was hit several times by the British guns, and one hit the forward boiler room. The coal bunker caught fire and five boilers were disabled; her speed fell to 15 kn. Two battlecruisers closed in, one of which was Lion, until they were firing their 12-inch and 13.5-inch guns at a distance of 3,000 m, point-blank range for guns of that caliber. Ariadne returned fire as best she could, but to no effect.

With fires raging forward and aft, Ariadne had her forward magazine flooded so the flames would not reach the propellant charges. At 14:15, the British ceased fire and allowed Ariadne to limp away. The surviving crew that was able to escape the ship assembled on the forecastle and prepared to abandon the ship. The cruiser Danzig arrived shortly before 15:00 and began to pick up survivors, with Kolberg and Stralsund joining the rescue effort shortly thereafter. Stralsund attempted to take the crippled vessel under tow, but at 16:25, Ariadne capsized, mooting the effort to save the ship. She remained afloat for some time before she finally sank. The rescue effort was hampered by frequent explosions of ammunition stored on Ariadne's deck, which prevented boats from getting too close to the wrecked cruiser. Reports of casualties differ wildly. According to the historian Gary Staff, a total of nine officers, including her commander, and fifty enlisted men were rescued. But the historians Hans Hildebrand, Albert Röhr, and Hans-Otto Steinmetz state that some 250 of her crew were rescued, with only 64 of her crew being killed in the sinking.

The wreck was discovered in 1973; it lies at a depth of about 40 m to the north of the island of Norderney at the coordinates 54°09′N 7°7′E. Ariadne came to rest around 4 nautical miles from the location where she was reported to have sunk.

[ img ]

_________________
My worklist
Any help and source material is always welcome.

Top

Shipbucket

Germany - SMS Ariadne

Who is online