SMS Seeadler
Encyclopedia
- This page is about the long range cruiser. For the World War I commerce raider windjammer see SMS Seeadler (Windjammer)SMS Seeadler (Windjammer)SMS Seeadler was a three-master windjammer. She was one of the last fighting steam/sail ships to be used in war when she served as a merchant raider with Imperial Germany in World War I....
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SMS Seeadler ("Sea Eagle") was a German cruiser, part of a new breed of warships created by the new Imperial Navy. To protect the Empire's growing overseas possessions and colonies, the navy needed ships seaworthy enough to venture out into far off oceans and have the coal supply to reach far off destinations. The result was the new class of small cruisers, or Aviso
Aviso
An aviso , a kind of dispatch boat or advice boat, survives particularly in the French navy, they are considered equivalent to the modern sloop....
s, of the Bussard class, rated Class IV cruisers.
The Kreuzer IV class was an entirely new concept. Although termed cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s, these ships were built for the specific purpose of service abroad. They had a large coal storage capacity as well as masts and sails to assist the steam engines on long-range voyages. They also had an extensive electrical system, unusual for the time, and a large searchlight
Searchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
located above the bridge.
SMS Seeadler was the third ship of her class. She had originally been named Kaiseradler, but this was changed to Seeadler when it was decided that the new Imperial Yacht would have this name. The ship was commissioned for trials in 1892 which were completed by 1893. On 25 March 1893 Seeadler, along with SMS Kaiserin Augusta
SMS Kaiserin Augusta
SMS Kaiserin Augusta was a unique protected cruiser, built for the German Kaiserliche Marine in the early 1890s. She was laid down in 1890, launched in January 1892, and completed in November of that year. Owing to budgetary restrictions, Kaiserin Augusta was designed to fill both fleet scout and...
, set sail for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to take part in the 400th Anniversary Discovery of America Celebrations. During the crossing she ran out of coal and had to be towed the rest of the way by Kaiserin Augusta.
Seeadler was then sent to the East Africa Station and arrived in the port of Adan
Adan
- People :* Adan * Antonio Adán, Spanish footballer* José Carlos Adán, Spanish long-distance runner* Jose Perez Adan, Spanish communitarian sociologist* Martín Adán, Peruvian poet* Muhammad Shukor Adan, Malaysian footballer- Places :...
on 20 June 1893. She remained in the region until 1898, taking part in several military actions and operations as well as the typical colonial duties. After four years in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Seeadler was ordered home in May 1898.
On arrival in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
in June 1898, the ship was decommissioned and overhauled. Modifications were completed in October 1899 and the ship was recommissioned. Seeadler was sent to South East Asia where she arrived in November, spending the next five years visiting various ports and taking part in various operations.
In August 1905, SMS Seeadler was ordered back to East Africa to help suppress a rebellion in the colony. Arriving in Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
in October 1905, Seeadler was used in various operations against the rebels. After the rebellion was suppressed in February 1906, the ship sailed for Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
for repairs. These were completed by mid March 1906 and Seeadler returned to Dar es Salaam. Seeadler remained in the region until January 1914. By this time she had served thirteen and a half years overseas. The ship left East Africa on 9 January 1914 and arrived in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
on 28 January. At the end of that month it was decided to strike Seeadler from the active list and she was decommissioned in Danzig. When World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out in August 1914, Seeadler was moved to Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
to be used as a mine hulk. The end came in 1917 when a mine exploded on board and destroyed the ship.