Gazelle class cruiser
Encyclopedia
The Gazelle class was a group of ten light cruiser
s built for the German Imperial Navy
at the turn of the 20th century. Three were lost during the First World War; the remainder were removed from the front lines after the Battle of Jutland
. Half the ships remained in service with the denuded Reichsmarine
following the Treaty of Versailles
(1919), with two ships surviving until the end of the Second World War, when they were scuttled.
and Hela
types and set the "basic pattern" for Imperial Navy light cruisers of the First World War. Designed between 1895–1896, the Gazelles were meant to balance the dueling roles of overseas cruiser (exemplified by the Bussards) and fleet scout. According to one historian, "[t]he light cruisers of the Gazelle-class established a trend for future ships of this general design...[they] carried little or no armor, the chief asset being speed."
of 12.2 metres (40 ft). The ships drew 5.19 metres (17 ft) of water and had a displacement of 2,643 tonnes, 2,963 tonnes full load. All ten ships were equipped with 2-shaft triple expansion engines, rated at 6000 ihp for the Gazelle herself and 8000 ihp for all subsequent ships.
patrolled the Baltic Sea
; the Gazelle struck a mine in early 1915 and was never returned to service, while the Undine was torpedoed and sunk by the British submarine HMS E19
in 1915. The Frauenlob
served with 4th Scouting Group of the High Seas Fleet
and went down at the Battle of Jutland
in 1916. The remaining members of the class were assigned to coast defence, in which one was lost: the Ariadne
, sunk in the Battle of Heligoland Bight (1914). All surviving ships were withdrawn from active service by 1917.
After the First World War the remainder of the Gazelle class joined the Reichsmarine
but remained in secondary roles. The Niobe
was sold to Yugoslavia
in 1925; she would later be captured by the Italians during the Second World War, then by Nazi Germany
in 1943, when she was finally sunk by British motor torpedo boats. The Medusa
and Arcona
were pressed into service during the Second World War and scuttled in 1945. The remainder of the class was scrapped during the 1920s save the Amazone
, which lingered until 1954.
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s built for the German Imperial Navy
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
at the turn of the 20th century. Three were lost during the First World War; the remainder were removed from the front lines after the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
. Half the ships remained in service with the denuded Reichsmarine
Reichsmarine
The Reichsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the Reichswehr, existing from 1918 to 1935...
following the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
(1919), with two ships surviving until the end of the Second World War, when they were scuttled.
Design
The Gazelle class followed the Bussard, GefionSMS Gefion
SMS Gefion was a light cruiser of the Kaiserliche Marine launched in 1893. The cruiser was named after Gefjon of Norse mythology. Under the 1891 naval regulations she was classified as a corvette-cruiser, but in 1899 was reclassified to light cruiser...
and Hela
SMS Hela
SMS Hela was a light cruiser of the German Imperial Navy prior to and during World War I. The only ship of her class, Hela was built as an aviso and launched on 28 March 1895 in Bremen. She was named after the Hela peninsula near Danzig...
types and set the "basic pattern" for Imperial Navy light cruisers of the First World War. Designed between 1895–1896, the Gazelles were meant to balance the dueling roles of overseas cruiser (exemplified by the Bussards) and fleet scout. According to one historian, "[t]he light cruisers of the Gazelle-class established a trend for future ships of this general design...[they] carried little or no armor, the chief asset being speed."
Dimensions and machinery
The Gazelles were 104.4 metres (342.5 ft) at the waterline and 105 metres (344.5 ft) overall with a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 12.2 metres (40 ft). The ships drew 5.19 metres (17 ft) of water and had a displacement of 2,643 tonnes, 2,963 tonnes full load. All ten ships were equipped with 2-shaft triple expansion engines, rated at 6000 ihp for the Gazelle herself and 8000 ihp for all subsequent ships.
Armour
The ships had 25 mm (0.984251968503937 in) armour on the decks and 50 mm (2 in) gun shields protecting the primary armament.Armament
The ships mounted a main battery of ten 105 millimetres (4.1 in) guns in single turrets plus three 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes.Service history
The Gazelles, already showing their age, played a secondary role in the German fleet during the First World War. The Gazelle and UndineSMS Undine
SMS Undine was an Imperial German light cruiser of the Gazelle Class, 105 meters long and was built in Kiel in 1902. Undine was used in the Naval warfare of World War I and was part of the German High Seas Fleet....
patrolled the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
; the Gazelle struck a mine in early 1915 and was never returned to service, while the Undine was torpedoed and sunk by the British submarine HMS E19
HMS E19
HMS E19 was an E-class submarine of the Royal Navy, commissioned in 1914 at Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness. During World War I she was part of the British submarine flotilla in the Baltic....
in 1915. The Frauenlob
SMS Frauenlob
SMS Frauenlob was a Gazelle-class light cruiser in the German Imperial Navy. She was the second ship of that name, after a schooner launched in 1853.-History:Frauenlob was built at A.G. Weser in Bremen...
served with 4th Scouting Group of the High Seas Fleet
High Seas Fleet
The High Seas Fleet was the battle fleet of the German Empire and saw action during World War I. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet was renamed as the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was the architect of the fleet; he envisioned a force powerful enough to...
and went down at the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
in 1916. The remaining members of the class were assigned to coast defence, in which one was lost: the Ariadne
SMS Ariadne
SMS Ariadne was a light cruiser of the Gazelle class in the Imperial German Navy, with 2,700 tons displacement and 10 × 10.5 cm guns...
, sunk in the Battle of Heligoland Bight (1914). All surviving ships were withdrawn from active service by 1917.
After the First World War the remainder of the Gazelle class joined the Reichsmarine
Reichsmarine
The Reichsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the Reichswehr, existing from 1918 to 1935...
but remained in secondary roles. The Niobe
SMS Niobe
SMS Niobe was a Gazelle-class light cruiser that served with the Kaiserliche Marine during First World War, and the Kriegsmarine during Second World War in a long career that also involved sailing with the Yugoslavian and Italian navies...
was sold to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
in 1925; she would later be captured by the Italians during the Second World War, then by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in 1943, when she was finally sunk by British motor torpedo boats. The Medusa
SMS Medusa (1900)
SMS Medusa was a light cruiser of the Gazelle class in the Kaiserliche Marine. She was named after Medusa in ancient Greek mythology.She remained in service after the First World War, becoming the Reichsmarine's flagship in 1920. In 1924 she was decommissioned and in 1929 struck from the naval list...
and Arcona
SMS Arcona
SMS Arcona was a small, unarmoured cruiser of the German Imperial Navy. It was named after Cape Arkona on the German island of Rügen.-Technical data:...
were pressed into service during the Second World War and scuttled in 1945. The remainder of the class was scrapped during the 1920s save the Amazone
SMS Amazone
Two German ships has been named SMS Amazone.*SMS Amazone *SMS Amazone...
, which lingered until 1954.
Ships in class
| Name | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMS Gazelle | Germaniawerft, Kiel | 1897 | 1898 | 1900 | Struck 1920 |
| SMS Niobe | AG Weser AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships... , Bremen Bremen The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is... |
1898 | 1899 | 1900 | Sunk 1943 |
| SMS Nymphe | Germaniawerft, Kiel | 1898 | 1899 | 1900 | Struck 1932 |
| SMS Thetis SMS Thetis (1900) SMS Thetis was a light cruiser of the Gazelle class. She was named after the Greek nymph Thetis.Launched in 1900, she served in the Kaiserliche Marine then from 1922 to 1924 in the Reichsmarine. She was finally struck from the naval list in 1929 and scrapped.-References:* Hans H... |
Kaiserliche Werft Danzig Kaiserliche Werft Danzig Kaiserliche Werft Danzig was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1852, first as Königliche Werft Danzig but renamed in 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire. Together with Kaiserliche Werft Kiel and Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven it was one of three shipyards which produced... |
1899 | 1900 | 1901 | Struck 1930 |
| SMS Ariadne SMS Ariadne SMS Ariadne was a light cruiser of the Gazelle class in the Imperial German Navy, with 2,700 tons displacement and 10 × 10.5 cm guns... |
AG Weser AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships... , Bremen Bremen The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is... |
1899 | 1900 | 1901 | Sunk 1914 |
| SMS Amazone SMS Amazone (1900) The SMS Amazone was a light cruiser of the Gazelle class. She was named after the Amazons of Greek mythology.She was launched in 1900 and served in the Kaiserliche Marine and the Reichsmarine and as a support ship for the Kriegsmarine... |
Germaniawerft, Kiel | 1899 | 1900 | 1901 | Scrapped 1954 |
| AG Weser AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships... , Bremen Bremen The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is... |
1900 | 1900 | 1901 | Scuttled 1945 | |
| SMS Frauenlob SMS Frauenlob SMS Frauenlob was a Gazelle-class light cruiser in the German Imperial Navy. She was the second ship of that name, after a schooner launched in 1853.-History:Frauenlob was built at A.G. Weser in Bremen... |
AG Weser AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships... , Bremen Bremen The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is... |
1901 | 1902 | 1903 | Sunk 1916 |
| SMS Arcona SMS Arcona SMS Arcona was a small, unarmoured cruiser of the German Imperial Navy. It was named after Cape Arkona on the German island of Rügen.-Technical data:... |
AG Weser AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships... , Bremen Bremen The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is... |
1901 | 1902 | 1903 | Scuttled 1945 |
| SMS Undine SMS Undine SMS Undine was an Imperial German light cruiser of the Gazelle Class, 105 meters long and was built in Kiel in 1902. Undine was used in the Naval warfare of World War I and was part of the German High Seas Fleet.... |
Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft, Kiel | 1901 | 1902 | 1904 | Sunk 1915 |